click pictures to expand
Lawn Signs
Resources
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vistaprint.com (about $13.00 ea)
Surprisingly economical, lawn signs are great ways to highlight the mission and remind people of the event. And because it's a bit different, people take notice. The best designs (like most things graphic in nature) are those without a lot of text and simply calls attention to a singular event, highlighted with color and image. Parishes will put them on the campus and ask parishioners to place in their yards as well!
Mission Prayer
I bring these and give out at mission
During the actual mission, everyone recites a common prayer to close out each evening presentation. We call this the mission prayer.
A nice way to anticipate, raise awareness of and, most of all, ensure a successful mission, is to invoke God's blessing in prayer leading up to it. So a short prayer is printed and placed in the pews (or missalette). It becomes the closing prayer at the Sunday liturgies 3 weeks prior to mission.
Social Network Platforms
Postcards
Resources
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psprint.com
(about $500 for 1000 full color)
Postcards are easy way to personally invite every (registered) parishioner to the mission. The fact that it is not bundled with other material or included amongst additional information makes it stand out and suggests a degree of importance. Could it be a letter saying the same? Yes, but again, the more creative and imaginative the material, the more it will succeed in its purpose.
Large Format Posters
Resources
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uprinting.com (about $8.00 each if ordering 10 or more)
There's no better way to catch the eye and attention of someone walking into church than a colorful, oversized poster placed against the doors leading them in. Or you can secure it to a styrophoam board and place it on an easel in the vestibule. One at each doorway.
And don't forget the meeting spaces, school, offices and bathrooms (really).
T-Shirts
Some parishes have a social network of connecting parishioners with one another and diseminating information about what's going on in the parish. There's facebook and twitter, of course, but more universal is what you already have: the church website. Like the bulletin, instead of a text inclusion or line item about mission, make the mission announcement a big color graphic: bold and in their face; something that is impossible to avoid.
I've seen where parishes printed up t-shirts and asked members of the youth/young adult group/s to wear them the weeks before mission. Many of the active adults and staff would also want to participate! The week before mission the t-shirt brigade would be the special greeters and ushers at all the masses: welcome people, take up the collection, bring up the gifts, etc. In essence, they become walking billborads-- and have a fun time doing it. Again- it's different, creative, fun and suggests the mission will be the same.
Resources
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vistaprint.com ($7.00 ea, white shirt with your logo and words)
Poster Contest
For parishes with schools, an opportunity to get the kids involved in mission is to hold a poster contest, with the prize being a day without homework for the winning class (or the like. Each student in their respective grades creates a poster that reflects the theme of the mission. Say, "Friendship in Jesus". Each class then votes on one poster to present for their grade. The posters are displayed at the mission and on the last night the assembly votes on their choice by a round of applause (and in the end they all come up winners since the applause rises for each!).
Parish Groups
We strongly encourage that ALL normally scheduled activities and meetings be cancelled during the evenings of mission. It sends the message of importance and expectation of attendance. At one mission the weekly bingo game was going on in the basement of church during the mission: "B-36...N-41...BINGO!!" You could hear it all.
Ask that group membership instead meet in church for their regularly scheduled meetings- and mission becomes truly a church event.
Dinner Beforehand
Here's a great one for parishes that have a large kitchen/dining area close to the church: each night of mission a simple dinner is prepared and served an hour before the mission. Sometimes its complimentary, others will have a basket for a nominal fee: $5 for one night or $8-10 for all three nights. It's a great service for families but also creates a wonderful sense of community and fellowship going into mission (there is no social after the mission in this case).
No Homework!
Parishes that have schools will oftentimes offer a deal to the kids: come to them mission and you have no homework for those nights! When they come they have to sign in so there is accountability. It makes it fun for the kids and offers a great incentive.
Babysitting
A nice service to afford parishioners who might not otherwise come to mission because of children- is to offer babysitting. Parents drop their little ones off at the designated room near the church and pick them up after mission (less than an hour).
Music & Expression
Each evening of mission opens and closes with a verse to a popular hymn. But many parishes will expand this to include a 15 minute prelude of assorted musicians and/or choirs. One or two or all three evenings, a different group (or individual). It is not only a great way for the assembly to spiritually center themselves, but it also showcases the talent of parishioners. Ask the youth group to present something one evening (let them decide whether music or dance or dramatic reading, etc). Ask the school. In every case, though, 10-15 minutes is the maximum.
Social after each evening
Usually there is a social after each evening's presentation. It's a great way to continue being church and affords an opportunity for people to interact who oftentimes go to different masses and therefore hardly see each other. Invite a different group of the parish to take charge of these evening socials: prayer group, rcia team, youth group, leadership staff, Knights of columbus, etc. The more creative and fun, the better. Some ideas from other parishes:
Italian Night (pizza)
Ice Cream Social
Wine and Cheese
All Things Chocolate
Taco Tuesday
Desert Smorgasbord
Greeters
Each evening there will be a small something to hand out to the people who attend. Inviting different groups to take on an evening of mission as greeters is a great way to help with the material distribution but, more than that, incorporates a lot of people into the mission itself. Again, like everything else, ask different people/groups to assume ONLY ONE EVENING. That way the burden is distributed and more people are brought into the mission dynamic.
St. Patricks Church/School, Oklahoma
8th grade choir singing b4 mission,
Marietta, GA
Pre-mission poster, Birmingham, AL
