What is an “Active” Parishioner?

The Archdiocese of Atlanta defines “Active Parishioners” as:

Those who have been registered in the parish for at least three (3) months; (please note that if you registered during the last three (3) months in this parish, you must provide evidence that you were previously active members at another parish, for a cumulative period of at least three (3) months).

• And attend Mass weekly and on Holydays of Obligation
• And contribute financially (in a trackable way) to support the parish and the Annual Appeal
• And contribute time and talent by participating in at least one ministry in the parish.

Note that Catholic Schools, for verification purposes, typically requiring six (6) months of active participation.

What can you expect of your parish?

• A sacred place to experience engaging, dignified and uplifting liturgies.
• A sacred place to be valued and recognized as having unique God-given talents for service to God and others.
• A sacred place to be given opportunities to put God-given talents to help others and make the world a better place.
• A sacred place to be loved and supported in your spiritual journey regardless of the messiness and struggles of your life.
• A sacred place to have needs listened to and addressed.
• A sacred place to be where your input is valued.
• A sacred place where your financial contributions will be honored and put to work for the building-up of the Kingdom of God, with transparency and accountability.
  

What does your parish expect of you?

To Worship God…We gather to celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday (the Lord’s Day). We expect all members of the parish to gather for Sunday worship unless they are unable to do so because of illness or travel. It is when we gather on the Lord’s Day to be nourished by Word and Sacrament that we are reminded of who we are, and are then given food for the journey. And in this task we fulfill our call to worship God who created us and are given the grace we need to continue loving God and one another.

To Grow…To become a follower of Jesus Christ is to be his disciple. Jesus said, “this is the will of my Father, that you should become my disciples” (John 15:8). A disciple literally means “one who is learning.” We believe that learning and growing are lifelong tasks. When we cease to learn and grow we cease to be disciples and will experience stagnation in our spiritual lives. We expect every member of St. Lawrence Parish to commit to at least one program of Faith Formation each year. We need to remember that our commitment to growth helps those around us to fulfill their own commitments. In this way our Church becomes healthy.

To Serve…Jesus said, “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). The essence of the Christian life is to serve God and one another. The Church is not healthy when it forgets this truth. We are called not just to serve individually, but to do so corporately as the Church. This way we give witness that the Church is the hands and feet of Jesus active in the world. We also believe that every parishioner, without exception, has something to offer, something they do well and can do for the sake of the Kingdom of God. We expect every parishioner to serve the parish by being involved in at least one ministry each year.

To Connect…The Church is a community of believers and not simply a collection of individuals who happen to gather in the same place for one hour a week. Christian community is one in which we are truly accountable to one another and accountable for one another. This task needs to be taken up with due diligence as the size of our parish makes it a real challenge. We expect every parishioner to contribute to the task of building community by seeing themselves as an integral part of the life of this parish and being intentional about reaching out and connecting with others.

To Give…We expect all parishioners to give generously of their financial resources in proportion to what they received. We give not to just meet a few basic needs or to pay the costs of maintaining the Church building and necessary staff positions. We give out of gratitude to God, and the more the parish receives, the more we can do for the building-up of God’s Kingdom, the more we can help the poor, and the more opportunities we can offer to help others grow. No one is excluded from this. If someone has less, they give less. If someone has more, they give more. This offering which we make at Sunday Eucharist, is quite simply a necessary part of our thankful dutiful worship of God.