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Ash Wednesday Catholic Mass
411
We put 200 because we expected that many for each mass, totaling to 400 attendees. This showed no major difference in the estimated and actual attendance.
830
None
Ash Wednesday is an important day in the Catholic Faith. Marking the beginning of Lent, a season of reflection and reconciliation, Ash Wednesday is recognized around the world as a day for prayer, fasting, and attending mass. The Newman Center at UC San Diego aims to create a welcoming and inclusive space for Catholic students and faculty to come together. Our event specifically had the goal to provide students and faculty with an easily accessible Catholic Mass on-campus for Ash Wednesday.
The event was successful in many ways. In the planning process, timely communication with A.S. and TAP helped us to manage event logistics. During the event, the venue was full of students but we were still able to manage an efficient system for receiving ashes and the Eucharist. Many people expressed gratitude for this event. Overall, the event allows our attendees to begin Lent, a Catholic spiritual time of preparation for Easter, with a strong and renewed commitment to their spiritual life. Additionally, we have noticed many new students interested in the Catholic Community, Newman Center Parish at UC San Diego, which we believe correlated to this event.
There was no major difference in the estimated and actual attendance.
No complications occurred during the event.
We had the QR code for attendance on our volunteers’ phones but it would be helpful to put them on paper so that students can easily scan them. Having slides during the final announcement can also be useful, with the QR code included for those that missed scanning before mass. During the distribution of ashes and Holy Communion, we had student ministers on stage and outside the building. Depending on where attendees were seated, they were directed to the front or the back. However, this may have confused people on where to go if they were standing or were seated in the middle. We could utilize signs or have more student ministers as ushers distributed throughout the room to allow for more efficient movement.
We do not have recommendations for future advertisements as we were already able to reach a wide audience through our public Instagram page and our newsletter.
Thank you for being more responsive and attentive than last year, especially since there were a lot of funding application requests. Discord seems to be a better way to reach you guys, I know whoever did the application last year ran into complications with just emailing. I wonder if the application save bug has been fixed?