CALLED AND COUNTED: PAX CHRISTI CENSUS 2020

Everyone counts in the Kingdom of God. Whether it’s the shepherd looking for a missing sheep or the widow in search of a lost coin, the Christian message is clear: every person matters. When Pax Christi volunteers reached out to homebound parishioners this spring during the COVID crisis, they needed accurate contact information. Job changes, retirement, moves, and dropped landlines all diminish our ability to communicate with one another. It’s in this spirit that Pax Christi will conduct a parish-wide census this fall. The census form is live online right now at paxchristi.com/census. You will be asked to complete a short form that includes basic contact information including name, address, email, and preferred phone number. You may also choose to share your birthdate. 

Please respond to this call to be counted. A successful census will allow Pax Christi to:
• Save money on any direct mail. In recent years, Pax Christi has almost eliminated direct mail to its member households. However, we still send out some financial information and stewardship requests. Accurate mailing addresses and parishioner counts help us keep those mailing costs in check. 

• Send email without bouncebacks. How many email addresses do you use and share? What about the accounts you “never look at?” The parish wants your most recent, preferred email address. Pax Christi uses Flocknote, a subscription email service, to send out the weekly eNEWS. Flocknote also allows groups within the parish—Eucharistic ministers or garden volunteers, for example—to send direct emails to their membership. Flocknote protects or “hides” email addresses and cell numbers, which allows the parish to have safe contact with all of its members, including youth. Pax Christi is charged based on the total number of addresses we list with Flocknote, so we ask that you list only one email per person.
 
• Mobilize volunteers quickly. Pax Christi has an active phone tree for contacting funeral hospitality volunteers. Flocknote offers texting capability which allows the parish to contact parents if faith formation needs to be cancelled for weather. It also permits the parish to communicate other urgent needs. This service only works, however, if we have accurate numbers.
  
• Connect and minister to those most in need. This past spring, as retirement communities and care facilities closed to outside visitors and pastoral staff were not permitted to minister in person, volunteers hit the phones to stay in touch with seniors in the parish. This was a key connection for many during the brief time that the parish did not celebrate Mass.
  
• Celebrate our 40th anniversary together in 2021! The census form is short—please complete it now. Especially after being apart so long due to the coronavirus, we look forward to celebrating Pax Christi’s big anniversary next year. Please help us to create the most accurate invitation list possible. 

Parishioners who do not respond to the online census will receive a postcard in February 2021, followed by a phone call. Questions? Contact the parish office, 952-941-3150.

www.paxchristi.com/census