THE VIBRANT PARISH NEWSLETTER

This Lent, Begin by Focusing on Yourself

If you work in a parish, you’re probably well-aware of the saying, “Jesus first, others second, yourself last.” And while that is definitely the mindset you want when ministering to your flock, you do need to shift that list so that you think of yourself first when it comes to spiritual self-care.

Let’s face it — it’s been a tough year. Whether your role was an occasional usher, the parish administrator (and if we’re honest, the gatekeeper of all things parish-related!) or the parish priest of a cluster of churches, you’ve had a difficult year. As we begin to prepare our communities for the upcoming Lenten season, it’s time to admit something difficult for most, but truthful none the less: we can’t fill our parishioners’ spiritual buckets if ours are running on empty. Following are some ways you can step back and renew your faith.

Go Back to the Basics

You don’t need expensive online courses, reflective spiritual books, or three-day conferences to renew your faith. In fact, one might say that all you need is a few minutes a day in front of the Eucharist, and your trusty rosary that, let’s face it, may not always make an appearance in between staff meetings and socially distanced church events.

Make a commitment to come back to Christ by making the time to visit with him. If your parish offers Eucharistic adoration, stop by to talk to the Lord as often as you can. Tell Him your fears, your worries, your apprehensions. And then do some reflecting. You came into ministry for a reason — is that reason still there? So often, we become fixated on the “doing” part of serving God, rather than focusing on actually being in communion with Him. When we work so hard to do works in His name, yet forget Him who deserves all praise, we’re kind of missing the point.

Block off time within your calendar to spend time with Christ, whether that be by journaling and praying in the morning with your cup of coffee, spending your lunch hour in Eucharistic adoration, or a reflective rosary near bedtime. Like most repetitive tasks, you’ll soon discover that good habits will quickly take hold.

Find Someone to Talk to

They say if you want to go somewhere fast, walk alone. But if you want to go somewhere far, walk together. And what a journey it can be to work in a parish setting!

When 2020 began, the whole year stretched out with unlimited possibilities. While those opportunities for spiritual growth may not have disappeared, there has been a major shift in how to bring Christ to others when our churches are partially shuttered. It’s a major shock to experience — have you talked it through?

Do you find that sharing your feelings can help you gain perspective and process feelings you didn’t even know you had? Find a friend or trusted colleague to meet a few times and go over how you’re feeling. If your parish team is small, this could even be a good “mini” retreat to attend before the Lenten season is officially underway.

Whether you just have a few meetings with a colleague or two over coffee, or schedule a counseling session with a spiritual counselor, it’s essential to get all your thoughts and feelings out there. Let it out, share what you want (or need!) to share, and then begin anew.

Form a Team to Tackle Big (or little!) Projects

As your parish emerges from crisis mode, there’s bound to be some big projects to tackle — don’t do it alone! If you have multiple tasks to complete, ask fellow staff members and volunteers to help take on some of them. Not only will it allow you more freedom to focus on the bigger picture, but it will also help you keep in mind the “why” for what we do — bringing followers to Christ!

Think of all the usual things that happen during Lent — Ashes, Stations of the Cross, preparing for Holy Week, fasting and abstaining, offering more prayer opportunities to parishioners. The list goes on and on! Now think of how you’re going to accomplish this during a pandemic. It’s time to crowdsource some ideas.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way! Connect with your diocese for ideas on how Lent should be handled this year. Take note of any restrictions and guidelines, and then see what other parishes are doing to make Lent happen as much as possible. Remember, you don’t need to do this alone!

Looking for ways to highlight Lenten events at your parish? Check out our blog “How to Prepare Your Website for Lent in 4 Easy Steps.”

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New Ways to Utilize Your Online Giving Platform for Events

The effects of COVID-19 are far from over. However, that doesn’t mean your usual church events have to be. This year, your church will need to find new ways to raise money and build community in a virtual setting. From local mom and pop stores to multi-chain businesses, take a cue from what others are doing to remain open and relevant.

Don’t Cancel the Spaghetti Dinner

A lot of parishes hold monthly fundraising dinners in order to bring in extra funds for ministry. But just because restrictions are still in place to keep COVID-19 at bay, doesn’t mean that you need to cancel that spaghetti dinner.

Today, restaurants are continuing their services by offering curbside carry-outs and no-contact deliveries. Use your online giving platform to create a form for each dinner that includes a list of times people can choose to pick-up their food. The online order form will not only allow them to place the order, but easily pay for it as well, so there is no need for money to be exchanged.

Bring Your Program to New (Virtual) Heights

So many churches depend on parish missions to keep their congregations feeling renewed and energized. Unfortunately, social distancing guidelines make it nearly impossible to hold them physically indoors. And while virtual is always an option, it’s hard to feel a connection with fellow members when you’re just an icon on a screen. However, Zoom, the video conferencing platform that has now turned into a verb, can help you maintain that small group feeling within a large group setting.

With Zoom, you have the option to utilize break-out sessions. Start with a main program, break-off into small groups for a quick discussion, and then end it with prayer. If you need to share the cost of the program with participants, you can use your online giving platform to take payments and offer electronic tickets, if needed.

Keep Your Annual Fundraiser

So many churches use fundraising events not only to raise money, but also to build a community with members. A fun night of bidding on items and competing for upcoming excursions is a great way to get parishioners together. But how do you keep the tradition going when it’s not safe to be together? Easy — you bid on items in a virtual setting.

Create an events page using your online giving platform, complete with date, time, and cost of entry. Once purchased, an email notification can be sent to participants with more details about the virtual auction.

Two platforms to consider are 32Auctions and OneCause. Go about gathering your items as usual, set it up using some compelling images and then give members some fun ideas to complete the night, such as having drinks and appetizers on hand to enjoy as they browse, or hosting an accompanying Zoom “party” at the same time.

It’s true that our usual fundraising events need to shift a bit as we navigate this terrible pandemic, but the end goal remains the same. Get together, raise money for essential ministries, and have fun doing it.

Let LPi not only help you maintain your vibrant parish, but make it thrive! Learn more about online giving with WeShare.

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Why WeShare is Perfect for your School

With Catholic Schools Week right around the corner (January 28 – February 3), your faith community will have the opportunity to celebrate what makes your parochial school so great. Your parish school provides an excellent, well-rounded education with Jesus Christ at the center of it all. That’s something to celebrate!

Unfortunately, you will no doubt find yourself looking for innovative ways to celebrate, as adhering to social distancing requirements have driven event and extracurricular activities virtual, or forced extremely low attendance. What used to be ways to celebrate “unity in the community” will now have to take place virtually. So, an online giving platform like WeShare is a MUST if you want to accept payments for events, family craft nights, fundraisers and auctions.

Let WeShare Help Fund Your School

While the coronavirus may have stopped a lot from happening in your school community this year, the need is still there. Eventually, you’ll need to replace sports equipment for athletic teams, and you’ll need to restock for extracurricular activities such as after school arts and crafts, student governments, culture groups, debate teams, and student newspapers. And don’t forget, a large portion of your annual school fundraisers go towards academic or need-based scholarship funds.

If you can no longer be together in the same room in order to raise money, you’ll need to offer people another way to give — specifically through online giving. When it comes to fundraising, moving things online to your parish WeShare account is a no-brainer.

Easily Set-Up Your Unique Campaign

WeShare is for more than building maintenance and second collections! You can set up fundraisers and link them to unique bank accounts if necessary. A specific school administrator could be granted access to the WeShare page to monitor funds in real time.

For example, if your school typically holds an annual fundraiser for an end-of-school field day, consider making it family-friendly scavenger hunt. Each family purchases a packet that includes a map, a notebook and pen to record clues, and items you’ll need for the day such as hand sanitizer, bottled water, individually wrapped granola bars and a compass. Each clue leads to the next, until you reach your destination! To allow people a truly contactless experience, a WeShare campaign can easily be established.

Digital Promotion

Promoting your fundraiser is likely already happening online, but is your school only one click away from receiving funds? WeShare generates a unique URL for each fundraising opportunity, making it easy to share the school-specific or event-specific page via email and social media platforms.

And don’t forget, a WeCreate account (FREE for all bulletin customers!) includes ready-to-customize templates for nearly every event imaginable! Simply fill in the blanks and print!

Harness the Power of the Form

When you set up a unique collection, you can add additional personalized form items. Add one of these to your fundraiser to further earmark funds. If students are fundraising individually — say for new sports gear or a multi-day field trip — add a text entry box and title it “Student Recipient.”

Or maybe you’re updating your school computer lab, and homerooms are competing for a prize to raise the most money. Title the text box “Designated Homeroom.” These additional categories will show up when you run the report, making it easier to see which funds belong to where.

Ease of Money Management

Raising money online has never been easier. Numerous online crowdfunding platforms make it easy to set up fundraisers and promote them online. However, these platforms come with their own backend management, with no integration with your other parish tools. Keep things simpler for your bookkeeper and track donations all in one place!

This Catholic Schools Week, how do you maximize online giving to raise funds for your parish school? Learn how WeShare can help!

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Increase Your Online Giving

With the WeShare Engagement Campaign, remind the members of your faith community just how much you rely on their generosity. This FREE quarterly campaign uses targeted messages that will easily triple the growth rate of donors and double recurring online donations for your parish!

Prepare for Lent 2021

This Lent, encourage your parishioners to pick up their cross and follow Christ with encouraging reflections and heartfelt prayers. Shop our online store today for the Everyday Stewardship Stations of the Cross reflections and prayer card. Available for bulk orders.

Build Your Vibrant Parish from the Ground Up

From online giving to church websites and apps, we have the solutions you need to engage and grow your church. Register for an upcoming product demo today and see just how easy it can be when you have LPi on your side.