Sample Announcements - Long Version for Dir. of Rel. Education or Lector
One of the greatest concerns of parents and grandparents is whether today's children will grow up with a vibrant and living faith. And so we spend a lot of time and effort providing good religious education opportunities for the young people in our parish. And that is good. Yet we're missing out on a major opportunity, and that is deepening our own faith so that we might share the benefits of what we know and believe with the young people in our midst.
Today I want to call your attention to a new resource your parish is offering that can benefit all of us. TAKE FIVE FOR FAITH: Daily Renewal for Busy Catholics will appear weekly in our parish bulletin. It offers a daily reflection that will inform, inspire, and motivate you to live out your faith.
Here's what I'm inviting you to do: after you've read the bulletin this week and every week, remove the section that contains TAKE FIVE FOR FAITH: Daily Renewal for Busy Catholics. Find a handy spot in your home to keep that page all week (maybe the kitchen table, tacked to the refrigerator door, or on your nightstand), and give yourself the gift of five uncluttered minutes a day to read the day's passage and then reflect and pray about what you have just read.
We all know that "What we feed will grow." I' inviting you to feed your faith. The whole parish staff has committed to make this a habit and we hope you will, too. If we do this together as a parish, a year from now we will not only know more about our faith, I believe we will also do a better job of living out our faith--which will be a valuable example to the young people in our midst. And I am convinced we will all love God more. It seems to me, THAT is worth five minutes a day.
Pick up your bulletin today. Take an extra copy for a homebound neighbor or friend. They'll be glad you did.
Short Version
Long Version - For Pastors