When Eileen Moore joined St. Mark in St. Paul 35 years ago, for the first couple of years, she usually sat in the same place at Mass each week “as most Catholics do,” she said.
But she often thought, “If I didn’t show up, nobody would notice,” Moore said. “And it was kind of depressing, actually.”
So, when she saw an announcement about a mom’s group starting at the parish, she joined. As a result, she finally felt like she belonged to the parish family, Moore said.
“To be known by others and to know others, we have to spend time and listen,” she said. “And that needs to happen outside of Mass.”
Moore recently joined “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley to describe an initiative at St. Mark called “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” The program brings small groups of adult parishioners together at families’ homes, usually once a month, to share dinner and conversation. It began in 2015, inspired by a similar program at St. Joseph in West St. Paul, she said.
The episode with Moore, which includes logistics and other details about the dinner, debuts at 9 p.m. Jan. 21 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. The show also airs at 1 p.m. Jan. 22 and 2 p.m. Jan. 23. Information is available on the parish website, onestrongfamily.org/guesswho.
Talking in a small group of people can bring relationships to a different, even deeper level, she said. “I’ve been to dinners with people that I’ve worked with a lot, maybe alongside with, but I hear stories about them that I never heard before,” she said.
The parish offers other ways to build community, Moore said, including Bible studies, usually held in the spring and fall. “That brings in a lot of different age groups, which is great, because then you’re in small groups with different people, maybe people you’re not hanging out with on a regular basis,” she said.
Coffee and donuts are regularly offered after Sunday Masses, most recently through a parish young adult group, which Moore said is another way of building community.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest “Practicing Catholic” show also includes interviews with Emily Albrecht from the Equal Rights Institute and Jason Adkins, executive director and general counsel for the Minnesota Catholic Conference, who discuss how pro-life advocates can best engage with pro-choice advocates; and Greg Hughes and Chuck Sylvester, members of Catholic Watchmen from St. Paul in Ham
Lake, who discuss what it means to be a man of God in the 21st century and describe an upcoming men’s retreat.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at
