3 minute read
The Greeter Ministry: Welcoming Others with the Love of Christ
As St. Pope John Paul II once said, our calling is to “open wide the doors for Christ.” And while all of us can strive to welcome everyone to the Lord’s house, these words hold a special meaning for one new ministry in our parish. As the first people to greet parishioners and visitors to Mass at Our Lady of the Assumption with a smiling face and warm welcome, greeters provide an invaluable service to our parish community.
For several years, an informal group of parishioners has been greeting people as they arrive at some of our weekend Masses. Hoping to expand upon this group to cover greeting at all of our Masses, the Pastoral Council came up with the framework for this new ministry. In addition to welcoming parishioners and visitors to our parish, greeters may also share information on hearing aid services, provide an umbrella service, or walk people back to their cars after evening Mass.
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These days, as Masses are outside due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the greeters’ tasks look a little different. Now, greeters are needed to assist people at the Mass check-in tables and explain the current health-related restrictions. Our parish is grateful for the dedication of our Knights of Columbus. Members of the Knights are tirelessly setting up for outdoor Masses each Sunday and checking people in as they arrive. An established greeter ministry lending them a hand will prove to be a blessing.
Of course, no matter where or how a Mass is being held, the true mission of a greeter always remains the same — to “open wide the doors for Christ” by providing a warm welcome to the faithful who gather on our parish campus.
“We are not just a place of worship, we are a home,” says Deacon Michael Tateishi. “We don’t put ‘go away’ mats on our door — they usually say ‘welcome.’ Hospitality is a very ancient practice. We want to welcome people to our home, which means our family, which means our community. It’s that simple.”
When all of our parishioners feel safe returning to in-person Mass, hospitality will become even more essential than ever.
“One of our worries is whether everyone is going to come back,” Deacon Michael says. “And when they come back, they shouldn’t come back to a place that is cold or where they don’t know anybody. We want them to come back to a place that says, ‘Hi, welcome back, we’ve missed you.’”
Whether serving at an outdoor Mass or a future Mass in the sanctuary, the vision of our parish’s new Greeter Ministry is to make all parishioners and visitors to our church feel like a treasured part of our faith community.
“My personal point of view is that, outside of our domestic church, we want OLA to feel like family,” says Jenny Teeters, Communications Committee Chair. “And it doesn’t feel that way if you don’t know who you are sitting around. It’s a large church with majestic beauty, and we need to balance that to make it feel homey. The Greeter Ministry is like a bridge between that big majesty and that feeling of home.”
The new Greeter Ministry at Our Lady of the Assumption seeks to provide a truly irreplaceable service to our parish by welcoming parishioners and visitors alike into our faith family. We encourage anyone who may be interested in joining our Greeter Ministry to come experience the joy of opening doors — and hearts — to Christ!
With the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines that are in place, the friendly services provided by our parish’s new Greeter Ministry are more important than ever.
