In many countries the period before Lent is called “Carnival,” originally a Latin phrase meaning literally “farewell to meat.” The phrase was a reference to the rather rigorous approach to the whole extended season of Lent observed by the faithful and the devout in many places. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and extends until the […]
Category: Evangelization
We are about to launch a very interesting project in the life of the parish. We’re going to complete the balcony we left unfinished when we opened our new church last year. Because of the success of our Vision Campaign we were able to complete some of the more costly items involved in a balcony […]
We are kicking off a brief three-week series all about fishing. And as we begin I should acknowledge, for purposes of transparency, I have never been fishing in my life. And I have absolutely no interest in ever giving it a try. So it might seem like a funny topic to propose. But, when Jesus […]
Last week my pastor, Father Michael White, posted a blog which underscored the value we place on programs for infants and toddlers that parents can use while they’re attending Mass. Within hours his Twitter account lit up with dozens of responses, mostly negative. Fr. Michael acknowledges that he could have done a better job of […]
This Sunday brings one of my favorite readings from one of my favorite books of the Bible. We are looking at a passage from Nehemiah, which is all about rebuilding. Nehemiah gets permission from the king of Persia to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls around the city, which were broken and a […]
Recently we had a very extended and animated discussion in our Strategic Leadership Team. And what sparked the debate? Our online campus, specifically: live streaming Sunday Masses “on demand” services and programming during the week Basically the debate came down to one that, I suspect, is happening in many settings these days. Is the online […]
In just a few days, your church will be experiencing your greatest opportunity of the whole year. Are you just getting it over and done with or capitalizing on it for your long-term strategic advantage? Is Christmas only to be managed or can you make it all about your mission? Here are 5 things to […]
This week I had the opportunity to meet with our Greeter Ministry. Below are my remarks: We serve at a very critical time in the life of the Church. A time in which it’s easy to be disheartened and disillusioned, and, as a consequence, disengaged. It is rather like a systems wide implosion going on […]
This week we invite you and your family to sign up to serve on Christmas Eve at the Fairgrounds. I know it seems far away but it will be here before you know it. Besides, if we wait till after Thanksgiving a lot of people have already made their Christmas plans and even if they […]
Church health and growth are dependent on many factors, for sure. But bottom line, at the end of the day, churches don’t grow because they’re not healthy. And they’re not healthy because they’re focused on themselves. For all the talk about evangelization these days, the truth is that many churches remain resolutely focused on themselves, […]
