Father Damian Ference, vicar for evangelization for the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, hopes to build on the success of the first Nine Nights of Night Prayer event as he and colleagues in the Secretriat for Parish Life and Development plan for a second round of prayer nights at nine more churches around the diocese.
The next session will be modeled after the inaugural one that ran from Aug. 7-15. Participating parishes were: St. Michael the Archangel, Cleveland (presented in Spanish); St. Mary, Painesville; St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Wooster; St. Peter, North Ridgeville; St. Augustine, Barberton; St. Sebastian, Akron; St. John Cantius, Cleveland; St. Luke, Lakewood; and Holy Spirit, Garfield Heights.
The accompanying photo gallery shows some of the participating parishes.
“The pastors were courageous to work with us,” Father Ference said. “They wanted to participate.”
He and his colleagues will be conducting an evaluation of the event with each pastor who participated. “It’s almost like watching game tape. We’re learning from this first experience. It happened; we did something. It was a good effort. It wasn’t perfect, but we can only improve,” he said. “It will get better. We try something, we learn, we get better and we grow.”
Father Ference said the second round of Nine Nights of Night Prayer will kick off on Tuesday, Nov. 30, which also happens to be #weGiveCatholic day, the online day of Catholic giving in which many parishes, schools and Catholic nonprofits participate. It will conclude on Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, another Marian holiday.
“There will be another unique, liturgically themed ice cream for closing night,” he promised, declining to share any other details just yet. “I’ve got some ideas,” he added.
Father Ference used his sources to develop Stella Maris (Star of the Sea), a special blue ice cream with yellow stars, in honor of the Blessed Mother. It was provided to all nine participating parishes so they could host an ice cream social on Aug. 15, closing night of the first Nine Nights of Night Prayer. Each parish did things a bit differently, but consensus was those who attended the prayer night found it fulfilling – and they enjoyed the ice cream. At St. Michael the Archangel, the parish hospitality ministry welcomed each attendee with a raffle ticket. After prayer, the group enjoyed the Stella Maris ice cream, cookies and beverages. A drawing took place for raffle prizes and Father Mark Riley, the pastor, led the group in an interactive song in Spanish.
Father Ference is working with his Parish Life and Development colleagues, including Mike Hayes, director of young adult ministry; Francine Costantini, director of youth ministry; Teresa Yohman, director for marriage and family ministry; and Greg Coogan, secretary for catechetical formation, as they evaluate the first program and plan for the future.
“The next time I’ll recommend that each parish have a trained presider for each evening, a lector and cantor and hospitality, including a greeter,” he said.
Father Ference said the prayer nights are a great way to invite someone back to the Church who may have fallen away. “It’s also a good way to come inside and enjoy the beauty of our diocesan churches,” he added.
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