Great parishes shared by several ethnicities discover ways to give each group what it needs while also forging unity. The medium-sized Midwestern parish shared...
Ministries
Growing parishes are the ones that nourish their members through good liturgy, faith formation, and service. They’re also parishes that accept the reality that...
My first year working as a youth minister, I had a group of about 10 or 12 kids who came on a regular basis. These were kids whose families routinely went to...
Social ministry is the job of the entire parish community. What are we waiting for? As the implications of the gospel, baptism, Vatican II, and, specifically...
An important lesson that I learned about Lent actually came from a Jewish friend. While working at Purdue University, I served under Dr. Robert Ringel, a...
How do bustling parishes stir up so much activity and enthusiasm? Experts share a few key ingredients that have proven to be a recipe for success. It’s a good...
One day a woman came to our church office just wanting me to bless her 3-year-old son. Boy, did he put up a fight. The only offices he knew were medical...
When poor diets caused too many early deaths in an urban community, a solution came from an unlikely source—the local mortician. As a 61-year-old mortician...
Despite a few stellar examples, many parishes have a long way to go to make sure all people can literally get in the door. Jane Bittle is an active leader at...
Like many other lifelong Catholics, Danny Benavidez, a member of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Chula Vista, California, helps out at his parish in a number of...
