Category: United Kingdom

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.

Taking the Plunge: A letter from the UK

I have been a priest for 30 years. 

I arrived as Parish Priest to St John the Baptist, Uddingston, a lovely, large parish in the suburbs of Glasgow, in January of 2022. In October of 2023 our Diocese of Motherwell got together its clergy with the help of a very talented lay management specialist, Adrian, to examine where the diocese was, is and is going. It was a story of great faith and blessings but also steady measurable decline. It was pointed out that we as a diocese were not actually running out of priests or even money, but we were running out of people.

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.

Bringing Our Whole Selves to Worship: A Letter From the UK

Divine Renovation UK provided support for Angela, a parish worship leader from Blessed Hope Parish, Exeter, to attend the One Hope Project Academy this year. Her parish priest, Father Jonathan and their parish have been accompanied by DR for the last three years.

Be Part of History Changing: A Letter From the UK

This year, 2023, marks five years since Divine Renovation has been operating in the UK. It is amazing to think back to the very first conference at the end of 2017 at St Mary’s Twickenham (who was there?!)…

A Prognosis of Life: A Story from the Netherlands

On Nov. 26th, 2011, a reporter asked the newly appointed Bishop of Breda, Jan Liesen, “Are you the last Bishop of the diocese? Will the Church now finally go to rest and be over with?”
While historically a very Catholic diocese in the Netherlands, now only 1% of self-identifying Catholics attend Mass in Breda. Born in the diocese, Bishop Liesen spent most of his priesthood outside of North Brabant.
In 1968, A decade before he went to seminary, all seminaries in the Netherlands (about 30 in total) closed, including in Breda. This shift had an immediate effect on vocations: in one year, ordination dropped to 0. When Bishop Liesen first felt the call to the priesthood as a young man, he didn’t even know the route to take.

A Shrine Church Casting Off Towards Renewal: A Story from the UK

St. Dominic and Our Lady of the Rosary Shrine is a place of pilgrimage as well as a parish for its locality in Haverstock Hill, London. 17 side chapels and 20 altars make the church bigger than some cathedrals in England. Run by Dominicans, Father Lawrence Lew, OP is the Parish Priest, Rector of the shrine, Prior of the Dominican community, and Promoter General of the rosary.

Focus on the Future: A Story from the UK

In less than a year the parish has set up a SLT and grown in numbers as well as giving; but the real excitement lies in the 6 adult baptisms and 14 confirmations that took place over the weekend at the Easter Vigil. There is a real aliveness emerging in the parish — “I’m excited. There is a proper buzz!”

Father Brendan tells the story of one of the men who was just confirmed: “This guy just turned up one day,” the church was open, and the man was sitting in one of the pews. The man said, “Father may I speak with you?” He introduced himself as Arthur and told Father Brendan he instantly “felt at home when he came to the church.” He was in a program getting clean from narcotics and knew he couldn’t do it on his own, he needed God.

Global2033: A Decade of Evangelization

“The Holy Spirit is initiating something exciting worldwide. We have a chance over the next 10 years to make disciples in our parishes like never before! The potential is huge as many movements and ministries join forces together. The Catholic parish system is the ‘sleeping giant’ in the universal Church and it’s time for us to wake up and invite others to know Christ, 2000 years after the events that changed history forever.”

“Things Had To Change”: A Story from the UK

When Fr Kieron arrived at St.Joseph’s in East Brighton in 2012 he found a parish complacently in maintenance mode. He knew that “if we stayed as we were we would be in terminal decline.”

After reading Evangelii Gaudium, Fr Kieron, decided that “things had to change.”  He consulted a small working group within the parish and suggested that “everything we do from now on has to fit the mission.”

But how to start this change? This question led him to Divine Renovation…