Mass mobs descend on New York State churches

Feb 3rd, 2014

Taking up the idea of using social media to rustle up spontanious choirs or dance performance in public places - mobs of Catholics in Buffalo, New York, have been filling pews and lifting spirits at some of the city's original, now often sparsely attended, churches - Carolyn Thomas reports on Yahoo News.

On a given Sunday, participants attend Mass en masse at a church they've picked in an online vote and promoted through Facebook and Twitter. Visitors experience the architecture, heritage and spirit of the aging houses of worship and the churches once again see the numbers they were built for, along with a helpful bump in donations when the collection baskets are passed.

"I call these churches faith enhancers. You can't help but walk in and feel closer to a higher power," said Christopher Byrd, who hatched the idea in Buffalo last fall and has organized two Mass mobs so far, both of which drew hundreds. He's heard from other cities about starting their own. The aim, he said, is to reignite interest, support and perhaps even membership in older churches that "kind of fall off the radar screen of people."

One such church is Our Lady of Perpetual Help in a neighbourhood settled by Irish immigrants along the Buffalo River. The church once brimmed with 800 families when it was dedicated in 1900. Today, fewer than 50 worshippers typically amble into the Gothic-style sanctuary for Sunday Mass.

It's a familiar story among city churches that were built for waves of Polish, German, Irish and Italian immigrants but whose congregations have dwindled with the city's population decline and suburban sprawl. Buffalo's population is less than half what it was in 1950, when it peaked at 580,000.

"We're still here," said the Rev Donald Lutz, who welcomed a crowd of more than 300 on a recent Sunday after Our Lady of Perpetual Help, known to locals as "Pets," was selected for the Mass mob.

Organizers sought nominations from the public for churches on the Mass mob website and put the top three up for a vote. Online voting begins this week for the next mob, planned for 23 March.