Parishes

Help your parish deepen their participation in the body of Christ this Lent through CRS Rice Bowl. Rooted in the history of the Eucharistic Congress, CRS Rice Bowl invites faith communities in the United States to encounter God and our global family throughout Lent by practicing the pillars of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Use these free resources to kick off CRS Rice Bowl in your parish and learn together how the Eucharist—the Bread of Life—calls us to share bread for life with our sisters and brothers most in need around the world.

Get Started

1. Talk with your pastor to get his support and ask for help engaging the wider community, recruiting volunteers and promoting CRS Rice Bowl.
2. Place your order for free CRS Rice Bowl materials at least three weeks before Lent at crsricebowl.org/order.
3. Promote CRS Rice Bowl in your community with the CRS Rice Bowl poster, downloadable ads and other communication resources available.
4. Distribute CRS Rice Bowls at Mass to every family on the Sunday before Lent or Ash Wednesday.
5. Use CRS Rice Bowl resources throughout Lent to enhance your community’s experience, including weekly Prayers of the Faithful and bulletin announcements, Stations of the Cross and meatless recipes from around the world.
6. Create your community’s personalized online giving page to easily collect alms throughout Lent.

Planning Tools

Find the tools you need to begin planning your faith community’s CRS Rice Bowl Lenten experience. Get started by watching this video with 5 simple steps.

Order free CRS Rice Bowl materials online for your parish community, or call 800-222-0025. All orders ship in early January.

Come Together to Give

Create an online community giving page in fewer than 10 minutes to make collecting your community’s Rice Bowl donations a breeze!

Get Started

End-of-Lent Planning

It’s important to inform parishioners how CRS Rice Bowl donations will be collected at the end of Lent. To assist in that effort, all participating communities will receive a “Mid-Lent Mailing.” Some helpful hints:

• Steps to Collect CRS Rice Bowls: These tips will help you plan a successful end-of-Lent collection.
• Envelope Template: If your community prefers a second collection-style envelope, download and print this envelope.

Communication Tools

CRS Rice Bowl offers a suite of digital and print tools to help you communicate with parishioners.

Bulletin Announcements and Flyer

Include a short blurb or flyer in your parish bulletin, featuring information about how to participate in CRS Rice Bowl, the weekly Stories of Hope and more.

Download Announcements: English | Spanish

Download Flyer: English | Spanish

Pulpit Announcement

Invite your community to participate in CRS Rice Bowl using this pre-written announcement during Mass.

Download Pulpit Announcement: English | Spanish

Letter to Families

Share more about CRS Rice Bowl and how families can get the most out of their Lenten journey with this printable letter.

Download Letter: English | Spanish

Media Toolkit

Download photos, videos, social media images and more for your newsletters, presentations and other communications.

Explore Media: English | Spanish

If your parish is interested in hearing a first-hand account of how far your CRS Rice Bowl funds go, invite a CRS Global Fellow—a priest or deacon who witnesses the work of CRS and shares about it with communities in the U.S.—to your parish. There is no cost and no second collection, just a thank you, for your support and an inspirational message about the impact your community can make through CRS Rice Bowl. To schedule, email globalfellows@crs.org.

Liturgical Resources

Integrate CRS Rice Bowl into your parish’s liturgical life with these faith resources.

Prayer Service to Begin and End Lent

Use these brief prayer services within the context of Mass or another prayerful space to kick off CRS Rice Bowl and bring it to a close.

Download Prayer Service: English | Spanish

Weekly Prayers of the Faithful

Incorporate these prayer intentions for your community and our global family into the weekly Prayers of the Faithful or other prayer space.

Download Prayer Intentions: English | Spanish

Stations of the Cross

Pray the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday and throughout Lent with this downloadable booklet or video series.

Pray With Booklet: English | Spanish

Pray With Videos: English | Spanish

Eucharistic Adoration

Participate in the national Eucharistic Revival by planning a Holy Hour of Adoration for your community with prayers and readings from Scripture.

Download Adoration Resource: English | Spanish