“I love the local parish”: A Donor Story
Bill and his wife have seven kids and live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they are part of a thriving DR-accompanied parish, Christ the King Catholic Church.
Bill is also a donor.
When asked why he gives to the ministry he responds, “I don’t know how to say this…it really just comes back to the Lord…how much He loved me and gave of himself for me. And then seeing the love of God and His generosity to me repeatedly…I just think this ministry is just such a beautiful extension of that.”
Ultimately, he has a passion to support DR because, “I love the local parish… it’s where God acts in most people’s lives…It’s just a real place of grace for people.”
“I Felt Like the Lost Sheep”: A Story from the USA
In 2021, Salvador returned to his childhood home in Chicago, a broken man. His partner and the mother of his children had kicked him out of their home in Las Vegas. Addiction and a life of fast living had brought his world crashing down on him.
As a child, Sal had felt a strong connection to God. A cradle Catholic, he was involved in youth retreats at his parish and felt drawn to the Bible. But as a teen, he was afraid to be known in school as the one who chose God fully: “here in Chicago, I mean growing up, it was not easy… it was kind of rough.” At that time, the priests in the parish were Missionary Servants of the Word from Mexico. “All these teachings were with the Bible… I was in love with that.” But it caused a tension within him – it didn’t fit with the persona he wore with his friends. His Pastor challenged him: “either you’re hot or you’re cold, you cannot be in between.”
So, as a teen, in his rebellion, in his pain, in searching for his identity and worth, he decided “I’ll be cold.” By the time he was 17 he was far from the Church and moved to Sin City. “I felt like the lost sheep.”
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.
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.
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?!)…
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.
Faith of a Child: A Focus on Evangelization
A parish’s ability to evangelize hinges on inclusion. When families do not find a place for their children to belong in church it often means the adults are excluded too. Laura states “you are limiting who you can evangelize to if you don’t provide something for kids.” She continues, a parish needs to ask itself, “who are we trying to reach? And what are their barriers for coming? And how can we mitigate that? And children’s ministry is a big one.”
An Easy Yoke: A Focus on Rest
For those in the Northern Hemisphere, August marks the peak of summer, a time when many–including priests– schedule their “break.”
But this rest can often equal a burn-out coma or an overscheduled “holiday” only to return to the same hamster-wheel pace.
Father Peirluigi Vajra CRS, a DR coached Parish Priest at Our Lady of Lourdes in Perth, Australia, shares his journey in experiencing rest as something more than just “not-working”. Like many priests – his workload is great, and rest does not come easily. But in his 28 years as a priest, he has come to recognize the profound value of prioritizing rest.
Faith on Fire: A Focus on the 2023 DR Australasia Conference
The conference started with a priest-only session led by Father James Mallon. During the hymn ‘Here I am Lord,’ DR staff member Anushka Peiris recalls standing in the back watching. “I just had such a grateful heart in that moment for all our priests.” Cheryl Surrey agrees, “Looking around at these sparkling wet eyes looking back at you… you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife, it was so beautiful.”
