All Posts
Missional Community
Can Small Parishes Grow?
By Fr. Jeff Lorig, Director of Pastoral Services Turns out a lot of us churchgoing Catholics attend Mass at a parish with 400 or fewer attendees. Eighty-three of the 138 parishes… Read More
Missional Community
Needy Parishioners
By Fr. Jeff Lorig, Director of Pastoral Services At a recent Clergy Conference many of the priests of the Archdiocese had a chance to dive into the science and practice… Read More
Culture of Generosity
Please and Thank You
By Clair Mucha, Stewardship and Development Office Intern Recruiting volunteers is a perennial challenge. Inviting parishioners and others to participate in meaningful volunteer opportunities is essential to creating an engaged… Read More
Clear Path to Discipleship
Are We Seeing Conversions In Our Parishes?
By Andy Dejka, Office of Evangelization and Catechesis The religious landscape in the United States is undergoing serious changes. The “religiously unaffiliated” are now the fastest growing religious group in… Read More
Pastoral Planning
Wish I Knew That Before
By Fr. Jeff Lorig, Director of Pastoral Services If I knew what I know now, I might not have done it completely different, but I think I would have felt… Read More
Leadership
Communication Failures
The Animals made it popular, but it was Nina Simone who sang it with a soulful ache that made you feel it. Can you relate to these lyrics? I’m… Read More
Clear Path to Discipleship
Youth Ministry Doesn't Work
By Jodi Phillips, Office of Evangelization and Catechesis As a high school student, I was very involved in a youth group at a small Protestant church. I went to Sunday… Read More
Family
Building an Effective Pro-Life Ministry
By Whitney Bradley, Center for Family Life Formation The urgency of the pro-life mission often leads committees to focus primarily on developing programs and planning events which they hope will… Read More
Missional Community
When the Parish and School Don't Seem to be on the Same Page
By Dr. Michael Ashton, Superintendent of Catholic Schools Pastor: “Why aren’t the families at my Catholic school sitting in the pews on Sunday?” Principal: “Why aren’t the families sitting in… Read More
Leadership
Equipping Disciples is All About Leadership
By Fr. Jeff Lorig, Director of Pastoral Services At the heart of Christian leadership is the sacred responsibility to equip others for the work of ministry. It doesn’t just make… Read More
Pastoral Planning
Managing Transition
By Fr. Jeff Lorig, Director of Pastoral Services We’re about a month into our new priest assignments. For many of those who went through pastoral planning in our rural parishes… Read More