This friendly, non-judgmental route home to the church for inactive Catholics is available at Holy Spirit parish

By Joyce Gan
Catholic News

Singapore – If you know of a Catholic who left the church and wants to return but doesn’t know how, bring him to a priest or to Landings.

Landings, a program started by Father Jac Campbell, CSP, in the United States about 20 years ago, is available at the Church of the Holy Spirit.

Landings works like this: Six to eight practicing Catholics form a group with two or three returning Catholics and meet for 10 weekly, two-hour sessions. Group members share their faith stories and learn about church teachings in the process. The emphasis is on compassionate and non-judgmental listening, and confidentiality. When necessary, participants may be referred to professional help. The 10 sessions conclude with a weekend retreat and Mass.

Holy Spirit parish invited Landings director Father James Moran, CSP, to Singapore last November to present the program to the archdiocese and to conduct a two-day workshop for those interested in starting Landings in their own parishes.

Following that, individuals from six parishes and members sent by the New Evangelization Team (NET) participated in the 10-week process with the Holy Spirit team.

Diana Koh from NET joined Landings to discern if it is appropriate as a form of “evangelization and re-evangelization” for NET.

“Landings seems to be such a ‘simple’ program – no great theology here – and we [at NET] believe that it is because of this simplicity that God has the space to work marvelous things,” Ms. Koh said. “What moved us at the end was the manifestation of God’s power in bringing the ‘returnees’ back home.”

The Church of the Holy Trinity is one parish keen to form this ministry. Parishioner Anna M. J. attended Father Moran’s workshop at the behest of Father Timothy Yeo to assess this program.

“When I attended this workshop, I felt this program could be what most returning Catholics would need,” Ms. M. J. explained. “If it was six years ago, I would have been very happy to go for it, as that was when I was coming back to the church but didn’t have any community or friends that could have helped me make the journey easier.”

She then joined the run ending in March to see how the ministry actually worked, telling herself that she needed not to share “my experiences, my brokenness,” but to just “sit back and watch.”

“However, what I did not know was that while others shared their life experiences, hurts and pains, I began to see mine, too, in a different light,” she said. “I started to share my life story and I know talking about it opens up your vulnerability, but I never felt that … in fact, coming together as a community built trust and fellowship. It was the most comforting act from Jesus.”

“It is a very easy-going program, and sharing is the key,” Ms. M.J. added. “I would think that anyone trying to come back would be made comfortable knowing he is not being judged or forced to participate until ready.”

This is not a session where all the returnee’s questions or angle over religion or the church matters can be answered, but is a journey where members of the group help each other move forward to Jesus, she explained.

Ms. M. J. and the parish priest of Holy Trinity, Father Johnson Fernandez, are exploring how Landings will work at the Church of the Holy Trinity and Church of Divine Mercy and perhaps, “for the community in the east.”

For Ms. M.J., the Landings experience isn’t over; she is sharing this program with others.

“I use my past experience to motivate me, knowing we all need someone to help us in our journey and growth, and how difficult it is to come back to the church on our own,” she explained. “Being in a community makes it easier. And witnessing others go through their own transformation, watching God work in them, makes me even more sure that Landings is the program that reaches out to returning Catholics.”