Where in the whole, wide world is #flatfrcooper? You never know

by Karen Baker

By Karen Baker
Contributing writer

When one idea leads to another, you end up with something like #flatfrcooper.

That’s what happened at a stewardship meeting at Mary, Queen of Peace in Mandeville during the spring.

One thought – how can we remind parishioners to go to Mass while on vacation? – sparked a discussion that led to another idea: Let’s copy the popular “Flat Stanley” idea used in schools (kids cut out Flat Stanley and send him to relatives, who take pictures of Stanley’s travels).

That’s how #flatfrcooper was born.

Came with instructions

Soon, a cutout of Father Robert Cooper, pastor, was created with instructions for kids (or even adults) to decorate him and bring him on vacation, posting pictures of where he ends up going to Mass – or even where he just ends up vacationing on summer break.

People picked up copies at Mass, found him online, and packed #flatfrcooper up for quite a summer!

He traveled from Iceland to Ireland to Italy and plenty of places in between.

He was seen at the Arctic, in Wyoming, Iowa and Hawaii.

There he was in Spain, then Greece, then Alaska, Scotland, Seattle, Colorado and the Florida beaches.

There were stops in Washington, D.C., Wyoming, Utah and Maine – where he caught lobsters!

He visited shrines in Fatima and Lourdes and enjoyed some time in Mississippi and Manresa and Illinois, not to mention taking some “staycations” to St. Joseph Abbey and St. Louis Cathedral.

#flatfrcooper even got to visit Bishop John Tran in Atlanta!

Whew! #flatfrcooper had a busy summer! Now that school is back in session and he can rest. Or can he? There’s a rumor he may pop up here and there to remind parents about what’s going on in faith formation at Mary, Queen of Peace.

Connection strengthened

All in all, the one idea that led to another was a winner – the Mary, Queen of Peace family stayed connected online all summer and families responded to the reminder: Summer vacation always includes a trip to church for Mass. #flatfrcooper was pleased.