A couple of months back, I made my first visit to what most Catholics would call a “happy-clappy” church. In fact, it was the most famous church of its type in Australia. One of the things that struck me — and I still plan to write a more in-depth post on the appeal of Hillsong and similar congregations — was how well they did what would probably be described as fellowship. They were very good at welcoming people and even had a cafe in the foyer of their church. They don’t have the one-hour fast requirement because they don’t have communion, so it’s easier to sell coffee to people.
It got me thinking about how little many Catholic parishes do to welcome new people. I’m quite enjoying being fairly anonymous in Canberra after being known in Auckland because of my role with NZ Catholic, so this isn’t a major complaint, but no one has gone out of their way to welcome me in the three or four parishes I’ve attended Mass at since I arrived here five-and-a-half months ago.
Are we failing to establish parish and community relationships because of our reluctance to reach out to new parishioners? Should more parishes have the old school cuppa tea in the parish hall?
One priest in Australia is trying to do just that, but with a twist. He reckons if you want to attract people to such catch-ups, you need to have something worthwhile to stick around for.
This from the Inner West Courier:
IF you brew it, they will come.
That’s the philosophy of Summer Hill parish priest Father Gerald Gleeson who was quick to enforce an edict when he arrived in the small community – only quality coffee would be served at parish functions.
Father Gleeson knew the crowd would not linger after mass if the parishioners could not get a decent cup of coffee.
“Around here, the lifestyle is such that if you offer someone a lukewarm cup of instant coffee, they are not going to hang around.”
St Patrick’s has been pulling in the punters with more than 400 worshippers attending the small parish each week, reversing a trend in some areas which have seen dwindling congregations.
What’s encouraging to read is the couple of comments at the bottom of the story, along the lines of “Don’t know about the coffee, but we like the priest”. A double whammy 
