St. Columba ParishResearch on why people stay in a parish keeps finding the same thing: it is not the homily or the music, it is whether someone spoke to them. Hospitality ministry makes sure someone does. About fifty parishioners serve as greeters and ushers, twenty run Coffee Sunday, and a small Emmaus team follows up with every family who registers.
Greeters
Say good morning, hand out the bulletin, notice the person who looks lost, point out the washrooms and the cry room. Once a month.
Ushers
Seat latecomers, take up the collection, guide the Communion procession, assist anyone unwell (all ushers take a first-aid orientation and know where the defibrillator is), and tidy the pews after.
Coffee Sunday
Coffee, tea, juice and baking. Teams of five set up, serve and clean up; cultural communities take turns hosting with their own food. The best hour of the parish month.
Welcome desk
Registration forms, envelope boxes, ministry information, Mass intention books and a person who can answer "how do I…?"
Emmaus team
Within two weeks of registering, every new household gets a phone call, a welcome pack and an invitation to the next Coffee Sunday and the quarterly newcomers' supper with the pastor.
Funeral & event receptions
Receptions after funerals, First Communion, Confirmation and parish celebrations.
The newcomers' supper
Four times a year, on a Sunday evening after the 5:00 PM Mass, Fr. Moreau hosts supper in the hall for everyone who has registered in the past three months — about twenty households each time. There is no program beyond a welcome, a short history of the parish, a tour of the church, and a table of ministry leaders who want to meet you. Children are welcome and there is a kids' table with pizza.
Joining
If you like people, you are qualified. Greeters and ushers serve at the Mass they already attend, once a month; training is a single evening. Coffee Sunday teams need bakers, coffee-makers and dishwashers, once every few months. The Emmaus team needs people who are good on the phone. All roles are low-risk for screening (a form and an orientation). Sign up on the liturgical ministries form or email hospitality@stcolumbatoronto.ca.
What do I say to someone new?
"Good morning — I'm Anne. Is this your first time here?" Then listen. The welcome pack does the rest.
Can teenagers usher?
From Grade 9, with an adult usher at the same Mass; it counts for service hours.
Coordinator: Anne Murphy — hospitality@stcolumbatoronto.ca.