Father John Hurley, CSP, executive director of the Department of Evangelization for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, speaks at the Oct. 10 event at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center in Columbia, Md.

More than 1,200 registered families. A thriving parish school. Varied and active ministries. Devoted parishioners. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in historic Ellicott City, Md., has all the hallmarks of a vibrant and growing faith community.

“But no matter how full the house is, there is always room for more,” said Judy Gruel, the parish director of religious education. “We want to be intentional about evangelization, to reach out to those who know God but feel disconnected.”

Putting the New Evangelization into action on the parish level is why Ms. Gruel and more than 30 parish leaders from the archdioceses of Baltimore and Washington gathered on a rainy Thursday morning Oct. 10 to see if Paulist Reconciliation’s Landings program would be a good fit for their faith community.

Father Thomas Kane, CSP, director of Paulist Reconciliation Ministries that includes Landings, addresses the participants.

Landings helps parishes greet inactive Catholics back to the church in a welcoming, nonjudgmental and confidential environment. Groups of trained lay volunteers guide the returnees as they journey back to the faith in this 8-to-10 week program. The key to the program is the storytelling. The returnees have the opportunity to share their experiences of life and of the church with others who are seeking a way home to the Church just as they are.

“That is a key difference about Landings,” explained Landings Coordinator Patricia Watson. “Just simply sharing their with others who won’t judge them is a positive and healing experience.”

With a proven track record of over two decades, parishes all over the United States have welcomed thousands of Catholics back to the church. Landings is even present in Singapore, England, Scotland and Wales.

Landings coordinator Pat Watson explains the programs’ offerings and processes.

“Where do we encounter church?” asked Father John E. Hurley, CSP, executive director of the Office for Evangelization for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. “Landings is one of those unique ways to reach out to and care for our brothers and sisters who are not at the table.”

The New Evangelization is not about parish renewal, but about parish transformation, said Landings Director Father Thomas A. Kane.

“The transformed parish must be about the business of reconciliation,” he said. “We must look beyond our own parochial bounds and look into the mission field. The new New Evangelization is the people modeling Christ in our everyday lives.”

Mary Ellen Gilroy, a Landings graduate who now serves on the Landings board of advisors, speaks about her return to the Church through the Landings program.

One of those faithful is Mary Ellen Gilroy, who found her way back to an active faith and an active role in the Church through Landings. The program itself is powerful and transformative, she said.

“We started meeting in front of the church so we could walk in together, and before we knew it, we seemed to have our own little Landings section in the back of the church, our own little small faith community,” said. Mrs. Gilroy, a parishioner at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Arlington, Va., and member of the Landings board of advisors. “You just have this bond because you have been through something so powerful with this group of people. It is a truly transformational experience.”