Stories of parish renewal
from around the world.
Faith of a Child: A Focus on Evangelization
A parish’s ability to evangelize hinges on inclusion. When families do not find a place for their children to belong in church it often means the adults are excluded too. Laura states “you are limiting who you can evangelize to if you don’t provide something for kids.” She continues, a parish needs to ask itself, “who are we trying to reach? And what are their barriers for coming? And how can we mitigate that? And children’s ministry is a big one.”
A parish’s ability to evangelize hinges on inclusion. When families do not find a place for their children to belong in church it often means the adults are excluded too. Laura states “you are limiting who you can evangelize to if you don’t provide something for kids.” She continues, a parish needs to ask itself, “who are we trying to reach? And what are their barriers for coming? And how can we mitigate that? And children’s ministry is a big one."
For those in the Northern Hemisphere, August marks the peak of summer, a time when many–including priests– schedule their “break.” But this rest can often equal a burn-out coma or an overscheduled “holiday” only to return to the same hamster-wheel pace. Father Peirluigi Vajra CRS, a DR coached Parish Priest at Our Lady of Lourdes in Perth, Australia, shares his journey in experiencing rest as something more than just “not-working”. Like many priests – his workload is great, and rest does not come easily. But in his 28 years as a priest, he has come to recognize the profound value of prioritizing rest.
The conference started with a priest-only session led by Father James Mallon. During the hymn 'Here I am Lord,' DR staff member Anushka Peiris recalls standing in the back watching. “I just had such a grateful heart in that moment for all our priests.” Cheryl Surrey agrees, “Looking around at these sparkling wet eyes looking back at you… you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife, it was so beautiful.”
Christopher Ryan is a lifelong Catholic. His wife, Yuriko, experienced a conversion 10 years ago. When they read Divine Renovation: From a Maintenance to a Missional Parish, they both...
