Another crucial aspect is the local
Council of the Knights of Columbus. They
are most important to mobilize their men to attend and to help the Parish
Representatives in mobilizing the men of the local parishes to attend the
Conference.
Then there are the many men who come to Mass
occasionally if at all or are on the verge of falling away. Many others indeed
have fallen away and we may have to take advantage of a casual meeting at a
football game or in a store. All of the above are the men we are trying to
reach.......the indifferent Catholic who's happy where he is in his spiritual
growth and has no desire to get any closer to God. It's in this area where the
Parish Representative can be a true apostle and missionary. It's evangelization
at its best. The Men's Conference could provide that spark to set them on fire
and bring them closer to the Church. This is the New Evangelization that
St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI promulgated and Pope Francis continues
to do, especially in this Year of Mercy.
This is perhaps the first step to renew families and parishes. The men must take spiritual leadership..
Thus I sent out
the following e-mail to the parish representatives with a copy to the pastors
in my Nativity of Mary Deanery. It occupies the southern extreme of the Diocese
of Steubenville which extends over one hundred miles and 13 counties. I also
included prospective representatives throughout the diocese.
 |
| Matthew Leonard |
MARKETING THE 2016 MEN’S CONFERENCE AT THE PARISH LEVEL
The Functions and the Crucial Importance of the Parish
Representative
Dear Parish Reps (copies also sent to others who may be
able to help):
Thank you so much for your past help with our
last six Men’s Conferences. Believe me,
it’s crucial because the key to a great turnout is promotion at the grass
roots: (1) at the parish level and (2) at the level of each Council of the
Knights of Columbus. We must reach the
men, many of whom are laid back and lax about the Church; are drifting, or have
fallen away except perhaps for Mass on Christmas and Easter. Mobilizing the men of your parish to come to the
Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal on February 27 at St. Stephen’s Church in Caldwell
(off of Exit 25 on I-77 near Marietta) from 9 am to 3:30 pm or so is a very
important part of the New Evangelization. The men are invited to bring their teen age
and older sons, grandsons, nephews, godsons, students, friends, etc. An added feature is a Holy Hour with the
Blessed Sacrament at the beginning of the day.
At this year’s Men’s Conference we have a dynamic
speaker and author……nationally known Matthew Leonard. He will talk on “The
Art of Being Catholic” which includes how this
convert with an anti-Catholic background discovered the beauty and the splendor of the Church. His afternoon talk will focus on prayer. “Lord, teach us how to pray”. We really don’t know how to pray. He will give us valuable tips in his talk, “Prayer
Works” and will impress us with the tremendous power of prayer. It will be a great day of enjoyable fellowship
and spiritual invigoration. We’ll go
together in the parish van on Saturday February 27 at 6:30 am. We’d love to have you (and your son) join
us. Can we count on you?
That’s
my sales pitch (8 lines) this year in my encounters with the guys……one on
one or in small groups. You can make it
even shorter and better for your men. Even
if the person doesn’t come, the message will make him think. In parting give him our brochure as a
reminder to decide and register. A
sign-up sheet is attached.
If a guy tells me a definite yes, I try to get
him to register in advance. If the
answer is “maybe”, I'll approach him again in a friendly jovial way, hoping and
praying that I don't make a pest out of myself and come over as a
telemarketer. True, that's a risk, but
it does take some persistence. I try to
avoid phone calls unless one is a good prospect a few days before the
Conference. Of course, phone calling is a good option with men whom you don't
see. At the same time, I'm enlisting the
help of the guys who went last year to help me to talk it up and promote
it. They are a great testimony.
At the
diocesan level we’ll probably have articles in the Steubenville Catholic Register.
On the bottom of the home page of the diocesan website (click on www.diosteub.org) there should be a link to
(1) our
brochure and (2) “Additional Information”. Our
Bishop will give a talk and preside at Mass to open the Diocesan Men’s Day of
Renewal.
At the
parish level, we’re hurting unless we can
confide in your help. With the critical
shortage of priests, we can’t count on the pastors because they are so busy and
overworked. Many of them are responsible
for two or even three parishes. They
don’t have the time to do the grunt work of promotion. Thus we ask you to cover some or all of the points
below to the extent that you are willing and able. If you can cover at least the first three
items well, your campaign will be a success. The rest of the items are bonus if you can. Only item #3 may be difficult and/or time
consuming. Samples of items #2, #5, #6,
and #7 will be e-mailed to you for possible use and adaptation to make it
easier for you. These samples and numerous
resources and helps for you will be posted on the Conference Blog at http://diosteubmen.blogspot.com,
beginning with Blog #93. It’s worth it
all because that makes you a true missionary and apostle. Ask other men to help you recruit.
SUGGESTED TASKS FOR THE PARISH REP FOR THE MEN’S CONFERENCE
1. *Every parish should
have received a poster and a brochure to duplicate as needed. If they are not available in the church,
please ask the secretary to run off more.
They could have been set aside and forgotten about. Please be sure that the posters are posted in
good spots, perhaps one in the church and another in the Parish Hall as well as
a few brochures at each exit of the church. You can duplicate the attached brochure or download
one from the diocesan website and then duplicate them in color or black and
white. The brochure contains a
registration form.
2. *Ask the secretary with the approval of the
pastor to put in a short announcement in the Church Bulletin each Sunday of the new
year until the Conference date as long as there is space available. You can put in a slightly different message
each Sunday. I sent a number of possible
blurbs which you could adapt to your parish.
They are also available as Blog #96 at http://diosteubmen.blogspot.com. Ask the pastor to include in the Offertory Petitions.........that the Conference will set the men on fire; that it inspire the men to become true men of God and the spiritual leaders in their families, to renew their parishes, and to put Christ into their professions.
3.
*****The most
important of all and the key is to mobilize the men one on one, collect
the $25 fee, and register them on the form inside the attached brochure
or on one of the short forms attached (each sheet has a set of three forms). After
talking to each man, give him a brochure as a reminder to decide and then
register. Men may register
individually or the parish representative may collect the registration forms
with payment and send them to Roger Huck; c/o Men’s Day of Renewal, P.O. Box
54; Beverly, OH 45715. This would save
considerable time waiting at the door.
Checks for the Registration cost
of $25.00 per person are to be made payable to the Diocese of Steubenville with “Men's
Day of Renewal” written on the memo line of the check. Early registration helps with planning as number
of lunches, etc.
Enlisting the help of a couple of other
men would enable us to reach almost every man in the parish. That could be the start of an evangelization
team for Non-Catholics, lapsed Catholics, and fallen away
Catholics, which every parish very much needs.
Ask the men who have attended a previous conference to talk it up. Word of mouth is the best form of
advertising. You can see the men before
and after Mass or Stations of the Cross or meetings, at family, community, or parish functions as the Fish Fry, by
phone, perhaps at work, and anywhere else you may run into somebody you
know. Non Catholics are welcome, but of course, can’t receive
Holy Communion. If there is any unemployed man who
would like to go, but cannot afford it, ask the pastor or a parish organization
for help. I myself would be willing to
pay for a few registrations if no other help is available. Money should not be an obstacle for any man
to go.
4. Organize the men if
possible to travel together as part of a car or van pool. A larger parish or
group of parishes might be able to fill a bus if the Conference is well
promoted. That will make for enjoyable
fellowship and foment a more cohesive parish community as the men get to know
each other better and become better friends.
It would be ideal if the pastor (free of charge) could accompany the men,
thus giving him an opportunity to know his men better. We need confessors. If the distance is great, that will give it a
pilgrimage flavor, especially if the Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy are
said and the men discuss the conference on the way back.
5. Put a sign-up
sheet (see Blog #99 at diosteubmen.blogspot.com) on a clipboard on a table in the back of the church. Ask the pastor to
include the sign-up sheet in his announcements at the end of Mass as a reminder
each Sunday. The sign-up sheet should
include the name, phone number, and e-mail address to contact for registration
and confirm the time and place of departure in the car pool van or bus.
6. Obtain permission to
put a one sheet (front and back) insert
into the Church Bulletin. This would
include selling points, benefits for the men, details about the speaker, and a
registration form. There will be an
example on the Conference Blog at http://diosteubment.blogspot.com,
which you could use as is or as a model for adapting it to the culture of your
parish.
7. Ask the pastor to
say a few words to support the
Conference with a few words in the announcements after Mass. His enthusiastic support and help would be
huge.
8.
Perhaps a
leader among the men could say a few words after Mass with the pastor’s
approval. One who has been to a previous
Conference could give great testimony.
9. Enlist the help of
parish organizations and the local council of the Knights of Columbus and its grand knight to mobilize and organize the men.
Even members of the Catholic Women’s Club and other women could encourage their
men to attend……husbands, boyfriends, fathers, sons, godsons, nephews, friends
of the family, etc.
10.
To obtain the best
speakers in the country (they are expensive), the Steering Committee asks for donations
and/or ads for the program booklet from local businesses or council of
the Knights of Columbus. The form is Blog #94 on diosteubmen.blogspot.com or click
on http://diosteubmen.blogspot.com/2016/02/94.html. If the proprietor or key person in the business is Catholic, it should
be a much easier sell and his business would have exposure throughout our far
flung diocese……13 counties in all.
If we can get the men in good
spiritual shape, we renew the family.
If we renew the family, we renew the parish, soon the diocese and
ultimately the Country. We let the women
be the pillars of the parish when the men should be the spiritual leaders, especially in the home. If
the mother takes the spiritual lead in the family, there’s only a 40% chance
that the children will remain faithful to the church as adults. If the father takes the spiritual lead, that
probability doubles to 80%! It's our job
to put Christ into the market place......in our professions, on the job, and in
the community. That's why this
Conference is so very important and you have a crucial role. That’s why it’s so important that
every pastor asks a leader in the parish to be a parish representative for the
Conference.
To
get a good turnout (each soul has immeasurable value), we need a solid program
plus MARKETING, MARKETING, MARKETING.......PROMOTION AND PERSONAL
SELLING. This is 21st Century evangelization at its
best. Certainly, St. Paul and the original apostles after Pentecost would
have used every marketing tool if they would have them. I think that they were marketers of the
Gospel. May we follow in their footsteps in promoting this Men's
Conference. If we could draw an
average of ten men from every parish in the diocese, this would be a big
success.
The Conference Blog at http://diosteubment.blogspot.com is
designed to help you promote the Conference and when it is over, to improve and
maintain men’s spirituality with excellent articles. My personal blog at http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com
has many more articles of a spiritual nature.
If I can be of any help, please call me at 740-245-9404 or e-mail me at
paulrsebastian@yahoo.com . Thank you so much for
your help and God bless.
*****************************************************************************************************************
St.
Joseph, model of a true man of God, pray for us & the success of the Men's
Conference.
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