WHEN FR. MARTIN VU arrived in July 2024 to begin his new assignment as parochial administrator of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Placentia, there were many new initiatives on his “to-do list.”
One initiative came from his time at Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church in Lake Forest: Name Tag Weekend (the name has since been changed to: Known by Name Weekend).
The “weekend” starts with volunteers positioned outside each church entrance, greeting parishioners and offering them a name tag to write their first name. Fr. Martin has included five touchpoints to reinforce this program when people enter the church.
- Before Mass begins, the cantor asks all parishioners to rise and greet those around them using their names.
- After the Gospel and before the homily, Fr. Martin asks the congregation to memorize the name of a person seated around them.
- During the Prayers of the Faithful, Fr. Martin asks everyone to silently pray for that person and carry those prayers forward into the coming weeks.
- Offer the Sign of Peace while using the person’s name.
- After Mass, all parishioners are invited to attend a reception, continuing to meet and greet others using their names in conversation.
Fr. Martin calls this initiative, “part of our emerging parish vision for everyone to be seen, known and loved, not only at Mass, but anytime they are visiting the parish campus. To be seen, known and loved — God does this for all.”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ST. JOSEPH PARISH
The first such weekend was held at St. Joseph in June.
June 29 is the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul which was relevant due to the day’s reading of Matthew 16:18, where Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter.
Fr. Martin recalled his homily from that day.
“I shared how Jesus knows Peter by name, how He knows each of us by name, and how we also want to know each other by name.”
The second “weekend” took place in August, and the plan is to have additional events on the first weekend of every month.
Many volunteers are involved in making this initiative a success.
Head of Evangelization, Claudia Mercado, assisted Fr. Martin in starting this program. Gina Delphan has since taken over the role and Fr. Martin said she is “on fire for this program.”
Volunteer Erika Javier called the program “a means to implement Fr. Martin’s vision for the parish. And her co-volunteers Mary Hasson and Sandi Charlesworth both said the program is about building community, sharing joy and praying for each other.”