“I Walked Out Free”: A Story from Canada
St. Joseph’s in Vanderhoof, Canada, is a small rural parish comprised of approximately 75 families. The community’s economy is supported by logging and farming.
Parish Priest, Fr. Pier, wears a lot of hats to keep things going. But when a parishioner gave him the book, “Divine Renovation: Bringing Your Parish from Maintenance to Mission,” he was struck by its call to mission. He built a small team of volunteer lay leaders – because there was no money to hire any staff. He starting leading from a team and using a tool called Alpha that helps share the faith in a clear and simple way. They started small: a few parishioners praying by name for people in their lives who didn’t know Jesus. They ran Alpha, personally invited friends – anyone. They were nervous no one would come.
And then something happened.
People showed up.
