The Archdiocese of Chicago will join the Joliet and Rockford dioceses once again to invite those who have left the Catholic Church to come home. This year, the invitation is more personal. The three dioceses will again collaborate on a television advertising campaign starting in Advent. This time the centerpiece of the campaign, an ad called “Home,” and the ad called “Epic,” which ran last year, include video clips of people and scenes that will be familiar to Chicago- area Catholics, said Nancy Polacek, coordinator of Catholics Come Home for the archdiocese. Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, installed Nov. 23 in San Antonio, did the voice-over for the Spanish version of the Home ad when he was a Chicago auxiliary bishop, and a local Polish man voiced the Polish ad, Polacek said. Personal invites But just as important as the $500,000 advertising campaign are personal invitations to church from practicing Catholics. “Every person in every parish is on for an invitation,” Polacek said. “Father (Lou) Cameli says we are called to evangelize, but we don’t know what that means. It means connection.” This year’s ads emphasize the personal nature of faith rather than the history of the church, Polacek said. “We have this spiritual longing,” she said. “That’s what this ad (“Home”) appeals to.” To help parishes make that connection, Catholics Come Home Chicago is offering a number of resources on its website (www.catholicscomehomechicago.org). Parishes can take advantage of online training for ushers, for example, or order prayer cards and brochures or learn about seasonal activities for the home that can be used with religious education or other programs. “We try to send something out by e-mail to all the parishes every week, and then it’s all posted online if they want to get more of something,” Polacek said. New ads on CTA The ads, which are the first wave of the campaign, will run from Dec. 17-Jan. 17 on stations throughout the area. As they disappear from the airwaves, new ads will be posted on Chicago Transit Authority trains. Those ads are aimed specifically at young adult commuters, and will probably carry only the website information, Polacek said. “The ads are inviting,” she said. “Then the parishes have to welcome them (the people), and there has to be an accompaniment. The parishes are on for that.” The archdiocese decided to continue with Catholics Come Home after parishes reported positive experiences from last year’s campaign, everything from more people at Mass and receiving the sacrament of reconciliation to an increased sense of pride in parishioners’ Catholic identity. The emphasis on personal invitation was supported by the experience of many pastors, who found that the people who came back to the church often did so with a friend or family member who was a regular parishioner. Most parishes have been very supportive, Polacek said. “This is like free advertising for every parish,” she said. “We’re welcoming you. We can help you find that happiness and peace in your life.”