Evangelization done two-by-two at West Bend parish

Karen Girard reports,

Special to your Catholic Herald

on a home visit program at Immaculate Conception -- St. Mary Parish in West Bend.

About 140 people, in teams of two, braved the chilly spring rain in an effort to visit the 1,100 registered households of the parish.

I did home visits at St. Veronica Church. It was annual pledge card follow-up. Since I've joined St. Al's, I've been visited once. It was for the building campaign. But these West Bend home visits aren't about money. Almost.

The 10-minute visits had several purposes, according to Moll [Mary Moll, a visitation coordinator]. First, each household was asked to fill out a brief census form, updating their contact information, and letting the parish know if they wished to remain members. "It gets expensive to maintain mailings to non-members," said Moll.

You may be worth more than many sparrows, but not so many stamps. I'd leave it to the people visited to raise the subject of dropping out.

Each household was also given a packet of information about the parish, including brochures about the school, ministry opportunities, and upcoming events. A copy of "The Little White Book," daily reflections for the 50 days of the Easter Season, was given to each family.

Also included in the packet was a self-addressed envelope marked CONFIDENTIAL - FR. MIKE.

"Everyone has an opportunity to give feedback to Fr. Mike," explained Moll.

Like "Why can't priests get married?" or "Why can't priests use their last names?"

Moll continues,

"Like in every good family, you don’t divorce your family when things go wrong. You work through it."

If the family postage budget permits.

They met with a variety of reactions from the families they visited.

Catholics? At the door? From the parish? Not for Money?!

Here's how I suggest launching a home visit program. First, the Christmas homily concludes "See you next week." Assuming everyone doesn't return, the Easter homily concludes "See you next week. If I don't see you, I'm sending people to your homes." Assuming everyone doesn't return, the visitation program follows.

Update: or maybe not.