Angela Howard-McParland on the Culture of Hospitality in Our Parishes

"For those of us working in ministry, it can be tempting to let the metric of success become a numbers game. We might create an imaginary equation about how much time we spent preparing a particular program, any costs of marketing and promotion, and then decide just how many people showing up determines whether our efforts were fruitful or not.

"I spent 12 years working in university chaplaincy and another six in various parishes. In both cases, worries about numbers were as ever present as the coffee and doughnuts after Mass. Even as we got better over the years about paying attention to welcoming new folks coming through the doors, we still worried about how to attract more of them: to attend Mass and evening programs and to sign up for the email list. The focus was too often on the quantitative measurement instead of on the qualitative. We were preoccupied with how many were present instead of who was in the room or, maybe even more importantly, who was missing."

In a recent essay, Angela Howard-McParland, justice resource manager for Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, reflected on the importance of parishes having a culture of hospitality that is clear about the "role of the church as a sanctuary open to everyone."

To access her complete essay, please visit:

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