Detroit — Throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit, parishes are working hard to help everyone feel welcome during the Easter season.

Whether someone has not been to church for a very long time, is a new Catholic who just joined at the Easter Vigil, or attends every Sunday, local pastors want all to know that they are a part of the Catholic family.

Fr. Michael Verschaeve, pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Lake Orion, said his parish does everything it can to make everyone feel welcome.

“At the Easter Vigil, we extend hospitality especially to the newly baptized and professed and to their family members,” Fr. Verschaeve said.

“Welcome also includes enlisting the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department to direct traffic before and after the two 10:45 a.m. Easter Masses which we hold simultaneously in the church and the gymnasium,” he added.

Fr. Verschaeve said there are many children present at Easter Masses, and “they too are most welcome.”

“In this regard, my mantra is: ‘every Mass is a scream, and we love it!’” he said.

But most of all, he explained, Easter means doing what a parish does best: celebrating the presence of the Risen Lord in word and sacrament.”

“We try, as always, to offer meaningful worship through good music, thoughtful preaching and the manner in which we show reverence for the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist,” he said.

Fr. James Bilot, pastor of Divine Child Parish in Dearborn, emphasized the value of reaching out to any and all people who come to Easter Mass.

“What we hope to accomplish is preaching the word of God, and hopefully that creates a fire in (the peoples’) hearts,” Fr. Bilot said. “And through receiving the Eucharist, that a deeper connection is made.”

After Easter Masses, the parish is also giving out free CDs on different aspects of the Catholic faith from the Dynamic Catholic series by Catholic author and speaker Matthew Kelly, Fr. Bilot said.

“Hopefully that will help spread the word as well,” he said.

Fr. Verschaeve agreed: “By doing what we do best, we hope that our many visitors will want to return more often.”