New Ministry Ensures Our Parishioners Stay Connected During Pandemic

This past spring the global pandemic that began changing the way Americans live — and worship — was an entirely unprecedented event. While our parishes, like all Catholic churches across the world, had to adapt to new ways of serving God’s people, one thing remained the same — the strong faith and close connection of our parish families.

Early on in the COVID-19 crisis, when churches were required to close to the public due to health safety concerns, one new ministry popped up very quickly as Fr. Ben and Deacon Jeff recruited a few members of our parishes to make phone calls to each and every registered parishioner. St. Mary’s parishioner Michele Rosha was one of the callers, covering the first five pages of the alphabet for her parish — for a total of 168 calls!

“We wanted to support the people who had been instantly isolated,” says Michele of the calling ministry. “Many were feeling isolated, especially the elderly and so many for whom daily Mass was just their thing. Everybody who answered really appreciated the call. I believe it meant a lot to people to hear from their parish, to just have someone checking in and seeing how they were doing, and just to hear a voice at that time.”

St. Mary’s parishioner Michele Rosha was one volunteer who called over 100 fellow parishioners in the spring, keeping them connected to our faith community during the COVID-19 crisis.

After checking in on the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of our parishioners, the callers also made sure that our offices had the correct contact information for everyone. Those who were willing to share their email address or cell phone number with the parish were then included in the Flocknote email and texting service, which allows for an even greater connection to parish life.

The outreach phone calls were a great success throughout our tri-parish community. At St. Mary’s, 883 households were reached; at Holy Family, 390 were contacted; and at Our Lady of Lourdes, all 938 registered households were reached by telephone!

For the 31 callers who participated in this ministry, the rewards of the outreach were many.

“I really enjoyed it,” Michele says. “It was encouraging for me. It was at a time where a lot of my work was sitting at home, so it was nice to talk to people from the church.”

In addition to the phone calls and the Flocknote messages, Fr. Ben also made sure that parishioners still felt connected to the liturgy — even while the churches had to remain closed — by livestreaming the Sunday and daily Masses over social media.

Michele points out the significance of watching a Mass livestream from one’s own home parish.

“The Masses on TV are beautiful, but I think it was just a beautiful thing for churches to do to make themselves available for [livestreaming],” she says. “Even if it’s just the priest present in the church, it is your priest and pastor, and there is a relationship there that makes you feel more connected and more involved.”

Michele returned to church the very first Sunday that Masses were open to the public. Even with the many new regulations involving social distancing and mask wearing, the experience of being physically present for the Mass was incomparable.

“When I walked up to Communion, I was in tears,” Michele says. “It was absolutely beautiful to be back in church. And it just proved that we need each other. It was just good to see people again.”

Understanding how difficult this time of pandemic has been for our Catholic faithful, we are greatly heartened to see the continued discipleship of our parishioners and thankful for the blessings that are to be found even in the midst of crisis. As we continue to slowly open things back up and adapt to a “new” normal, our parishes will remain dedicated to serving the people of Little Falls in every way possible.

“We’re still looking at how we can be church when we can’t be in church,” Michele says. “That’s a big part of all this, looking at what we are missing and how we can do a better job in these areas — and just staying connected, because people love hearing from their parish.”