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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!
Copyright ©
Jacqueline R. Mendoza
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