Editors’ note: Sounding Board is one person’s take on a many-sided subject and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of U.S. Catholic, its editors...
Parish life
Zeni Fox says that calling lay Catholics to ministry has its roots in the early church. Where in the tradition do we find lay ministry? According to the New...
Lay ministry is here to stay, says this theologian. But there are growing pains still to come. When faced with the question “Who are the laity?” in the mid...
How women who work for the church keep the faith It’s lunchtime at St. Clement Parish in Chicago, and although some of the city’s best restaurants are within...
Find or be a mentor. Ministry associations are great, but informal groups work, too. “I’ve really found a lot of support in the older women who have paved the...
Catholic tradition still has answers for the questions of the contemporary world, says the former Master-General of the Dominican order. For someone who was...
The day after their farewell Mass, parishioners of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church were locked out. Archdiocesan officials had changed the locks days ahead...
(This story accompanies The need for closure: What happens when a parish closes its doors.) Whatever church leaders do, parishioners aren’t going to be...
Parish leaders and young adults might be missing each other. While some wonder where all the 20- and 30-somethings are on Sunday morning, the young...
It can be hard to find your place in the church when you are in your 20s and 30s. You’re no longer a teenager in a youth group or a college student at a...
