Making parishes engaging and vibrant

My concern would be in the selection of parish leadership, that they be selected inclusively and not on the basis of political or economic power, the very same which might have caued paralysis and killing oppression in the parish orignially. Let there be no litmus test as with our new bishops who are chosen by their political beliefs rather than out-reaching pastoral abilities.

Be certain the poorest parish inhabitants are empowered and their membership in the parish family reinforced. Reach out to the languages other than English, especially in liturgies, and be certain all races are included in the family.

Do not impose a process which only struts up what is falling apart, but and over-all plan which comprehensively counts all the concerns of our entire parish family

How can you bring back Catholics that have been so sickend by the sex scandal that their very souls reject the institutional church? It might make a difference if the higherarchy "got it" but they don't get it. They simply do not know what they did to so many many children. Feelings are the language of the soul and they do not feel about what happened and if they did we would see them crying in the pulpits and especially in the Vatican.

Well, one could start by bringing back some basic decorum, dignity, sense of worship and of the holy to parish liturgies.
More Catholics have left the Church over the sloppy, party-atmosphere, show-biz, entertainment, anything-goes, priest-as-performer, priest-as-entertainer, parish liturgies than anything else.
I'm not arguing for a return to the EF, far from it. I'm arguing for a dignified celebration of the Novus Ordo as prescribed by the rubrics and not focused on "smiling Father Mike" as the star clown of the proceedings.
The Mass belongs to the People of God, who have right to know what they'll be getting when they turn up for Mass, and not be submitted to some weird, newly-invented pantomine contrived by the priest-as-perfomer or some of his sidekicks who think the Mass is their property to play with - it isn't.
You want Catholics to go back to Mass again? Offer them the Mass, and not some "relevant", tiresome and irritating charade.

My great concern is that once again cosmetic changes are the focus. Making the pastor's job "so much fun" does not address the real questions and real needs of the 30 million absent catholics (of which, I am proudly one).

A church that does not give an ample opportunity or an inviting place or an encouraging word to discuss those theological or moral issues that are begging for discussion is not changing but only doing so much window dressing.

Making parishioners "feel" that they have voices or new responsibilities is not the same as creating, say, a research and discussion group on the topic of women's ordination or global peace initiatives or the writings of theologians like Hans Kung, Karl Rahner, Charles Curran, Donald Cozzens, or Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ. It's not the same as having discussions on controversial issues without having a member of the hierarchy dispatched to sanction or excommunicate.

The church will never move forward unless and until the medieval hierarchy sheds not only its ridiculous dress but also its power-hungry commitment to preserving ancient dicta and mistrusting current thought.

There are many of us out here who could run rings around our pastors and bishops when it comes to theology because we have fostered the developing nature of intellectual thought and the growth of faith. Most of those holding power -- whether parish priest or bishop or pope -- from the examples of their homilies and the kinds of parish devotions and novenas they choose to emphasize, show only that they are mired in the sentimentality, superstition, and magic of a bygone era. "Have devotions! Have novenas! Get the people in the church -- then it won't be closed!" That still seems to be the clarion call of the benighted hierarchy.

So, until the heart of the matter is addressed, making the pastor's life easier or making me "feel" as if I have a voice will never win me back. When I reflect on the state of the church and especially its hierarchy, I am reminded of Shelley's Sonnet "England in 1819".

It's still the "parish priest" without "parish priestesses" -- So what has changed? It's still dogma as usual. When will the church become "catholic" (universal)? It is still an elitist church.

A few years ago our parish began the ACTS Parish Renewal retreats out of San Antonio......they have been dynamic in bringing forth people of all ages & ethnicity who have now become spiritual leaders along with our pastor and associates....

I hope these two have it together better than when they came to our Parish. The disorganization, endless words on a flip chart and constant "scanned" email documents that overloaded my mailbox were not worth the trouble it took to be on the PAC.

To this day, my tiny parish is still trying to undo the damage from the "you are decision makers, not doers" attitude.

Hardheaded business sense? Oh please.

Yeah, I'd bet most pastors would let outsiders into their parishes. Most of them are martinets led like cattle by bishops who impose their will with impunity. Then try to see parish mavericks involved when you the process dominated by the "Church Ladies" (that includes men) who think they have something special over these other folks.

In trying to read the full text of this series, I can find parts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6. 7. and 8 on NCR's website.

Where can I find part 4, please?

The problem with declining attendance is not just about making parishes engaging & vibrant, it's also about how the Church has responded to events outside parish doors. Instead of keeping up with the progression of society by becoming more inclusive & changing its ways, the Church keeps on regressing into a medieval mentality. Like the Republicans are becoming a party of conservative white males, the Church is becoming the religion of right wingers.

Having been a vibrant and active parish for 20 years, the reverse of all described it was a shock when a new pastor team was assigned. Our parish was a group varied from left to right and working to learn and grow together. Sometimes elbows clashed a little, but we made allowances for each other. We had an active parish council, adult ed., out-reach programs and so on built on respect. In the space of one year the parish has become a haven for ultra right almost pre Vatican II attitudes. The priest's altitude is clearly, "We, being ordained, are the shepherds, you the laity, are the sheep and should not think, but follow." Some hailed this as a return to the proper attitude of worship. I think not.

Christ surrounded himself with people of both conservative and liberal views. Should we, as his Church, expect any different? We should work to respect each other for the graces we have rather than promote one group as 'better' for their appearances loftier piousness. A return to the "good old days" will not bring back the wandering Catholic.

Where is the evangelization? where is the catechesis? where is the emphasis on youth and new vocations? this is all well and good but 6 minutes of prayer?! give me a break. this has been tried since the advent of parish councils and look where it's got us--widespread dissent!
we are a hierarchical church as Christ intended. look to the bishop as Christ. the priest is alter Christus. it's basic Catholicism that hasn't changed through the centuries and wasn't changed by Vatican 2.
look to St.Francis de Sales--he had no parishioners at all as bishop in Geneva and converted 70,000 former Calvinists in 4yrs. how's that for parish renewal?

I shall never be anonymous,nor shall I fear retribution , from whom? Please not another program to invalidate what is truly developing. The "Church" is changing; you have been a witness to it , you have read about it, you have written about it. The "it" is the image of hospice. Oh, this is so familar
"I have heard the groans of my people" Exodus 3:7 you know the sound of that deep distressful cry of pain. "all is not well, somthing is terribly wrong". Well what are You going to do about "it"? You my friends are going to do nothing about "it", it is out of your control. Things are ending. And the prophet dares to to proclaim that this demise is aided and abetted by God's own self. These words are not unfamilar to you a John Churchman submitted them in greater detail before, so embrace the words of the prophet "Look, pay attention! God is doing something NEW!! Priestly ministry and service,the church's life these are not over.... but they are not,will not and cannot be the same.

There are many facets to make a parish "work", and these facets will differ somewhat from parish to parish. One interesting factor I've noticed in my travels is the Communion Rite. In many parishes, Communion is treated as a "me and Jesus" moment, rather than the communal procession envisioned by the Roman Missal and USCCB. Many parishes neglect the time for private prayer called for after the procession (which leads us to want to pray privately during Communion). In parishes that emphasize the communal aspect of this Rite, folks seem to treat each other differently once outside of Mass. I don't have any hard data to support this, just observations. It leads me to ask: "do we love the Eucharist enough to share it when we're receiving?" Do we love our neighbors enough to recognize that we ALL are receiving? Do we show our unity of spirit by means of the unity of our voices, as instructed in the Roman Missal? Or do we look on Communion as the prize to be received for enduring the Mass, leaving as soon as we receive? It's interesting that such a simple re-focus can spill out so much into our lives. From there, we go from thinking about MY Communion to OUR Communion. Then, we start to treat our brothers and sisters differently, recognizing them as our fellow communicants, and recognizing them as brothers and sisters in Christ. Then, it's harder to treat a brother or sister with disrespect.

Here's a glaring problem:

In our diocese, our Bishop would ABSOLUTELY NOT ALLOW the Sweetser/Bishop Parish Self-Assessment, etc. I am not exaggerating in the least.

So some of us consider our diocese to be HELD HOSTAGE.

However without having referred to the above links yet, the plan looks good; with a possible exception to the "parish administrator" part.

Even though my experience may be possibly limited, I HAVE lived in more than 7 parishes in my life. I have seen lots and lots of dysfunction in parishes, frequently around large sums of money. I observed this even in Altar Societies, in more than one parish. (Sometime I should blog in detail about this. I had never dreamed that I would see such power trippin' Altar Society treasurers/mover and shaker types. Again, I am not exaggerating.)

Like Ralph Nader warns about Congress: "Watch the Finance Committees; that's where the real power is."

So the parish administrator needs to have a checks and balances system to monitor him. In one Parish I have long attended, the Parish Secretary stole huge sums of money over years and years, and was finally caught in the act.

I think the two major things needed are:
1. Lots of real, authentic, deep, bonding, faith-sharing.
2. Lots of clear, well-defined, well-observed boundaries.

Now if only we had a way to get a functional Bishop....

After reading all of the above, I must say that I agree with most, disagree with a few and really do not understand a few. I am 86 years old. Leave the Catholic, church, NEVER. Bishops and priests are assigned to dioceses and parishes. Parishioners have built parishes. It belongs to them no matter what canon law says. If parishioners stop contributing to their parish, the parish dies. The bishop closes the parish, sells the church and property and who know what happens to the money. It's not returned to the people that paid for everything. The bishop handles the money as if it belongs to him. Our problem for over 60 or 70 years has been with our Church leaders. Too many have been involved in criminal activities. Too many priests have stolen from their parishes. Too many priests have criminally abused children, many repeatedly. Too many bishops have secretly moved pedohpile priests from parish to parish. Bishops have used Church money ( close to 4 billion when you add everything up) and there is no end in sjght as to how much more money they will use without any accountability. Anyone that really knows what is going on in our church has to decide for themselves to stay or go on to some other church that makes them comfortable. Somehow, I will not give in and leave without trying to do something to right what is wrong in the Catholic church. But before I go further, I want to place the blame for all that is going wrong in our church and that blame goes directly to our past and present POPES. Who else is resonsible for allowing what has been going on and have not done anything to stop it. There have been a number of problems that the pope could have taken corrective action since he is the ultimate person in charge. For example, how could the pope have allowed bishops to secretly move pedophile priests from parish to pariish without realizing that many more children of God would then be in harms way. How could the pope allow the bishops to make financial settlement that would ultimately result in abusive priests to go free and not having to register as sex offenders, again, placing who knows how many more children would then be abused. How could the pope allow the bishops, in order to protect the millions of dollars stolen weekly from Sunday collections in parishes, not see to it that the security measures were MANDATORY. To say, that the pope's were not aware of all these serious problems just does not fly. Knowing that they knew implicates them. In closing, I have started in my own small way of trying to do something to send our bishop a message, by placing just a DIME in the Sunday colletions. I wish millions of dimes were placed in the collection every Sunday, maybe that would get our bishops attention. Our money is the only thing that gives our bishops total power and total control. We must get accountablility from our bishops. It's obvious that the pope has not.

As a parish member of one of the churchs in the article I believe this method has divided the parish making many people attend mass elsewhere. The endless bureaucracy creates a false sense of participation and cover for the one person ultimately in charge. All decisions are made by the parish priest based solely on his personal legacy building wants and desires. There maybe an appearance of a collaboritive environment, but in the end it's what the priest wants. Advisory committees are then left to come up with or make up reasons to support the decision. Many long hours of research and presentation of ideas by committe members have been summarily set aside because decisions had actually already been made long ago. Some ministry leaders and elected advisory committee members have been forcibly removed because they ask too many questions or resigned due to the love it or leave it mentality. Leaving only hand picked yes men behind. This has created a culture of influence peddling as well. There used to be a motto at this church - "A place to pray, pay and have a say". It became such a joke adding "the more you pay, the more you have a say". It's become known, even in his own writings, that this parish priest is the man to go to if there are rules of fairness to go around. And some of his decisions have been made solely on the wishes of a few "major gift" givers. This has alienated many long time and faithful parish members. If you want to be in the inner circle, you better come with a lot of money. It used to be anyone who wanted to share their time and talent didn't need the treasure to go with it.