Parishes find community events open the door, plant seeds for people to come to church
Christmas cheer is a great unifier.
And throughout December, parishes around St. Louis are finding ways to welcome the wider community, then invite them back for more.
An ornament of Jesus, Mary and Joseph was displayed on a “Holy Family” themed tree at the Holy Family Parish Festival of Trees on Dec. 6 at the parish in Arnold. Families and ministries decorated dozens of themed trees for the event, which welcomed more than 1,200 people from around the community this year.
On Dec. 6, the Holy Family Parish Center in Arnold was aglow with the light of dozens of Christmas trees. Families gathered at tables to eat a hot breakfast, waited their turn to visit Santa, made crafts, shopped for small gifts and walked the path of themed Christmas trees, voting for their favorites.
As a steady stream of people walked through the doors, Angie Scher, Sue Ream and Kathy Cook cheerfully welcomed each one. The women, all parishioners at Holy Family, explained the various stations and activities, handed out scavenger hunt sheets, took door-prize raffle tickets and — most importantly — let everyone know they were invited to the parish for Christmas and Sunday Masses, pointing to magnets and flyers in the welcome bags.
“The focus of this event is evangelization in the greater Arnold community,” event organizer Amanda Macke said.
In its first year in 2024, the Festival of Trees brought in about 1,000 people; this year drew more than 1,200, Macke said. With the goal of reaching more people who were not already connected to the parish, the planning team bought ads, including a billboard on Interstate 55, inviting people to the event.
The parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Society invited neighbors in need to the event, including at the conference’s food pantry distributions. The event is free; while there are opportunities to bid on trees or purchase small items to raise money for the parish, the planning team didn’t want cost to be a barrier to anyone coming.
Inviting someone to an event like the Festival of Trees can be an easy first step to inviting them to Mass or more faith-related activities, Macke said. Last year, a parishioner invited a neighbor who she noticed had always put up lots of holiday decorations. The neighbor got to know more women in the parish, who invited her to events like Advent by Candlelight; she recently registered as a parishioner and is now regularly involved in the Church life.
“Whatever we do to bring people back to Jesus — that’s something to celebrate,” she said.
Christmas evangelization
At St. Joseph in Cottleville, the school cafeteria was packed with visitors hunting for Christmas decor and treasures at the parish’s annual Old Time Christmas Bazaar on Dec. 6. Families shopped for gently used Christmas decorations, dishes and artificial trees, all donated by parishioners. Instead of paying for the items, shoppers were encouraged to make a donation to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference at St. Joseph. Last year’s event brought in more than $16,500.
The parish’s annual nativity display the same day showcased more than 200 nativities from all over the world, using materials ranging from Legos and recycled household items to vintage displays made of wood and ceramic. There was a children’s craft corner, an area where families could dress up as the Holy Family and pose for photos and live music throughout the day.
At each event, St. Joseph parishioners cheerfully welcomed visitors at the door. Volunteers handed out cards with Mass times for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and invited visitors to come back.
Parishioners “understand it’s an opportunity to engage people,” said Hector Molina, director of evangelization at St. Joseph. “That’s the genius behind it: Families are looking for opportunities to engage with kids in fun activities during the season. We get a lot of people who come through the doors, and there are a lot of spontaneous conversations that arise about Christmas. We look at these activities as golden opportunities to be able to engage those who are not practicing (the faith) and to put our best foot forward, showcasing the warmth of our community and beckoning for them to come back or come for the first time.”
Shannon Roddy was among those who visited the Christmas Bazaar looking for holiday decorations. The Roddy family suffered a house fire in early November and lost nearly everything. A friend invited her to the event to pick out some Christmas items to decorate their temporary housing. Volunteers also shared information about Christmas Mass times and invited her to return.
“There are a lot of nice people who have been working here, helping me out,” she said. “One day, when we’re back up on our feet, then we’ll give back to something, too.”
A welcoming presence
St. Anthony of Padua Parish in St. Louis and nearby businesses along Meramec Street have been transformed into a festive holiday corridor as part of Dutchtown Bells, a holiday light show projected onto the facade of the 164-year-old church. This is the first year for the event, which is sponsored by the Dutchtown Community Improvement District.
The music and light show takes place every night at the top of the hour from 5-8 p.m. through Jan. 3, with a pop-up sugar and spice station featuring hot cocoa, cider and Dad’s Cookies. On Saturday nights, it’s accompanied by a Dutchtown Bells Holiday Night Market.
St. Anthony pastor Father Jim Lause, OFM, said the display is a tool to bring people into the neighborhood and give the church more exposure.
“People are writing on Facebook how they haven’t been here in a long time, or church in a long time, and they remember St. Anthony and want to come back,” he said. “The people in the neighborhood are working very hard, and it’s all helping build the community.”
Being a welcoming presence is key to inviting people back well after the Christmas season, Father Jim said. “The word ‘welcome’ is the key,” he said. “We’re a very friendly and welcoming parish and are told that again and again. We have people who say they come there because of that welcome.”
Father Jim often jokes with visitors that they’ll always find a seat at St. Anthony because it’s such a big church. But with that, he reminds visitors that “we’re open every Sunday. Some have been here at Christmas and say they want to come back. Sometimes they want to talk about the sacraments — maybe baptism for one of their family members. We encourage them and follow through with that. You plant that seed at first and hopefully it grows.”
Molina, the evangelization director from St. Joseph, echoed that a welcoming first impression is crucial to planting a seed with visitors and opens the door to develop a relationship that invites them to go deeper in the faith.
“We cannot just hope that Father, through his homily or greeting people after Mass, will make a good impression on our behalf,” he said. “Making a point to turn around in our pews and welcome people … it goes a long way in helping those who are maybe showing up for the first time. Moments like the sign of peace or approaching someone after Mass — those little gestures that go a long way. It goes a long way to plant those seeds.”
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