I’m a pretty plain-spoken person, so I would probably tell the ladies of the parish, “You’re not following the Catholic model in the way you run the parish - you’re running it like a Methodist Ladies’ Aid. That’s scaring Catholics away.” And as they stared at me with their mouths at half-cock, I’d add, “Try letting the priest run the parish. It’s his job.”
>>- you’re running it like a Methodist Ladies’ Aid.<<
They would have smiled. That’s what they were shooting for.