Is your parish ready for Mother’s Day? I don’t mean do you have flowers ordered or songs prepared or intercessions and blessings written. I mean do you have evangelizers ready to greet all the strangers who will be worshiping in your parish this Sunday?

What does a parish evangelizer look like? He or she looks something like a greeter, but with a stronger presence. Here are a few characteristics I’d hope for in an effective evangelizer.

• Doesn’t wait for strangers to appear at the door; seeks out visitors in the parking lot, entryway and pews

• Doesn’t stop at “good morning”; asks inviting questions such as name? first time here? how are you celebrating Mother’s day?
• Doesn’t leave visitors stranded after Mass; greets guests again (using their name), and introduces them to other parishioners
• Doesn’t chat too long with her friends; today is a day to chat with visitors
• Doesn’t let guests sit in the back of church (unless they are more comfortable); has reserved seats closer to the front for visitors
• Doesn’t keep coffee and doughnuts a secret; even if you know the visitor is going out from brunch, it’s still nice to be invited to the parish hall for coffee
• Doesn’t hide his own excitement about being a parishioner; invites the guest to come back again next week

Because I travel a lot, I visit a lot of different parishes. Honestly, I’ve never seen a parish that had a team of evangelizers that would do these things. In fact, I very often don’t even get a “hello” from the official greeters at the door because they are talking with their friends. But I never give up hoping. I think if we all keep focused on reaching out to others, we can all grow into a more “evangelizing” mode on Sundays.

What do you think? Does your parish have folks who do these kinds of things? Could it have? What characteristics would you add?