Of People and Things That Hurt Parishes

You will begin to see yourself as spiritual support for all the Good work being done Through your parish if you can stay away from the following: Negativity: Negativity usually starts with a few disgruntled people who complain about virtually everything Can spread like wildfire The best way to deal with negativity is to address it head-on by asking some key questions Gossip: Gossip is negativity directed at a person or a group of people in the parish Every parish has gossip-mongers whose own insecurity drives them to put others down as a way of feeling better about themselves The best way to deal with them is directly by asking why others really need to know the things they share Or by asking how others can help the person whose reputation is at stake Or by just Ignoring it Cliques: Sadly, people involved in a clique usually don’t think of themselves as “cliquish.” They’ve just been running things for so long that they rely on the same people over and over to help Sometimes they just need a friendly reminder to invite others Newcomers also often benefit—and help the parish Refusal to change: Tradition is good But when parishioners become too rigid or too liberal about how the way things have “always been done” A parish can quickly begin to decline Change is never easy Try to find a balance that will maintain some time-honored traditions Including devotional practices While incorporating new ways of doing things and involving new people in doing them No parish is perfect Even the best parishes can improve Imagine what would happen if every person in the parish did one little thing to make the parish better!