At Home, On Mission: A Letter from the USA
“There’s no weekend where someone doesn’t tell me, ‘Father, this parish is so welcoming; we felt at home here. What’s your secret?’” Father Rich says. The secret is not really a secret at all; rather, it’s the fruit of almost a decade’s worth of hard work, prayer, and – of course – dependence on the Holy Spirit.
In 2016, Christ the King Parish was ripe for renovation. It was only a few years after Sacred Heart, Saint Peter, and St. John the Evangelist parishes were combined into Christ the King Parish. Hoping to invigorate the churchgoers and to unify them into one parish, Father Rich and others on staff read “Divine Renovation: Bringing your Parish from Maintenance to Mission” by Father James Mallon.
The book, which centres on Father James’s own experience as a parish priest in Nova Scotia, Canada, details his journey into renewal, “renovating” his own parish, and discovering what “going on mission” really means.
Bishop Rene Ramirez RCJ: A Heart Remade for Mission – A Story of Parish Renewal
A little over a decade ago Bishop Rene Ramirez, a priest with the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus priest (RCJ), had never served as a parish priest. Listen as he shares his conversion of heart for evangelization and the process of leading parish renewal in his previous parish, Holy Family Parish – Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, Australia.
“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.
Father Mykhailo: Parish Renewal at Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral
Father Mykhailo Ozorovych has had a fire for evangelization since childhood. An Eastern Rite priest, Father Mykhailo never thought he would end up in North America, let alone be the youngest parish priest of a cathedral. He says, “I came here to evangelize, to be a missionary.”
A New Normal: A Story from the UK
In 2015, still in seminary, Father Damian Ryan heard about a new ministry out of Canada called Divine Renovation. Later, he picked up the book “Divine Renovation: Bringing Your Parish from Maintenance to Mission.” He recalls thinking, “WOW, this priest gets it, he totally gets the reality of priesthood.” He was relieved that the book was addressing the very real problems of the modern Church while still being grounded in Catholic Theology. Father Damian says, “reading the book felt like ‘this is going to equip me.’” He started getting ideas for when he would be a priest.
In the summer of 2017 as an assistant priest, Father Damian interned with Father James at Saint Benedict Parish in Halifax. He left encouraged and focused on the future.
But then he became a parish priest.
The reality of leading a parish hit him like a ton of bricks.
In the Valley of Dry Bones: A Letter from New Zealand
When I was training for priesthood and close to ordination, I spent some time in Napier with an older priest who was preparing to leave ministry as I was preparing to enter it. Tim Hannigan, one of the last Irish priests in NZ had become a firm friend and mentor to me. Well after he had departed this life, I remember returning to his grave for a chat – to ask him what was to become of me. I was struggling and I asked for his help, his prayers. I felt lost, I was depressed, racked with anxiety, I guessed I had probably misread my priestly calling – I didn’t realize it was so crushing. There I was in a cemetery; I was in Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones. At a loss for what could be done in a parish, I figured that life in a monastery might be my best option to run to.
Parish life was doing me in.
And then, one day, I heard a message that was to change my priestly ministry and give me hope.
From Death to Life: A Letter from Australia
Not long ago, I received a letter from a parishioner that pierced me deeply. He wrote bluntly: “I don’t want to be part of a moribund parish.” I never heard of the word moribund, so I did not initially bother. Then later on, I deeply reflected on the word. Moribund basically means dying. He actually told me in that letter, he did not want to be part of St Kilian’s because it’s dying.
The word hit me hard.
Evolving in Darwin: A Story from Australia
Six years ago, Father Dave stepped into the role of parish priest for the first time. As a member of the Missionaries of God’s Love, his vocation had been focused on formation for novices. But now he was in Darwin, Australia, at Holy Spirit Parish.
He was told by a couple of local priests, “Don’t expect anything to happen in Darwin.”
Fr. Tien Cao: Answering the call of renewal in rural New Zealand
“The Lord gives me new strength, new energy and new people along the way.”
In the heart of rural New Zealand, in a parish spread out 100km, Father Tien and his team are bringing hope and renewal through a focus on mission.
For the Beauty of the Church: A Story from Canada
Setting foot in the Holy Eucharist Cathedral in New Westminster, Canada, is a visually arresting experience. An artist-in-residence has filled every wall, ceiling, and corner of this Ukranian Catholic Church with newly painted sacred art.
Perched above, in the glassed-in choir loft, a recently created non-profit daycare is buzzing with neighbourhood children.
All of this is part of the parish’s focus on evangelization. From art to Alpha, childcare to catechism classes, Holy Eucharist Cathedral is set on renewing the parish through reaching out to people in every way possible with the message of the gospel.
Father Mykhailo Ozorovych has had a fire for evangelization since childhood. He sees his calling to Canada as distinctly missional. An Eastern Rite priest, Father Mykhailo never thought he would end up in North America, let alone be the youngest parish priest of a cathedral. He says, “I came here to evangelize, to be a missionary.”
