My parish is growing.

[Brigid]

From time to time, my parish holds a rite to welcome new members. We held one last Sunday that included about 30 families, and Father Guy said he has performed 64 baptisms so far this year. How is your parish doing?

[rug]

1. That's quite a bump.

In my parish they have baptisms once a month on the last Sunday during Mass. There's usually one or two babies, so that's between 18 and 24 a year. Every week in the bullettin they welcome two or three families who joined the parish but I think that's because the county as a whole is growing.

[No Vested Interest]

2. I cannot say that my parish is growing

I live inside the city limits of Cincinnati. My parish has a well-regarded school which attracts a certain number of families to the parish - those who wish to live a short commute to work downtown, etc. Housing is relatively expensive in this area, so many young families opt to go outside the city or even into adjacent counties for newer, larger homes at a more reasonable price.

I notice collection receipts are not hitting their goal, and our annual parish festival is now an important part of revenue. We have one pastor and another retired priest, who assists with weekend and daily masses, in residence. There is what I believe to be a good-sized staff - many are part-time.

I frequently go to a nearby parish for Sunday mass, because the hours sometimes suit me better. That church has no school, is known for "quick" masses, and attracts quite a few from surrounding areas. The area of that church is an older, poorer part of town, where population has diminished, especially the more middle-class Catholics.

However, I've noticed in the last few years, the numbers in the pews at both these parishes is smaller, with the exception of special day- Easter, Christmas, etc.

[Old Troop]

3. Ours

in Massachusetts is growing by leaps and bounds. I wouldn't call it progressive because politics are never overtly mentioned; I guess the best description is "open". While traditional catholic teaching is embraced, no-one is turned away because of lifestyle or current situation. The pastor's philosophy is that, as a sinner himself, he'll leave it to God to judge people's behavior. That has created a remarkable community feeling that welcomes all comers who want to participate in the life of our parish.