This is how I remember it. In late 2008 or early 2009, Tom Roberts broached the idea of setting out on a trek across the United States to find Catholic communities that are alive and life giving, that aren't bogged down in the mire of church politics and scandal.
From that idea came first a series of stories for our newspaper and website. You can still read those stories here: In Search of the Emerging Church.
Next came a book for Orbis, The Emerging Catholic Church: A Community's Search for Itself, which has just been released.
Tom was guest on Interfaith Voices, a public radio show hosted by Sr. Maureen Feilder, who also blogs for NCR Today. Here's a link to Tom and Maureen's conversation, which is titled The Changing Face of the Catholic Church.