Different Meanings of “Welcome Back,” United in One Faith Family

Different Meanings of “Welcome Back,” United in One Faith Family

For many of you, this may be your first time back attending public Mass in a long time – if so, Welcome Home! We have missed you, and we thank you for making the important decision to join us in-person. Please know that you are in good company with others who are recently returning to our parish communities, and regardless of the reasons you were away, we are just happy to have you back now! We have come a long way in learning not only how to live and worship in a pandemic, but also in our awareness that we need to be attentive to the spiritual needs of those who are present at church and those who are not.

Meanwhile, others among us might be thinking it feels strange to be celebrating a “Welcome Back” in the parishes of St. Martha and St. Mary where we have always kept our churches open for prayer and resumed the safe celebration of public Masses in late May 2020. This is true, and it is the reason some Catholic parishes are not making a big deal about welcoming people back this fall. However, the Plainville-Wrentham Collaborative Pastoral Council, our clergy, and the rest of our Pastoral Team at PWC decided we wanted to make our Welcome Back Initiative the top pastoral priority for all of 2021.

Why? For many reasons! Because retuning to active participation in our parishes, Catholic collaborative, and wider communities is not something everyone is doing at the same pace, but this victory is still something we want to celebrate. Because as humans, we are creatures of habit and we collectively got out of the habit of gathering as the Body of Christ to worship the Lord in the sacred space of our churches. Because we can do a lot together online and on TV (and we will continue to do so), but nothing can replace the connection that happens when people are actually together. Because Jesus considered personal presence and building faith communities so important that He left his throne in heaven to do what we do each Sunday: to celebrate God-with-us in the sacraments, the priest, and the People of God. And especially because the gift of the Eucharist is so essential to our spiritual lives, and we can only celebrate and receive the Body of Christ in-person.

Ultimately, our God in Jesus Christ is a God of fresh starts, second chances, and new beginnings! What we are doing in a special way this year (and an extraordinary way with this Sunday’s Big Event) our parishes should be about doing always: welcoming both strangers and friends; reaching out to those who feel distant, lost, hurt, or alienated; seeking to heal relationships and build stronger bonds among believers as well as our wider communities; sharing the joy, hope, consolation, and strength that we find in our faith with anyone who is open to the Good News!

So remember: the Big Event is the centerpiece (not the conclusion) of this year’s Welcome Back Initiative. We continue to plan events like “Coffee & Chat”, a special commemoration ceremony for all who died during the pandemic, maybe a simple wine and cheese social after Mass, and special Advent and Christmas celebrations! Please read the materials in the Gift Bags about the many ways to be involved in our upcoming events and ongoing ministries.
- Fr. Joe