Best Practices: Liturgy & Sacraments

Program Model: Thank God it's First Friday

Overview of the program

The Archdiocese of Atlanta Office of Young Adult Ministry began "Thank God It's First Friday!" Mass & Socials in November 1997 as a way to honor the Catholic tradition of receiving the Eucharist on the First Friday of each month. TGIFFs are designed to provide young adults an opportunity to celebrate and grow in their faith as well as providing an avenue to develop new friendships and faith communities. They are held monthly at different parishes throughout the Archdiocese. Gathering is typically at 7PM, and Mass is celebrated at 7:30PM followed by the Sacrament of Reconciliation and a Social. TGIFFs are a collaborative effort between the Archdiocesan YAM Office and the Parish YAM Group that is hosting that month.

How does the program work in your archdiocese?

We see the role of our office, in putting on successful TGIFFs, as one of empowerment. We want the Parish YAM Groups who host this event to feel a sense of ownership and pride in creating their own unique TGIFF Mass and Social.

Our office's primary tasks are coordinating parishes to host and providing publicity and support. We maintain a schedule of parishes that have agreed to host future TGIFFs, which typically extends 9-12 months into the future. There are several ways that we find parishes to be hosts. Each month at our YAM Interparish Networking Meetings, we discuss how last month's TGIFF went, get updates on how the planning is coming for future TGIFFs, and ask for volunteers to host the months that have not yet been claimed. When parishes volunteer, we check that it's been at least a year since they last hosted a TGIFF (preferably even longer to give all parishes a chance). We attempt to coordinate the schedule so that TGIFFs happen in different parts of the city (i.e., if May's TGIFF was on the Northside, then we would not want another Northside parish to host June's event.) We always keep an eye out for new YAM groups and extend a special invitation to them to host a TGIFF. At least once a year, we try to have a TGIFF at our Cathedral since it is centrally located and by far has the largest YAM group in the Archdiocese. We also invite our Archbishop to celebrate First Friday Mass with us at least once a year.

When a parish agrees to host, we give them several copies of the "TGIFF Planning Guide" which has a step-by-step timeline and checklist, tips on recruiting their team, marketing info, a Mass planner and tips on planning the Social. The Guide has enough information for them to plan a successful TGIFF. We emphasize there are a few key things that need to be accomplished early, namely reserving the church and parish hall, securing a priest to celebrate Mass and hear confessions, and finding musicians (they often ask their Life Teen Band or Contemporary Choir). We also encourage them to be creative when planning the Social. The social typically has a theme, is held in the parish hall and includes food, drinks, and music. Past themes have included St. Patty's Day, The Seventies, Cinco de Mayo, and Tropics Under Lights. The cost of the event is normally a $5 donation to cover the cost of food and drinks. Sometimes socials incorporate events happening within the community. For instance, a Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes in the town where the church is located will follow the December TGIFF Mass.

We publicize upcoming TGIFFs in several ways:

As Far in Advance as Possible:

• We post upcoming TGIFF locations and details on our website (www.yam.org).

A Month Prior:

• We include a TGIFF flier in our monthly YAM mailing to young adult leaders, priests, and staff members at our parishes and campus ministries. Our office creates the flier unless the parish group wishes to design it themselves. The flier always includes directions to the church. The monthly mailing also includes a calendar, containing info on upcoming TGIFFs.
• We make several hundred copies of that month's TGIFF flier to distribute at other upcoming YAM events. We offer extra copies of the flier to the hosting parish to distribute at their church and at neighboring churches.

Two Weeks Prior:

• We send a bulletin announcement via fax and email to all of the parishes within our Archdiocese
• We send a short write-up to our Archdiocesan Newspaper, The Georgia Bulletin.
• We encourage the Parish hosting the event to make pulpit announcements at their church and neighboring churches the week before their TGIFF.

One-Week Prior:

• We send out a TGIFF email to our YAM list, which includes directions to the church.

The night of the event, we get to TGIFF early to show support and to set up a YAM flier table. We offer to help as needed. Often, we end up helping to greet people as they arrive.

Why does the program work?

TGIFFs work for several reasons. They give YAM groups the chance to create an event that is a direct reflection of their community and their parish; they have the rare opportunity to welcome young adults from throughout the Archdiocese to their church. We've found that YAM groups often get very excited as the date of their TGIFF approaches.

TGIFFs work for individual young adults because they provide an opportunity to visit parishes that they may otherwise never set foot in and to meet people that they would otherwise not meet. They work because they effectively combine the spiritual and the social. Also they're important for our Archdiocese because, like many other Dioceses, we're geographically spread out. When we host our major events, such as Theology On Tap or Spin Dating, we pick a central location to attract the most people. But this approach does not cater to those young adults living on the outskirts of the city. For them, our ‘central location' can be quite difficult to get to, especially in rush hour Atlanta traffic. Since our TGIFFs are often held in remote corners of town, they allow us to combine an event that many regular YAM-goers attend with an event that caters to our more suburban young adults.

What needs does it address for young adults?

It's often difficult, especially for smaller parishes, to maintain energy and enthusiasm within their YAM groups. TGIFFs give YAM groups an event to be excited about and a goal to achieve. They bring the members together and force them to take on leadership roles. Often after their parish has been filled with dynamic young adults from other YAM groups, their own energy is revived. TGIFFs also allow YAM groups to celebrate and share their unique gifts, talents and traditions with other young adults from throughout the Archdiocese.

For individual young adults it is a wonderful opportunity to embrace the first Friday tradition and make it their own. TGIFFs address the need for a fun, faith-filled activity on a Friday night. It's a great way to kick-off the month and to meet people outside of their parish YAM groups in an informal and un-intimidating environment.

What elements are crucial?

• Diverse Locations interspersed with central locations - If your Diocese is centered around a city like ours is, the remote locations are necessary to reach the young adults who feel neglected by YAM, and the central locations are necessary to bring large numbers of young adults together.
• Advanced Planning - A YAM group needs a bare minimum of 2 months to plan and publicize a TGIFF in order for it to be successful.
• Excitement and Energy! - Your YAM Office has got to be excited about TGIFF in order for a Parish YAM Group to be excited.
• The Support of the Pastor - Sometimes a pastor may have misconceptions or concerns about hosting a YAM event at their parish. If the pastor voices concerns about hosting a TGIFF Mass, ask the Archdiocesan YAM Director to chat with him about the benefits of hosting a First Friday Mass for young adults.
• Involvement from many members of the Parish YAM Group - This is not a person job! Get a team of people organized early on in the process, and make sure every person has a job to do, i.e.: Mass planning, decorations, food buying, food prep, publicity to neighboring parishes, welcoming committee, set-up, clean-up, etc.
• Good Publicity, especially if it's a new program - In our Archdiocese, people have come to expect TGIFF each First Friday, and they're on the lookout for details and directions. But even now good publicity is key in order to get a good turnout.
• A Good Welcoming Committee - Make sure there are plenty of young adults from the host parish greeting folks with outstretched hands and big smiles as they walk through the door. Have the greeters make nametags with each person's name and parish. If young adults feel welcome they are ten times more likely to come back to another event.
• Fun Socials with Real Food – and not just cheese & crackers, beverages (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and music. Try to be creative with icebreakers, otherwise the tendency is for young adults from the same parish to cliche together and never mingle with young adults from other parishes.

Who to contact for more information

Kersti O'Farrell, Archdiocese of Atlanta Director of Young Adult and Adult Ministry, kersti@yam.org or 404-885-7290
Ann Blasick, Archdiocese of Atlanta YAM Program Coordinator, ann@yam.org or 404-885-7222

Resources to help start this elsewhere

There is a full TGIFF Planning Guide that is available by request by contacting the staff above.

Final Note

Every month, "Thank God It's First Friday!" Mass & Socials consistently bring together anywhere from seventy to over two hundred young adults from in and around Atlanta. They are important for two primary reasons. First, they give Parish YAM Groups a chance to showcase their gifts, talents and the unique feel of their parish community. Second, they reach young adults from all corners of our Archdiocese and feed them both spiritually and socially. We then become a Eucharistic community.

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