By Lois Rogers | Correspondent

A new initiative by the diocesan Department of Evangelization and Family Life is taking the business of warm welcomes one step further – literally.

In a pilot program being enacted throughout the four counties of the Diocese, decorative Lenten door hangers and personal parish invitations are being distributed door to door across neighborhoods.

Each door hanger, provided by the Diocese, features a Lenten image, a special message and parish information, and the parish’s Lenten activities.

“In this first year here, we are piloting in 10 parishes,” said Josue Arriola, director of Evangelization and Family Life. “The goal is to have some history and experience for next year when we introduce the project throughout the Diocese. By next year, we will be able to give examples of what parishes did and how people responded.”

Titled the “Lenten Evangelization Campaign 2018,” parishes taking part include: St. Gregory the Great, Hamilton Square; Christ the King, Long Branch; St. Katharine Drexel, Burlington; Visitation, Brick; St. Alphonsus, Hopewell; St. George, Titusville; St. James, Pennington; St. Mary, Bordentown; Sts. Francis and Clare, Florence Township; St. Benedict, Holmdel, and St. Mary, Middletown.

Arriola, who created a similar campaign during his tenure as the associate director of evangelization for the Metuchen Diocese, said such direct Lenten campaigns have two goals: to bring a message of hope to every household and invite them to a parish that is their spiritual home, and to get faithful out into the periphery so they can experience the faces of evangelizing.

“If someone comes out of the house, you have the opportunity to engage them. If they have something for us to pray for, their intentions can be taken directly to the church,” he said.

“When you go out and encounter people, something special happens,” said Arriola, who described parishioners as being moved when the home visits resulted in petitions they carried to their pastors on behalf of the people who needed the graces.

Pulling Together

Neighborhood visits are conducted in a relaxed and informal manner, Arriola said, noting that people often inquire about the training that is involved. “I tell them there are two requirements: good shoes and a friendly smile. If you find a person who is interested, pray with them. For every house you go to, if someone comes out and requests prayers, write their petition and bring it to the church, and their petition will be prayed for.”

Arriola, who went out with a team of about 35 members of Christ the King Parish, said “people want people to pray for them. Through [the volunteers], they see the face of the Church. In Long Branch, we mapped out the region around Holy Trinity [church worship site] and made groups of four with two on one side of the street and two on the other.”

“It was powerful,” he said, adding that the team had an overwhelmingly positive response from residents of the area. “When they got back to the church, the pastor, Father Javier Diaz, was waiting, and he received the team at the door and the petitions were prayed for at the 6 p.m. Mass.”

“It was a very moving experience,” said Arriola, adding that the parishes involved are making sure everyone can participate.

Indeed, when the team of volunteers goes forth March 10 from St. Gregory the Great Parish, faithful who have difficulty moving will remain in the church, praying and making coffee for those walking for when they return.

Parishioner Peg Kowalski, who is coordinating the event, said the hope is that people will answer their doors, engage in conversation and write down prayer intentions, which will be collected and presented during a Mass before Easter. “We have 1,000 [door hangers] to distribute,” she said.

She added that the team worked hard to make the door hangings welcoming and inclusive. “We are casting the net pretty far, and we wanted to make sure there was enough of a message on the door hanger to reach a broad audience.”

The hanger, as it turns out, proclaims the message: “The one who loves you most is missing you.”

Reaching the People

The team from St. Katharine Drexel will be reaching out March 24, the day before Palm/Passion Sunday. Father Michael Kennedy, parochial vicar, is coordinating the event. He said the goal is to gather 20 people in 10 sets of two.

The outreach will be directed beyond Burlington City and more toward Burlington Township, Father Kennedy said. “The demographic is different. There are fewer places where people live in the city, and we want as broad an outreach as possible.”

The outreach will begin with Mass in St. Paul Church, one of the parish’s two worship sites. After coffee, the group will canvas the neighborhood for a couple of hours, return to St. Paul for lunch and then go out again for about two hours.

“I think that it’s a good idea, and we are willing to try whatever we can do to reach people,” Father Kennedy said. “I love that the Diocese is so supportive of this idea and as a new priest in Burlington, I am really hopeful something will come of it.”