People of the Promise

• Are you a Catholic who hasn’t felt comfortable with the Church but is looking for ways to reconnect?
• Are you searching for a place where you can nurture your spiritual life?
• Would you enjoy being part of a small, informal worshiping community that fosters participation and faith-sharing?

We invite you to join us. We have found great joy together and would like to share it with others. Our community would be all the richer because of your presence.

The People of the Promise is a Eucharistic-centered worship community designed to serve the liturgical needs of our members who are seeking a more personal alternative to the traditional parish structure. It was formed in February 1972. Most of the founding members had been part of the congregation at the Paulist Center in Boston.

We are, first and foremost, a community of faith. in the Roman Catholic tradition. Within the Church, there have always been a great variety of communities of faith and worship in addition to the traditional, geographically-based parishes.

The existence of such communities is a sign of the constant process of growth, change and adaptation that happens to institutions and individuals alike if they want to stay healthy and alive. It can also be a great blessing to the life of the Church as a whole. We believe that the smaller, informal nature of our community provides a unique context in which we can share our faith and worship together. Many of our members have raised their families in this community.

Every year a few new faces turn up, too. Some continue to have an active relationship with their *official* parish as well. Our regular worship rhythm of two Sundays a month makes that possible. For us, the community life of faith and worship we share is a way to grow in the Catholic faith in a more deeply personal and socially responsible way.

Celebration of the Eucharist is the core of our community life.

Members play an active role in choosing music and leading group discussion during liturgy. We generally celebrate the liturgy of the Word “in the round” and participants are encouraged to share their reflections on the Scripture readings at the time of the homily. The Eucharist is also generally celebrated “in the round” with members gathered around the table. The majority of our chaplains have been Jesuit priests from the faculty of the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge.

POP is an incorporated non-profit organization with a written constitution and a chairperson and other officers, elected
at an annual meeting. At present, community decisions are reached by consensus of the members, facilitated by elected coordinators. Decisions are made at open community meetings, held seasonally, at which - in the tradition of the New England town meeting - everyone speaks as the spirit moves him/her.

Members meet - often in each other’s homes - for fellowship, discussion and meditation, and to plan liturgies and social events. Weekend retreats are held in the Fall and in the Spring. There are also several social events at ski resorts or beaches. Our newsletter, Promising News serves to inform members and is also an outlet for ideas and creative writing. From September through June we meet twice a month for liturgy on Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Odd Fellows Hall, 16 Maple St., in Belmont, MA. Visitors are always welcome.