If a person misses one Sunday:
Check with people who might know why.
Respond appropriately (visit, call, card or note, or no action needed)
If a person misses two consecutive Sundays:
Unless a known issue (eg hospitalisation, holiday) make informal contact via a call, a card or note, an email.
Follow up any response as appropriate
If no response then make a special point of checking on the third Sunday and if present, make a point of connecting with them and checking out why they’ve been away.
Respond appropriately
If a person misses four or more Sundays
Make contact specifically to ask why no attendance. Offer a clear opportunity to talk.
This strategy has to be adjusted dependent upon the frequency of attendance. So, for someone who is typically there every week, absence may be more critical than for someone who comes once a month.
What constitutes an appropriate response
If the reason for absence requires pastoral intervention, the pastoral coordinator needs informing and a plan of action established.
Otherwise a follow-up visit may be all that is needed.
Useful levels of contact include: A hand written note or card, either on Church stationary or plain stationary. An informal email. An informal ‘phone call. A text message. Flowers.
If something more formal needs to be arranged then an appointment should be planned.
No comments:
Post a Comment