Three Catholic parishes are sponsoring a series of listening sessions to welcome back baptized Catholics who are no longer active in the Church. The participating parishes are St. Charles and St. Mary in Burlington and St. Joseph in Lyons. The first listening session will be held on Monday, January 8 at 7 p.m., at St. Mary Parish, located at 108 McHenry St.

The session is designed to help people better understand what is happening in today's Church. The event provides people an opportunity to discuss why they are not active in the Church. Trained facilitators, including lay people who have left and since returned to the Church, will conduct the session.

"We have held three similar sessions to date and it is clear that there are inactive Catholics who long to come back to the Church, but just don't know how to go about it, don't believe it is possible, or think that they are not welcome," said Marilyn Ahler, Tri-Parish Coordinator. "Many carry a tremendous amount of guilt and misinformation and are afraid of approaching the Church for fear of being rejected. This is a non-threatening way for them to reconnect with their faith.

For more information, contact May Spiegelhoff at (262) 763-1505.