Mass Mobs Fill Churches

Our lady of perpetual help in Buffalo where the last mass mob met up to pray - See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

Our lady of perpetual help in Buffalo where the last mass mob met up to pray - See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

 Our lady of perpetual help in Buffalo where the last mass mob met up to pray 

Our lady of perpetual help in Buffalo where the last mass mob met up to pray - See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

Our lady of perpetual help in Buffalo where the last mass mob met up to pray - See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

Our lady of perpetual help in Buffalo where the last mass mob met up to pray - See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

Our lady of perpetual help in Buffalo where the last mass mob met up to pray - See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

Mass mob! Roman Catholics fill sparsely filled churches by promoting gatherings at old churches on Facebook and Twitter.


Playing off the idea of using social media to summon crowds for parties or mischief, mobs of Buffalo-area Roman Catholics have been filling pews and lifting spirits at some of the city's original, now often sparsely attended, churches. 

It works this way: 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.
- See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

Playing off the idea of using social media to summon crowds for parties or mischief, Mass Mob uses social media to get people to attend churches

Christopher Byrd, who hatched the idea in Buffalo last fall and has organized two Mass mobs so far, both of which drew hundreds

One such church is Our Lady of Perpetual Help in a neighborhood settled by Irish immigrants along the Buffalo River

- See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

It works this way: 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.

aying off the idea of using social media to summon crowds for parties or mischief, Mass Mob uses social media to get people to attend churches

Christopher Byrd, who hatched the idea in Buffalo last fall and has organized two Mass mobs so far, both of which drew hundreds

- See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

It works this way: 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.

Playing off the idea of using social media to summon crowds for parties or mischief, Mass Mob uses social media to get people to attend churches

Christopher Byrd, who hatched the idea in Buffalo last fall and has organized two Mass mobs so far, both of which drew hundreds

One such church is Our Lady of Perpetual Help in a neighborhood settled by Irish immigrants along the Buffalo River

- See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

 



 See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

Our lady of perpetual help in Buffalo where the last mass mob met up to pray

"It's wonderful to see the old churches. They're beautiful," said Barbara Mocarski, who came from nearby Lackawanna to be part of the mob. While the sanctuary is largely well-preserved, areas of cracking plaster and water stains show a need for costly maintenance.
"Seeing the community together and caring about them, I was really happy to hear about it," Mocarski said.
Karen Huber of the suburb of West Seneca hoped the Mass mob idea would bring more young people back to church so that crowds would again be the rule, not the exception.
The eight-county Diocese of Buffalo, in a restructuring, has closed nearly 100 churches in recent years as attendance and financial support has declined and priests have retired. Days after the Mass mob came an announcement that 10 suburban Catholic schools would close after this school year.
Byrd, 46, plans about six Buffalo Mass mobs a year. Chris Clemens and Luke Myer made the 90-minute trip from Rochester and are already promoting the idea in their city, where they blog about upstate New York's religious and spiritual history and sites.
Byrd, an activist in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood where he grew up, said there has been interest from other cities, too, and he hopes the flash mob social media hook will resonate with a younger generation for whom the pull of family tradition has relaxed.
Said Byrd, 'They may think it's cool'
- See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

Our lady of perpetual help in Buffalo where the last mass mob met up to pray

"It's wonderful to see the old churches. They're beautiful," said Barbara Mocarski, who came from nearby Lackawanna to be part of the mob. While the sanctuary is largely well-preserved, areas of cracking plaster and water stains show a need for costly maintenance.
"Seeing the community together and caring about them, I was really happy to hear about it," Mocarski said.
Karen Huber of the suburb of West Seneca hoped the Mass mob idea would bring more young people back to church so that crowds would again be the rule, not the exception.
The eight-county Diocese of Buffalo, in a restructuring, has closed nearly 100 churches in recent years as attendance and financial support has declined and priests have retired. Days after the Mass mob came an announcement that 10 suburban Catholic schools would close after this school year.
Byrd, 46, plans about six Buffalo Mass mobs a year. Chris Clemens and Luke Myer made the 90-minute trip from Rochester and are already promoting the idea in their city, where they blog about upstate New York's religious and spiritual history and sites.
Byrd, an activist in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood where he grew up, said there has been interest from other cities, too, and he hopes the flash mob social media hook will resonate with a younger generation for whom the pull of family tradition has relaxed.
Said Byrd, 'They may think it's cool'
- See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

Our lady of perpetual help in Buffalo where the last mass mob met up to pray

"It's wonderful to see the old churches. They're beautiful," said Barbara Mocarski, who came from nearby Lackawanna to be part of the mob. While the sanctuary is largely well-preserved, areas of cracking plaster and water stains show a need for costly maintenance.
"Seeing the community together and caring about them, I was really happy to hear about it," Mocarski said.
Karen Huber of the suburb of West Seneca hoped the Mass mob idea would bring more young people back to church so that crowds would again be the rule, not the exception.
The eight-county Diocese of Buffalo, in a restructuring, has closed nearly 100 churches in recent years as attendance and financial support has declined and priests have retired. Days after the Mass mob came an announcement that 10 suburban Catholic schools would close after this school year.
Byrd, 46, plans about six Buffalo Mass mobs a year. Chris Clemens and Luke Myer made the 90-minute trip from Rochester and are already promoting the idea in their city, where they blog about upstate New York's religious and spiritual history and sites.
Byrd, an activist in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood where he grew up, said there has been interest from other cities, too, and he hopes the flash mob social media hook will resonate with a younger generation for whom the pull of family tradition has relaxed.
Said Byrd, 'They may think it's cool'
- See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

Our lady of perpetual help in Buffalo where the last mass mob met up to pray

"It's wonderful to see the old churches. They're beautiful," said Barbara Mocarski, who came from nearby Lackawanna to be part of the mob. While the sanctuary is largely well-preserved, areas of cracking plaster and water stains show a need for costly maintenance.
"Seeing the community together and caring about them, I was really happy to hear about it," Mocarski said.
Karen Huber of the suburb of West Seneca hoped the Mass mob idea would bring more young people back to church so that crowds would again be the rule, not the exception.
The eight-county Diocese of Buffalo, in a restructuring, has closed nearly 100 churches in recent years as attendance and financial support has declined and priests have retired. Days after the Mass mob came an announcement that 10 suburban Catholic schools would close after this school year.
Byrd, 46, plans about six Buffalo Mass mobs a year. Chris Clemens and Luke Myer made the 90-minute trip from Rochester and are already promoting the idea in their city, where they blog about upstate New York's religious and spiritual history and sites.
Byrd, an activist in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood where he grew up, said there has been interest from other cities, too, and he hopes the flash mob social media hook will resonate with a younger generation for whom the pull of family tradition has relaxed.
Said Byrd, 'They may think it's cool'
- See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf

Our lady of perpetual help in Buffalo where the last mass mob met up to pray

"It's wonderful to see the old churches. They're beautiful," said Barbara Mocarski, who came from nearby Lackawanna to be part of the mob. While the sanctuary is largely well-preserved, areas of cracking plaster and water stains show a need for costly maintenance.
"Seeing the community together and caring about them, I was really happy to hear about it," Mocarski said.
Karen Huber of the suburb of West Seneca hoped the Mass mob idea would bring more young people back to church so that crowds would again be the rule, not the exception.
The eight-county Diocese of Buffalo, in a restructuring, has closed nearly 100 churches in recent years as attendance and financial support has declined and priests have retired. Days after the Mass mob came an announcement that 10 suburban Catholic schools would close after this school year.
Byrd, 46, plans about six Buffalo Mass mobs a year. Chris Clemens and Luke Myer made the 90-minute trip from Rochester and are already promoting the idea in their city, where they blog about upstate New York's religious and spiritual history and sites.
Byrd, an activist in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood where he grew up, said there has been interest from other cities, too, and he hopes the flash mob social media hook will resonate with a younger generation for whom the pull of family tradition has relaxed.
Said Byrd, 'They may think it's cool'
- See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/38651-mass-mob-roman-catholics-fill-sparsely-filled-churches-by-promoting-gatherings-at-old-churches-on-facebook-and-twitter.html#sthash.oRbeBXwt.dpuf