4 Tips For Plugging Into Your Parish

Hi. I’m Anthony Muhs. I play Church music, homeschool my kids, and drink a lot of Peach Snapple. About 10 years ago, I made a commitment to give my life in service to the Church. Since then, I have managed to start a family with a wonderful wife, buy a house and settle down on Long Island in New York — all while “working” for the Church. Classic life.

Over the years, I have come across many people in my travels who are struggling with finding their place in the Church and figuring out how to get involved with their parish. I will assume, based on the fact that you are reading this, that you are already connected with your home parish in one way or another. Perhaps it was through a summer camp, parish youth group, retreat or mission trip, the Catholic school or faith formation that you have already experienced God and feel a desire stirring within you to serve.

Okay. So now what?

To start, you need to fix your prayer life. I find that 10/10 people that I speak with are not satisfied with their prayer life. Start by scheduling daily time for prayer to specifically talk to God about how you can best serve Him and the Church. Use that time to thank Him for everything you have in life. Pray for people in need by name and learn Scripture.

No, seriously. Take out your smart phone right now, decide the best time of day that you can find silence and create a daily reminder alarm to pray at that time. You must condition yourself to have regular prayer time built into your daily routine.

Did you do it? If not, #weaksauce.

So, I want to offer 4 suggestions for beginning the process of getting involved with your parish. These tips should create momentum in your mind and practical ways to help launch you into ministry that matters.

1. Make a list of your gifts and talents. If you don’t know what they are, call or text 5 people who know you best and ask them to tell you what your greatest gifts/talents/qualities are. You may be surprised to see what people think of you. Write down those strengths and, based on your list, decide what you would be most excited about sharing with others.
2. Meet one-on-one with your pastor. Call first to set up an appointment (don’t just knock on the rectory door — bad, bad, bad!) Tell him who you are and that you want to get involved. Tell him what your gifts and talents are — after you’ve completed your list from point 1 — and ask him where you would best fit in the parish. Give yourself a 3–6 month window of time to try out one of his suggestions. If it’s terrible, at least you tried. But, if it’s a good fit, it will change your life.
3. Sign up for at least one liturgical ministry. Are you a musician? Sing in the choir. Terrified of singing publicly? Lector. Anti-public speaking? Usher. Don’t like people? Become an EM. Germ-a-phobe? Go around and put all the kneelers up in each pew after Mass. Whatever it is, find a way to help out at Mass. It’s YOUR parish. Get involved.
4. Donate money for outreach. There is a good chance that your parish has an outreach Coordinator and will serve a large number of needy people in various life circumstances — unwed pregnant mothers, the unemployed, the homeless, the hungry, the dying, the imprisoned, etc. All money that we have belongs to God and has been entrusted to us to do good with. If you’re short on cash, find a way to give anyway — even a small amount. You will never regret it. If you’re absolutely broke, find a way to make a few extra bucks to give to that cause. (If you babysat for 10 extra hours in a month at a rate of $10/hr, that is $100/mo and could total $1,200 by the end of the year! Just saying.)

This is just the beginning though.

“…lay people as well are personally called by the Lord, from whom they receive a mission on behalf of the Church and the world.” — Saint Pope John Paul II, Christifideles Laici

What legacy do you want to leave in your parish? What will you do to get more involved today? Let me know!

Cue a song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FKO3ZXIHNI