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Preparation Timeline

Intergenerational Event—Mary: The Yes That Changed the World

  

Reach the conclusion of your event without missing a beat!

As soon as you have set a date for your Mary intergenerational parish event:

  1. Share your plans with the parish staff to avoid scheduling conflicts or duplicate programs.
  2. Reserve the required spaces/rooms on the parish calendar.
  3. Contact maintenance personnel for setup and cleanup (unlocking and locking outside doors, chairs and tables in place/put away, etc.).
  4. Recruit volunteers. You will need:
    • One or two people to organize and oversee the event.
    • One or two volunteers to take pictures at the event.
    • Several people to coordinate and assemble the rosary kits beforehand.
    • Two people to prepare and run the Prayer Banner Activity Center.
    • Two or more people to create the posters and handouts for the Story Wall Activity Center and then set them up at the event.
    • One person to prepare a sacred space for the prayer service.
    • One volunteer (or staff member) to give the presentation.
    • Several people to answer questions and replenish supplies for the Rosary and Family Prayer Banner Activity Centers on the day of the event. The number of volunteers you will need will depend on your parish size.
    • One person to lead the prayer service.
    • Two readers for the prayer service.
    • A song leader for the prayer service.
    • A suitable number of people to provide refreshments.
    • A suitable number of people to assist in setup and cleanup.
    • Arrange to meet with volunteers to explain their responsibilities.
    • If you plan to use wire clothes hangers to hang the family prayer banners, put an item in your parish bulletin or a flier in your parish hall asking that people save their hangers and donate them for this event.

In the weeks leading up to the event:

  1. Contact the people responsible for your parish mailings to ensure that notice of the Mary event and the invitation to participate are sent to families.
  2. Prepare fliers (PDF or MS Word) advertising the event for distribution throughout the parish—on paper or by e-mail and through the parish Web site.
  3. Submit an announcement for inclusion in the parish bulletin. (See sample provided.)
  4. Send a flier and a copy of your bulletin to local newspapers as well. They may wish to include the information in their community calendars and may even write an article on or take photos of the event.
  5. Download the handouts and resources and use the document index to determine how many of each document will be needed.
  6. Meet with volunteers to allocate tasks and share information, including material lists and document masters. Maintain a list of volunteers and their contact information.
  7. Encourage the person in charge of the Rosary Activity Center to practice making a rosary ahead of the event.
  8. Have the person in charge of the Story Wall Activity Center arrange to have the illustrations enlarged to poster size.
  9. Provide tax letters and instructions to people making purchases for the event.
  10. Provide a diagram of event areas to those in charge of setup.
  11. Establish an area where materials and resources for the event will be stored.

A few days before the event:

  1. Check with volunteer leaders to ensure that all is ready.
  2. Instruct leaders to check with their volunteers.
  3. Touch base with the maintenance personnel and volunteers responsible for setup and cleanup.
  4. Arrange to meet with the entire team one hour before the event for coordination and last-minute instructions.
  5. Pray that all goes well.

Links to other Mary Intergenerational Parish Event Resources