Dear Parish Leaders,

As Advent begins, we enter a season of hope, preparation, and joyful anticipation. Christmas naturally draws people toward the Church. Some come every week, others return for the first time in months or years, and still others are searching for a place to belong. This season offers a powerful opportunity to personally invite people to reconnect with Jesus Christ and experience the welcome of His Church.

That is the vision behind Christmas Together.

Christmas Together is part of our broader Together initiative, a seasonal approach to building a lasting culture of personal invitation, hospitality, and belonging in our parishes. Rather than focusing on a single Sunday, this initiative encourages us to make the most of three natural seasons of invitation throughout the year: 

Back Together

Back-to-School (August–September), when families establish new routines and parish ministries begin again.

Christmas Together

Advent and Christmas, when people are especially open to returning to Mass, reconnecting with faith, and celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Easter Together

Lent and the Easter season, when people are invited to renewal and to experience the hope and joy of the Resurrection.

Your parish can choose to celebrate one, two, or all three opportunities each year, selecting the dates that work best for your community.

More Than a Christmas Mass

Christmas Together is not simply about increasing attendance at Christmas Mass. It is about preparing our parishes to welcome every person with warmth and genuine hospitality—and helping people take a step toward a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church.

We encourage every parishioner to embrace a simple challenge this Advent:

Pray for One Person. 
Invite One Person. 
Welcome Every Person.

A personal invitation, a friendly greeting, or an offer to sit together at Mass may be the first step toward helping someone feel that they belong. Our hope is that the habits developed through Christmas Together will continue throughout the year and become part of the everyday culture of our parishes.

Christmas Together Resources

The Christmas Together toolkit is designed to make implementation simple and flexible. Resources include: 

• Planning timeline and hospitality checklist
  

• Bulletin and verbal announcements

• Invitation postcards and flyers

• Social media posts and graphics

• Letters, emails, and personal invitation resources

• School communications

• Hospitality planning and volunteer preparation tools

Each resource can be adapted to your parish’s needs. The Advent planning timeline will help your team prepare, invite intentionally, and ensure that guests experience a warm welcome when they arrive. 

Thank you for all you do to help people encounter Jesus Christ and experience the love of His Church. May this Advent be a time of renewed missionary joy as we invite others to celebrate the birth of our Savior and discover a place in our parish communities.

Together, let’s build communities where every person knows they belong.

Because we’re better together.

In Christ, 

Sean Ater 

Center for the New Evangelization 
Archdiocese of Cincinnati

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