From a Warehouse to the Lord’s House: A Story from Lithuania
In 2018, Švč. Mergelės Marijos Ramintojos bažnyčia (Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Peacemaker) in Vilnius, Lithuania, started its first Alpha. Today, their Alphas are so fruitful that over 60% of participants identify as unchurched — and even as they run the course twice a year, they still need to put people on a waitlist.
But the history of this church is much older and more convoluted than their present-day evangelistic fruitfulness would suggest.
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.
Casting Off into Renewal: A Story from Czechia
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.
Afterglow: A Focus on the Catholic Parish Summit
As attendees make their way home across the UK, Europe, North America and some even as far away as New Zealand, many have reached out to share their stories of what the Holy Spirit began renewing in their hearts last week.
Found: A Focus on Fathers
The subject of Fatherhood – spiritual or biological – often dredges up a convoluted catch of emotions, netted from the depths of our memories. Joy, pain, love, fear, anger or even shame. Whether from healing or hurting, those in the role of “father” in our lives cut deeply into our hearts, forming who we believe ourselves to be as children.
Some of the greatest power of fatherhood lays in its ability to create identity. Like a last name, fatherhood can wrap each individual member of the family in a moniker, identifying those who belong.
But ultimately, earthly fatherhood is a reflection. It is in the Creator that parenthood is defined and in its perfect form. It is from him that our true identity is found.
“More than you can ask or imagine”: A Story from France
Paroisse Etudiante de Toulouse Assistant Priest, Father Antoine, takes what he learned interning with Divine Renovation to minister to a student population hungry for the gospel.
Leaders of the Faith: A Focus on Mothers
Whether biological, adoptive, or spiritual mentors, the mothers of our faith guide our understanding of God. From Jochebed’s protective plans that saved baby Moses (Exodus 2), to the bravery of Mary’s “yes” to her divine motherhood (Luke 1), scripture shows examples of mothers with strength, intelligence, and boldness whose witness lead us deeper into our own faith.
This month we reach out and ask priests and parish leaders how mothers have lead them to the faith they have today.
Joyful Renewal: A Story From the Netherlands
Ordained only one year ago, Father Erik is at St. Titus Brandsma in Wageningen, an amalgamated parish (collapsed from 11 churches down to six) in the Netherlands – a country all too familiar with parish decline.
But while in seminary, this young priest read Divine Renovation: Bringing your parish from maintenance to mission, and attended last year’s Missionary Parish Conference in the Netherlands and was determined to enter the priesthood already focused on mission.
Despite entering a dire situation in his region, he is incredibly joyful! He says, “The priesthood brings this happiness to my life.” Through Divine Renovation, he sees the path forward and, with his Pastor, is taking action. They are relying on the Holy Spirit to transform a seemingly hopeless situation to one teeming with possibility.
Finding a Way Forward: A Story From Slovenia
Slovenian priest Father Simon Potnik went to Halifax for the DR18 conference looking for a new way forward in parish renewal. There he saw “for the first time there was a way. The path that I believed in, the logic, was there.” The Divine Renovation principles made sense and offered him hope.
A Stranger No More: A Story From Slovenia
By the end of high school Father David knew he wanted to become a priest. Knowing his parents wouldn’t approve, the day he decided to tell them he didn’t get up the courage until 1 o’clock in the morning. His father was shocked.
He has now been a priest for 16 years.
But the difficulty of telling his family his calling would not be the only challenge he would encounter in his priesthood. Slovenia is no stranger to decline, with amalgamations becoming commonplace.
70% of Father David’s pastoral time was devoted to the formation of his youth and yet only 10% of them remained after confirmation. He deeply felt, “No, that is not what priesthood is all about.” This holy discontent led him to search for another way.
