Presence Becomes Ministry

My previous blog ended with the question “When does presence become ministry?”  The answer can be summed up in two words. 

Presence says “we’re here;” ministry says “we’re here for you” meaning for all of you. Our presence, whether it is in person or online becomes ministry when we recognize and respond to the other person.

In response to the question “When does presence become ministry?” one of our blog readers answered this way:

I’ve been in ministry for over 20 years… I’ve tried many program models, all of which offered a moment of encounter. However, my experience of presence is being in the moment. Each person and each moment is a unique encounter, which translates to the presence of God, and in those opportunities ministry is birthed.

Christella Alvarez

Websites Are a Unique Kind of Presence

When we create a website and post content to it, we do not know, see, or hear the person who is checking it out. That means that we must engage the visitor with the best content and presentation that we can offer.  We use “best practices” for website design and content delivery.  We consider not only what we want to deliver, but what the visitor wants and needs.  A few years ago, a pastor told me: “No one is going to come to a parish because of its website.” My response: “That may be true, but I know people who did not go to a parish because of its website.” The website made a bad impression or failed to answer their needs. They either went someplace else or what is sad, didn’t bother to look further believing that all parishes are the same and don’t care about them.

Anticipation vs Assumptions

Let’s go back to the idea that when we post a website that is both presence and ministry, we are saying “We are here for you.”  How do we do that?  Who exactly is the “you” we are serving? An online ministry presence serves the widest possible audience which includes members and non-members.

Members who are very involved and those not involved at all are usually looking for the bulletin, a calendar of events, the online donation portal, information about an upcoming event, the Mass/confession schedule during specific seasons of the year or for Holydays and holidays etc.

We can incorrectly assume that what members want and need is all that non-members want and need.  Or we could be very insular in our approach to the parish website and say (as I have heard Catholics say), “Why should we be concerned about THEM? This website is for US.”

Invitation and Welcome

The website could be just for members, but it could also be a public witness of God’s love and care for everyone by anticipating and including what non-members might want and need. It could be a public sign that “All are welcome.” or “We’re here for you.”

Remember the parable of the banquet in Luke 14: 15-23? The master throws a large banquet, sends the servants to gather people to come, but several offer excuses and the hall is not full, So the master says to the servants: “go out into the highways and byways and bring them in so that my house may be full.”

Non-members include newcomers to the area, visitors, people interested in becoming Catholic, people considering returning to the practice of the faith or have questions for staff. Can we anticipate what they might want and need and make it available on our website? We can if we put some thought into the content and design of our website.

There is one caveat: a welcoming website cannot be effective by itself.  It needs to reflect a welcoming community. If that doesn’t exist, it will be impossible to create and sustain a welcoming website.  On the other hand, many parishioners boast how welcoming and friendly their parish is, but you would never know that from their website.  The ideal: a welcoming community with a welcoming website!

Your comments are welcome.

Note: Image on this page is from Pixabay.com and was AI Generated. Text was added by me.