Stories of parish renewal
from around the world.
Renewal is a Team Sport: A Story from the Netherlands
Father Jochem Van Velthoven has been intensely pursuing parish renewal for the last three years at Catharina Parochie in Oosterhout, Netherlands. He has established a leadership team, set in place a regular cycle of Alpha for evangelization, and even created “The Journey of Hope” a program facilitated by his lay leaders to pass on the missional principles he learned through DR to his parishioners.
But on June 16th, Father Jochem could not get out of bed.
Father Jochem Van Velthoven has been intensely pursuing parish renewal for the last three years at Catharina Parochie in Oosterhout, Netherlands. He has established a leadership team, set in place a regular cycle of Alpha for evangelization, and even created “The Journey of Hope” a program facilitated by his lay leaders to pass on the missional principles he learned through DR to his parishioners. But on June 16th, Father Jochem could not get out of bed.
Father Petr’s priesthood has often been in isolation, as Zuzana explains: “Father Petr is used to being alone, because he was alone being ordained a deacon, alone being ordained a priest, in his year, in the seminary he was also alone” as others around him left priestly formation. So being able to be in a coaching cohort with brother priests was a welcome change. Since Kickstart, Father Petr has jumped into parish renewal with both feet.
Nathan Cabalfin, together with his wife Glenna, has eight children ranging from 15 years to 8 months old. Working as an engineer in Greater Vancouver, he lives a very full life – or as he describes it, “one without much downtime.” Yet in 2022, when Father Mark McGuckin arrived as the new Pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish (learn more about Father Mark) and approached Nathan to join the Leadership and Renewal Team, Nathan jumped in and gave his yes. “I want to set an example, a model, for my children of what it’s like to be in faithful community.”
My husband Ray and I arrived in Orange, (about 250 kms west of Sydney) in 2018. We were looking forward to retiring outside of the fast pace of Sydney city life. We hoped Orange, with a population of about 48,000, would offer country hospitality and friendliness. At first our hopes were fulfilled, even at the local gym everyone was friendly, welcoming, and had time for a cuppa [cup of coffee/tea] after class. However, when we first attended St. Mary’s Catholic Church it was not welcoming at all. Everyone seemed in a rush to get in and then get out of Mass. This was a shock. So, we went to the Uniting Church in Orange to see if this was just the culture of the churches in town. It could not have been more different. At the Uniting Church, we were welcomed at the door, introduced to people, offered a cup of tea/coffee after service and even a dinner invitation from the minister. I was also asked personally if I would like to attend a weekly Bible study. The hospitality was wonderful and made us feel at home. But, despite the wonderful hospitality at the Uniting Church, we missed attending Mass.
