St. Isidore follows success with movie theater commercial with new innovative effort

MACOMB — St. Isidore Parish in Macomb is always up to something.

Last year, parish leadership found an innovative way to evangelize the community by producing an energetic commercial about the church and running it at a local Emagine movie theater. The commercial yielded a positive response, as Web traffic for the parish increased by more than 50 percent, and more than 100 people claimed a free T-shirt as part of the promotion.

This year, the parish is shaking things up again by reaching out to those who might not otherwise darken the church’s doors.

While many parishes might be tempted to scale back liturgies and services in an age of lower church attendance, St. Isidore is taking the exact opposite approach, adding a new Sunday evening Mass with a whole different vibe.



Matt Kush, director of music and creative development — a title that doesn’t exist at many parishes — said St. Isidore has considered adding the Mass for some time as a way to reach out to people for whom attending Sunday morning Mass is difficult.

“We thought this could be an opportunity to reach a new set of people, in a different way than we did with the commercial,” Kush said. “We didn’t want to draw people away from the existing Masses, but to invite new people who weren’t attending a Mass regularly.”

Fr. Ron Victor, St. Isidore’s pastor, was happy with the response to the commercial and is enthusiastic about the new Sunday night Mass initiative.

“Part of our mission is to reach out to the unchurched, to draw them to Jesus,” said Fr. Victor. “So far we’re seeing this Mass is doing that.”

Styled “a Mass for the busy Catholic,” the Sunday night liturgy is different in style than the other four Masses offered each weekend. The music at the parish leans contemporary overall, but instead of organ and piano used at its other Masses, Kush plays a keyboard at the 5:30 p.m. Sunday Mass and experiments with new music.

The first Sunday evening Mass was held on Pentecost, May 20. More than 350 people are already attending each week, and the number is growing.

Using social media, the parish targeted its marketing efforts toward three groups: young families, students, and health care professionals and others who work odd shifts. Kush said such intuition has been proved correct so far.

“I saw those very people right in front of me (during the first Mass): a young family, people in scrubs. It was rewarding to know our message had reached them,” Kush said.

One recent college graduate told Kush after a Sunday night Mass that she was looking for a church home, and the style of Mass was just what she was seeking. Others have reacted in similar ways, saying they appreciate the energetic spirit it offers. Fr. Victor noted that few people leave before the final blessing at the Sunday evening Mass, and many stay to socialize afterward.

Parish member Kari Drogosh’s two boys, ages 11 and 13, play sports most of the year. During previous baseball seasons, the family found it difficult to get to Mass, but when Drogosh learned about St. Isidore’s new Mass, she was thrilled.

“I love the Catholic Church and the rituals, but it was really difficult for us to get there,” Drogosh said.  “This worked out perfectly because it started right when baseball season began. This Mass is more casual and more family-oriented, so I don’t feel badly on those days when we’re rushing there from a game and the kids are still in their uniforms.”

A lector at the parish, Drogosh is also enjoying the opportunity to lector more often than in the past.

As for St. Isidore’s parish leadership, the brainstorming never stops to find new ways to reach others and bring them to the beauty of the Catholic faith.

“We as Catholics have a real advantage over non-denominational churches because we can offer the same level of energy that people find so appealing there, but only we have the sacraments,” Kush said.