Church Attendance

Background:

The Catholic Church has experienced waning attendance at Sunday Mass for decades. The current average attendance lies somewhere between 20% and 25% of those who call themselves Catholic.  This issue, in part, is concurrent with getting Catholics to bury in a Catholic cemetery.  When we advertise in church bulletins, diocesan newspapers and the like, there remains a good chance we’re only reaching that same 20% to 25%.  We need to reach those not coming to church on a regular basis.

Question:

Given the above, are there any cemeterians who have a success story, even one, relating to the 75% to 80% of families who are not regular church-goers but were convinced of the value of being buried in a Catholic cemetery? In my own example, a family called on a Saturday afternoon inquiring the “rules” allowing for burial in a Catholic cemetery.  My response was simple; Baptism is indelible and in our diocesan cemeteries there is no specific need for parish affiliation.  It was clear to me the caller had not seen the inside of a church in a very long time, had no parochial affiliation, though still had a desire to be buried in a Catholic cemetery.  One hour later I got a call from a funeral director telling me the family would be coming to see me tomorrow and that they wanted to use our cemetery.  Great story?  Yes, but I also got lucky.  They called me.  So my reactive response achieved my goal, but we all need help in a proactive stance to drive people to our Catholic cemeteries.  We’re all in this together.