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Author: Paul Wilkes
Publisher: Paulist Press
Published: 2001
Total Pages: 278
ISBN-13: 9780809139927
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The author provides an in-depth look at eight diverse models of excellence, a directory of hundreds of great parishes throughout the country, and listings of those traits common to excellence that can be reproduced in parishes everywhere.
Author: William E. Simon
Publisher:
Published: 2016
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781594714177
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →What is really happening in the Catholic Church in North America? Are parishes thriving or dying? Is dissatisfaction among Catholics growing or are they becoming more engaged in the evangelizing mission of the Church? Businessman, professor, and philanthropist, William E. Simon Jr. has been highly influenced by the dynamic and inspiring Catholic parishes he has attended for more than 25 years. In 2012, he founded Parish Catalyst, an organization devoted to researching and supporting the health and development of Catholic parishes. Great Catholic Parishes looks at Simon's insights and the success stories of 244 vibrant parishes to show what makes them great. In 2012 and 2013, Simon and his team studied 244 Catholic parishes to determine what made them exceptional. The study found that all of the parishes shared four foundational practices that led to a profound sense of belonging within their parish communities and a deepening commitment to discipleship: Share leadership by using clergy and lay staff with the best talents and skills to direct the community Foster spiritual maturity and plan for discipleship by offering a variety of formation programs and ministry opportunities to reach parishioners at differing points in their lives Excel on Sundays by dedicating significant time, energy, and money to liturgical celebrations that parishioners and visitors find welcoming Intentionally evangelize by challenging insiders to look outward and providing service programs, social events, global mission opportunities, and pastoral care at key sacramental moments that focus on inviting outsiders to deeper relationship with Christ and the Church. In Great Catholic Parishes, Simon shares personal stories such as finding a welcoming parish home and what he learned about evangelizing from a mission trip to Kenya. Pastors from exceptional parishes offer helpful ideas, strategic advice, and practical strategies, as well as anecdotes about lay ministry development initiatives and reworking religious education so that it is family focused and web-based. You will also learn creative solutions to familiar challenges such as spiritual stagnation among parishioners, reconciling diverse needs in the parish, allowing the pastor to focus on pastoring and preaching, and reaching youth and young adults who leave the Church in disproportionate numbers. Each chapter closes with either crucial takeaways or a summary of practical challenges that will help pastors and leaders focus on growth and excellence. Great Catholic Parishes received an Honorable Mention in the 2017 Catholic Press Association Book Awards: Pastoral Ministry.
Author: Charles E. Zech
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2017-01-02
Total Pages: 144
ISBN-13: 0190645180
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A seminal moment in the study of U.S. Catholic parish life came in the 1980s with the publication of a series of reports from the ground-breaking Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life. These reports are now badly outdated, as Catholic dioceses grapple with new challenges that didn't exist in the 80s. Topics that were not considered then, like greater Catholic mobility, increased cultural diversity, and structural re-organization as well as the rise of lay leadership, have attained new significance. This timely book, based on more than a decade of research, provides an in-depth portrait and analysis of the current state of parish life and leadership. Unique in the scope of the research and the timeliness of its findings, the book critically examines the current state of parish life. The authors draw on data from national polls of Catholics, national surveys of parishes, and thousands of in-pew surveys which explore parishioners' needs, experiences, and satisfaction with parish life in the twenty-first century. The book provides a unique 360-degree view of parish life from the perspective of pastors, parish staff, parishioners, as well as the larger Catholic population.
Author: Michael J. Castrilli
Publisher: Paulist Press
Published: 2016
Total Pages:
ISBN-13: 1587686228
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A practical, accessible guide to help church leaders through the steps needed to ensure an effective, accountable, and transparent financial process in a parish.
Author: H.W. Crocker III
Publisher: Crown
Published: 2009-02-25
Total Pages: 512
ISBN-13: 0307560775
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →For 2,000 years, Catholicism—the largest religion in the world and in the United States—has shaped global history on a scale unequaled by any other institution. But until now, Catholics interested in their faith have been hard-pressed to find an accessible, affirmative, and exciting history of the Church. Triumph is that history. Inside, you'll discover the spectacular story of the Church from Biblical times and the early days of St. Peter—the first pope—to the twilight years of John Paul II. It is a sweeping drama of Roman legions, great crusades, epic battles, toppled empires, heroic saints, and enduring faith. And, there are stormy controversies: Dark Age skullduggery, the Inquistition, the Renaissance popes, the Reformation, the Church's refusal to accept sexual liberation and contemporary allegations like those made in Hitler's Pope and Papal Sin. A brawling, colorful history full of inspiring pageantry and spirited polemic, Triumph will exhilarate, amuse, and infuriate as it extols the glories of Catholic history and the gripping stories of its greatest men and women.
Author: James Hitchcock
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Published: 2012-01-01
Total Pages: 581
ISBN-13: 1586176641
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A comprehensive history of the Catholic Church from its beginnings in Jesus' ministry to its current status in an increasingly secular world.
Author: John T. McGreevy
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 1998-05-08
Total Pages: 372
ISBN-13: 9780226558745
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Steeples topped by crosses still dominate neighborhood skylines in many American cities, silent markers of local worlds rarely examined by historians. In Parish Boundaries, John McGreevy chronicles the history of these Catholic parishes and connects their unique place in the urban landscape to the course of American race relations in the twentieth century.
Author: Tricia Colleen Bruce
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2017
Total Pages: 265
ISBN-13: 0190270314
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →"Parish and Place tells the story of how America's largest religion is responding at the local level to unprecedented cultural, racial, linguistic, ideological, and political diversification. Specifically, it explores bishops' use of personal parishes - parishes formally established not on the basis of territory, but purpose. Today's personal parishes serve an array of Catholics drawn together by shared identities and preferences, rather than shared neighborhoods. They allow Catholic leaders to act upon the perceived need for named, specialist organizations alongside the more common territorial parish that serves all in its midst.
Author: Michael White
Publisher:
Published: 2013
Total Pages: 292
ISBN-13: 9781594713866
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →When their parish reached a breaking point, Fr. Michael White and lay associate Tom Corcoran asked themselves how they could make the Church matter to Catholics, and they realized the answer was at the heart of the Gospel. Their faithful response not only tripled their weekend mass attendance, but also yielded increased giving, flourishing ministries, and a vibrant, solidly Catholic spiritual revival.
Author: William E. Simon
Publisher: Ave Maria Press
Published: 2016-09-23
Total Pages: 224
ISBN-13: 1594714185
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →What is really happening in the Catholic Church in North America? Are parishes thriving or dying? Is dissatisfaction among Catholics growing or are they becoming more engaged in the evangelizing mission of the Church? Businessman, professor, and philanthropist, William E. Simon Jr. has been highly influenced by the dynamic and inspiring Catholic parishes he has attended for more than 25 years. In 2012, he founded Parish Catalyst, an organization devoted to researching and supporting the health and development of Catholic parishes. Great Catholic Parishes looks at Simon’s insights and the success stories of 244 vibrant parishes to show what makes them great. In 2012 and 2013, Simon and his team studied 244 Catholic parishes to determine what made them exceptional. The study found that all of the parishes shared four foundational practices that led to a profound sense of belonging within their parish communities and a deepening commitment to discipleship: Share leadership by using clergy and lay staff with the best talents and skills to direct the community Foster spiritual maturity and plan for discipleship by offering a variety of formation programs and ministry opportunities to reach parishioners at differing points in their lives Excel on Sundays by dedicating significant time, energy, and money to liturgical celebrations that parishioners and visitors find welcoming Intentionally evangelize by challenging insiders to look outward and providing service programs, social events, global mission opportunities, and pastoral care at key sacramental moments that focus on inviting outsiders to deeper relationship with Christ and the Church. In Great Catholic Parishes, Simon shares personal stories such as finding a welcoming parish home and what he learned about evangelizing from a mission trip to Kenya. Pastors from exceptional parishes offer helpful ideas, strategic advice, and practical strategies, as well as anecdotes about lay ministry development initiatives and reworking religious education so that it is family focused and web-based. You will also learn creative solutions to familiar challenges such as spiritual stagnation among parishioners, reconciling diverse needs in the parish, allowing the pastor to focus on pastoring and preaching, and reaching youth and young adults who leave the Church in disproportionate numbers. Each chapter closes with either crucial takeaways or a summary of practical challenges that will help pastors and leaders focus on growth and excellence.
