{"id":2129,"date":"2007-12-03T22:44:00","date_gmt":"2007-12-03T22:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2007\/12\/ill-be-home-for-christmas-you-can-plan-on-me.html"},"modified":"2007-12-03T22:44:00","modified_gmt":"2007-12-03T22:44:00","slug":"ill-be-home-for-christmas-you-can-plan-on-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/12\/ill-be-home-for-christmas-you-can-plan-on-me.html","title":{"rendered":"“I’ll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me…”"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Great Britain, they’ve found a novel way<\/a> to use 21st century technology in the service of a 1st century message: <\/p>\n

\u2018O Come All Ye Faithful\u2019 is likely to become the most favoured carol in Catholic parishes up and down the country this Christmas. For the first time in England and Wales, hundreds of thousands of lapsed Catholics are to be the focus of a national \u2018welcome back\u2019 campaign.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The initiative, resourced by the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation (CASE), is called \u2018Come Home For Christmas\u2019 and aims to offer a seasonal welcome to Catholics who for different reasons no longer or rarely attend Mass.<\/p>\n

The campaign began on the first Sunday of Advent which fell on 2 December this year – the first day in the Church\u2019s new liturgical year.<\/p>\n

Its central message is \u2018Whatever your story or journey, the door is always open to you\u2019.<\/p>\n

The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O\u2019Connor, has sent his own message of warm welcome to the non Church-going Catholic population.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dear friends, a warm welcome awaits you,” he writes. “At your own pace and in your own time, we’d be interested to hear your story and learn from your experiences. You are an important and much-loved member of the Body of Christ. Come.”<\/p>\n

Enquirers can also receive a welcome message to their mobile phone from the Cardinal by texting \u2018REACTIV8\u2019 to 81025.<\/p>\n

Pre-launch materials were sent to thousands of Catholic parishes, groups and individuals in September in a bid to get people mobilised early.<\/p>\n

Such has been the reception of these initial materials that members of the CASE staff are struggling to keep up with the ever increasing demand.<\/p>\n

Nearly 100,000 posters, leaflets and cards have been requested and distributed and the calls keep on coming in, the ministry says. The CASE office has been posting out the equivalent of a thousand materials a day.<\/p>\n

Director of CASE, Mgr Keith Barltrop, said: \u201cWe\u2019ve been absolutely inundated with enquiries and requests for more information and resources. It\u2019s been a privilege to witness the generosity of response from individuals, Catholic groups and communities.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a clear confirmation that the Holy Spirit is at work. This Advent and Christmas the Catholic community looks set to be busy inviting non Church-going Catholics back.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cPeople lapse for all kinds of reasons and we want to communicate that we\u2019re not here to judge. We want to welcome you and listen to your story, however much time has passed since you last went to Church.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The story<\/a> goes on to give examples of those who have found their way back, thanks to this unique form of re-evangelization. <\/p>\n

Image: “Christmas Homecoming,” by Norman Rockwell<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Great Britain, they’ve found a novel way to use 21st century technology in the service of a 1st century message: \u2018O Come All Ye Faithful\u2019 is likely to become the most favoured carol in Catholic parishes up and down the country this Christmas. For the first time in England and Wales, hundreds of thousands…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ripped-from-the-headlines","category-this-and-that"],"yoast_head":"\n"I'll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me..." - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/12\/ill-be-home-for-christmas-you-can-plan-on-me.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""I'll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me..." - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Great Britain, they’ve found a novel way to use 21st century technology in the service of a 1st century message: \u2018O Come All Ye Faithful\u2019 is likely to become the most favoured carol in Catholic parishes up and down the country this Christmas. 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