Lent, a sacred season in the liturgical calendar, spans 40 days filled with reflection and preparation leading up to Easter. This solemn period mirrors the biblical account of Jesus’ fasting in the wilderness, inviting believers to embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth through a more significant and sustained engagement in their […]
Category: Discipleship
Small groups in the parish are opportunities for parishioners to come together to strengthen their faith through discussion, scripture study, and shared prayer. Within the complexity of a church community, small groups emerge as essential experiences that bring parishioners into closer connections and deeper fellowship. In fact, we’ve found them to be a game changer […]
I’m not entirely sure where the number even came from. One moment, we were talking generally about the desire to increase participation in our small group program. The next, my associate Tom Corcoran was declaring in front of the whole congregation and our online audience that our goal for this year was to get 1,000 […]
For our first message series of the new year, we’ve been looking at “thieves” of joy: things that threaten to steal our joy: things like worry, disappointment, fear, anger, rejection, and all the rest. The purpose of the series is to name those thieves and then identify strategies that will protect us and help us […]
Missions Weekend You are my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. – Acts 1:8 The final instruction from the Lord to the Church clearly teaches there are to be no limits to our missionary service. The three-fold nature of the instruction indicates that the Christian community has […]
Every church I am in conversation with has seen a setback in their in-person weekend attendance this past year. Typically, I’m hearing between 20% to 50% of pre-COVID attendance. Currently, here at Nativity, we are consistently seeing 35% of our previous attendance at our reduced weekend Mass schedule (three Masses down from five). In case […]
In my last post I argued the ongoing importance of our online presence, including live streaming weekend Masses. It will be more important post-COVID than it was before. At the same time, this in no way suggests that attendance, physical presence, and, of course, the reception of Holy Communion at church are unimportant. They’re critical. […]
The season of summer can be a quieter time at many parishes. Unless you’re in a resort community, attendance inevitably drops as faith formation programs end and parishioners go on vacation (or just sleep in). While summer should be a time of rest and refreshment for pastors and parish staff, it is also an important […]
Every year, and only once a year, we take a whole weekend to invite parishioners to consider getting up out of the pew (or off their sofa at home) and start serving in one of our parish ministries. We call it ministry “push” weekend. Each of our ministries serves an important function in the mission […]
A recent study out of the UK found that the average adult will say the phrase “I’m fine” 14 times a week. Despite this, only 19% said that they actually meant it. The words are so built into our daily conversation that they can feel scripted. “I’m fine” is a comfort zone, security blanket, go-to […]
