The disciples were brought together by the power of the Holy Spirit. As they waited for the Holy Spirit, they would occasionally gather to pray, worship and engage in charitable missions. They were united by the Holy Spirit to receive God’s gifts.
During certain seasons of the church’s liturgical life, we as a family of parishes need to come together and support each other. If we remain isolated within our own parishes, we miss opportunities to connect and witness each other’s unique gifts.
This year, all four parishes in our family came together to celebrate the Holy Thursday and the Easter Vigil. This was a challenge as we needed a venue that could accommodate us all.
We had 75 responses to the survey and of those responses, 64% of the feedback was favorable, 15% was neutral and 15% was unfavorable. The favorable feedback was:
- “We love the combined choir! Beautiful Music!”
- “It was great to be in a FULL church! The power and energy of the full family in the church was so beautiful!”
- “This is the most important season to be together.”
- “Great to see all priests and servers together.”
- “While we did not attend, I do think it is a lovely idea to have ONE Vigil Mass. It is easier on the priests, and truly welcomes the OCIA candidates into the 4 Parish community.”
- “The Triduum liturgies are so beautiful. Being part of a big group for that is exciting.”
The less favorable feedback included:
- “It was a beautiful service, but having Masses at different parishes wouldn’t have taken anything away from it for me.”
- “I would have loved to go, but because of work I wasn’t able to attend.”
- “It’s so late in the day that this extra-long service is really hard with kids. A beautifully done service — we always just struggle with the time and wish there was an earlier alternative.”
- “No one welcomed us, or helped us find a seat. Lots of distractions. Great music!! ‘Renee’ and bells!! Hard to hear the priest at times. Communion was confusing, especially with the precious blood for the first time in 4 years. An explanation would be helpful, especially for those visitors attending.”
- “Very crowded. I also enjoy church at our own home church.”
We appreciate all the feedback that was shared with us and we will be using this feedback to make adjustments in future Mass schedules.
Bringing the church together for the Easter Vigil and other feast days shows a healthy cross-section of all the practicing Catholics in our area. It indicates that our parishes and members have vibrancy and life. Gathering together on rare occasions allows us to see ourselves as part of a larger body. The disciples’ unity was a sign to the outside world that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, they were an image of Christ’s unity.
~Fr. Adam Laski