Maria Davis asked the question today,Why are Catholics so notoriously bad at fellowship? She writes about the importance of a strong community in our churches and explains that one of the biggest reasons people stray from Catholicism is due to lack of fellowship:
Without a doubt, a common theme among fallen-away Catholics who are now happily nestled in bustling Protestant communities is that they felt unwelcome at their parish because there was a lack of fellowship. So what is fellowship and why are we, as Catholics, so notoriously bad at it?
Fellowship, by its very definition, is merely a friendly association and the gathering of like-minded people. How is that so difficult? Yet the very concept brings disdain from some Catholics. In a group chat discussing this issue there was a common theme: We don’t need fellowship; we go to Mass for the Eucharist. One commenter even said, “The difference is that Protestants need people; we don’t need people, we have Jesus.”
Really? Catholics don’t need people? Yes, we do have Jesus in the Eucharist but it’s a fallacy to espouse a spirituality without community. We are the Church, and that in its very essence means we are a people. The concept of fellowship is essential to our journey as Christians; Jesus Christ himself taught us this.
This may seem like a silly topic to cover, after all ‘communion’ is part of our Mass ritual, but you can always find a few people who fall into ‘deep’ prayer at the sign of peace. Is fellowship a problem in Catholic parishes? What do you think?