The diocese mandates that every October we count how many people come to Mass (including the priests, musicians and altar servers). I wanted to give you a sense of what our attendance numbers looked like this year compared to previous years:
2000 2012 2017 2019 Holy Family 375 239 222 171
Saint Paul
1020 594 553 749 Total 1395 833 775 920
Obviously, there was a significant decrease in Mass attendance (44%) in Grant County from 2000 to 2017. During the same period of time, the population of our county decreased by just over 10%. The good news is that form 2017 to 2019 Mass attendance increased by 18% despite us having one less Mass on Sunday (8am at Holy Family). Careful observation points to about one-third of the increase coming from the Hispanic community, so we can say that this growth is broad-based. One concern that needs attention are the numbers at Holy Family. This matter will come up in consultations with the leadership from the two other parishes that will join Holy Family in the new pastorate in June of 2020.
Please join me in giving thanks to God for the increased Mass attendance. May we prove worthy of this great gift!