community

ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC PARISH
HOW TO BUILD PARISH COMMUNITY

Home

Leadership & Ministry

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Pastoral Team

Parish Council

Finance Council

Building Community

Stewardship

Pastoral Care

Parish Groups

Youth Ministry

Know your neighbours
Share a meal
Greet people
Turn off your TV
Plant flowers
Pick up litter
Take children to the park

Leave your house
Look up when you're walking
Sit on your stoop
Use your library
Play together
Buy from local merchants
Share what you have
Help a lost dog
Honour elders
Support neighbourhood schools
Fix it even if you didn't break it
Have potlucks
Garden together
Read stories aloud
Dance in the street
Talk to the mail carrier
Listen to the birds
Put up a swing
Help carry something heavy
Barter for your goods
Start a tradition
Ask a question
Hire young people for odd jobs
Organize a block party
Bake extra and share
Ask for help when you need it
Open your shades
Sing together
Share your skills
Take back the night
Turn up the music
Turn down the music
Listen before you react to anger
Mediate a conflict
Seek to understand
Learn from new and uncomfortable angles
Know that no one is silent though many are not heard
Work to change this

Here’s one way in which we can build community. This list is put out by the Syracuse Cultural Workers. How could we modify this list so that it would suggest ways in which we could build parish community?? Some will be the same, others won’t. BLOG ideas to us!

TAKE CHILDREN TO THE PARK

Another great way to form community is to take children to the park... park not just being the local playground! Children who spend time in nature develop an appreciation for God's great gift of creation and are more likely to take care of God's creation later in life.

We've formed an informal little hiking group here at St. Mary's Parish. We've only done one hike (in May), but have another one planned for June and then the following months as well.

It's a great opportuntiy to get out in nature and spend some time with God's creation. We may also spend some time reflecting on the upcoming Sunday Gospel and have some time for reflection and sharing on the message. See if we can second guess what the homily will be about!

PICK UP LITTER

Have you noticed how much litter has accumulated over the past winter? And how many Roll-up-the-Rim cups are lying around? It’s not very pretty!
Every year the City of Prince George sponsors a Spring Clean Up, a special day on which armies of volunteers are encouraged to come out and clean-up the city, by picking up trash and litter.
This year, the event is being held on Sunday April 23, from 10 am to 4 pm. If you register on the city website (www.city.pg.bc.ca), you even get free gloves and trash bags! They also have a map showing locations of big garbage containers for free drop off.
This is a community event, and it’s a wonderful way for us to practice stewardship. We not only care for the earth, but we show care and concern for our neighbours. Plus, we set a good example for all those who might be tempted to throw coffee cups, chocolate wrappers and beer cans out the car window. This year, why not come out and pitch in! Let’s make a difference in our community!

PLANT FLOWERS

Do you have a greenthumb? Are you blessed with an abundance of plants and/or cuttings? Can’t throw those cuttings away? Well… have we got the solution for you!!!! A parishioner has come up with the bright idea of having a plant sale in late May/early June. The plants would be sold relatively cheaply ($2 or so) and all the proceeds would go to St. Vincent de Paul. If you’ve got extra cuttings that you don’t know what to do with, or have started your summer garden from seeds and think you’ll have extra… bring it on down!! It’s a great way to use your gift (because not all of us are greenthumbs), build community (meet greenthumbs & brownthumbs) and reach out to the wider community. Start planting!!

TURN OFF YOUR TV

One way in which we can help build community is simply by turning off our televisions. It's a sad fact, but the more we watch TV, the less we talk to each other, the less we play with our children, and the less time we have for other activities. It's so easy, to come home, turn on the TV as "background noise" while we're cooking dinner, and then find that after dinner, we slip from sitcom to sitcom, always saying to ourselves, "I really should do something". The sitcoms arent' that good, but... we're glued to the TV. That doesn't mean that we can't watch ANY TV, but just to limit it a little bit. Turn it off during dinner. Don't turn it on as background noise. Choose the shows you want to watch, and watch them. But remember... getting into heaven won't be a matter of "How many episodes of Jeopardy have you watched", it'll be "How much time did you spend loving people." So, take control of your remote!!! Phone someone. Visit someone. Go for coffee. Play a game.

GREET ONE ANOTHER

Have you ever walked through Pine Centre Mall and as you passed someone walking in the opposite direction, thought “Hmmm… they look familiar”. Maybe it’s the jacket that they wear or something about their hair. As they pass you, you turn around and look at the back of their head. “Ahhh!! Of course! It’s that lady who sits 3 pews in front of me in church!”
Funny isn’t it… In most Catholic Churches, we’re more familiar with the back of our neighbour’s heads, than with their faces. Unless we’re a Lector or an Extra-ordinary Minister of Communion, chances are, we hardly ever see the faces of many of our fellow parishioners. How can we change that? One way would be to hang around a little bit before and after Mass. Perhaps volunteer as a Welcomer at the doors of the church. You don’t have to do much, simply smile and say “Good morning” or “Good evening” or “How about those Canucks”. The trick is to make eye-contact with people and then smile. Odds are, they’ll smile back at you. A smile says “Hi! You’re welcome here! Glad to see you!”. Doesn’t take much…

SHARE A MEAL

Another great way in which we, as a parish community, can build community is by eating together. Meals are a great opportunity for fellowship and for getting to know each other. Every month, on the fourth Sunday, we have a pancake breakfast (with a lot more than pancakes). Why not come out and meet other parishioners??