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Excellent Catholic Parishes: The Guide to Best Places and Practices
A directory of hundreds of recommended Catholic parishes also offers detailed examinations of eight Catholic parishes that the author believes are exemplary, evaluating each in such areas as social action, adult education, and outreach programs. Simultaneous.
255 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 23, 2024
A POPULAR RELIGIOUS WRITER LOOKS AT WHAT EIGHT PARISHES ARE DOING "RIGHT"
Paul Wilkes teaches creative writing at the University of North Carolina, and has written many books, such as 'In Due Season: A Catholic Life,' 'In Mysterious Ways: The Death and Life of a Parish Priest,' 'Holding God in My Hands: Personal Encounters with the Divine,' 'The Seven Secrets of Successful Catholics,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 2001 book, "If a person---either clergy or lay---were about to be assigned to a Catholic parish and could take only one book, I hope this is the one book that person would bring along. Call it a survival guide; call it a pattern for a successful parish. [The book] attempts to show WHAT a group of the most outstanding and inspiring parishes in America is going and HOW successful approaches and programs can be replicated...
"Of those hundreds of parishes, I profiled eight to represent the various types from across the country. Within a short but detailed picture of each, I have highlighted three aspects of that parish's life that are exceptional but, more importantly, reproducible. This book has two aims: to show that great parishes no only exist, they abound, and to illustrate that their approaches to the various aspects of parish life can succeed elsewhere."
One pastor chose not to have a newly-ordained priest replace two curates who left; "Instead, he hired pastoral associates, consciously looking for competent women, because they would bring a much needed feminine component to parish life. Soon he had a first-rate staff in place, including... one of the first certified lay pastoral associates in Boston and a woman with an excellent reputation as both a decisive administrator and a compassionate consensus builder." (Pg. 5)
Of another parish, he writes, "The Arms of Love AIDS ministry began when someone in the church found out about an HIV-positive man named Jim, whom everyone had abandoned. Nothing was being done, spiritually, for AIDS victims... but after Marta Huerta told Jim's story, relating how he'd cried tears of thanks because 'nobody had hugged me for five years,' a new ministry was born." (Pg. 24-25)
Another parish created "Cluster Ministries": "Our churches were too small, the priest shortage was apparent; everyone was stretched trying to do too many jobs... When five Minnesota rural parishes banded together over twenty years ago, it was considered a revolutionary idea, not only for clergy to cooperate in this way, but for individual parishes to be served by someone other than 'their' priest... each parish still does have a pastor or... a pastoral administrator, but...each parish gets the best-qualified person in the various areas of church life... there are advantages of having a class of fifteen kids versus five classes of three kids apiece." (Pg. 46)
A Monsignor explains, "People don't come to church to be beaten up... There is enough of that out in the world. I try to take people where they are, not where we think they ought to be. They'll get there if we only give them a chance. They want to come to a place where they are accepted and respected, a place of common values, a place of solidarity." (Pg. 123)
At another parish, the 23-year old youth minister says, "At St. Mark's you can be Catholic and proud of it... It's cool to be Catholic; it's cool to pray; it's cool to be reconciled, to be healed, to be with people who love you for what you are." (Pg. 144)
He suggests, "Excellent parishes are not run by ideologues who must have everyone in the pews agree with their views on current hot-button issues (celibacy, women's ordination and homosexuality among them) within the Church today. It is not that they are disloyal to the Church and do not make their views known; they just do not use such views as so many litmus tests to be passed or hurdles to be jumped." (Pg. 161-162)
This is an engaging and breezily-written and presented book, that will be of great interest to Catholics (or others!) interested in parish renewal.
Paul Wilkes teaches creative writing at the University of North Carolina, and has written many books, such as 'In Due Season: A Catholic Life,' 'In Mysterious Ways: The Death and Life of a Parish Priest,' 'Holding God in My Hands: Personal Encounters with the Divine,' 'The Seven Secrets of Successful Catholics,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 2001 book, "If a person---either clergy or lay---were about to be assigned to a Catholic parish and could take only one book, I hope this is the one book that person would bring along. Call it a survival guide; call it a pattern for a successful parish. [The book] attempts to show WHAT a group of the most outstanding and inspiring parishes in America is going and HOW successful approaches and programs can be replicated...
"Of those hundreds of parishes, I profiled eight to represent the various types from across the country. Within a short but detailed picture of each, I have highlighted three aspects of that parish's life that are exceptional but, more importantly, reproducible. This book has two aims: to show that great parishes no only exist, they abound, and to illustrate that their approaches to the various aspects of parish life can succeed elsewhere."
One pastor chose not to have a newly-ordained priest replace two curates who left; "Instead, he hired pastoral associates, consciously looking for competent women, because they would bring a much needed feminine component to parish life. Soon he had a first-rate staff in place, including... one of the first certified lay pastoral associates in Boston and a woman with an excellent reputation as both a decisive administrator and a compassionate consensus builder." (Pg. 5)
Of another parish, he writes, "The Arms of Love AIDS ministry began when someone in the church found out about an HIV-positive man named Jim, whom everyone had abandoned. Nothing was being done, spiritually, for AIDS victims... but after Marta Huerta told Jim's story, relating how he'd cried tears of thanks because 'nobody had hugged me for five years,' a new ministry was born." (Pg. 24-25)
Another parish created "Cluster Ministries": "Our churches were too small, the priest shortage was apparent; everyone was stretched trying to do too many jobs... When five Minnesota rural parishes banded together over twenty years ago, it was considered a revolutionary idea, not only for clergy to cooperate in this way, but for individual parishes to be served by someone other than 'their' priest... each parish still does have a pastor or... a pastoral administrator, but...each parish gets the best-qualified person in the various areas of church life... there are advantages of having a class of fifteen kids versus five classes of three kids apiece." (Pg. 46)
A Monsignor explains, "People don't come to church to be beaten up... There is enough of that out in the world. I try to take people where they are, not where we think they ought to be. They'll get there if we only give them a chance. They want to come to a place where they are accepted and respected, a place of common values, a place of solidarity." (Pg. 123)
At another parish, the 23-year old youth minister says, "At St. Mark's you can be Catholic and proud of it... It's cool to be Catholic; it's cool to pray; it's cool to be reconciled, to be healed, to be with people who love you for what you are." (Pg. 144)
He suggests, "Excellent parishes are not run by ideologues who must have everyone in the pews agree with their views on current hot-button issues (celibacy, women's ordination and homosexuality among them) within the Church today. It is not that they are disloyal to the Church and do not make their views known; they just do not use such views as so many litmus tests to be passed or hurdles to be jumped." (Pg. 161-162)
This is an engaging and breezily-written and presented book, that will be of great interest to Catholics (or others!) interested in parish renewal.
July 24, 2024
20 years ago this is a 5-star, but there are parts of it that has not aged well (mostly not the author’s fault, but that is life). ‘52 Masses’ is this generation’s version of this and captures it more comprehensively.
I did appreciate my home perish, Sacred Heart in West Des Moines, Iowa, got a shout out!
I did appreciate my home perish, Sacred Heart in West Des Moines, Iowa, got a shout out!
December 18, 2009
This book is more like a mini handbook for "parish administrators" or volunteers who are looking for ideas to strengthen their church. It also has a list of "great parishes" throughout the country that any Catholic can use to visit a "great parish" to either get an idea of what that looks like or to join a church that is active.
I liked the wealth of info in this little book. I wasn't too pleased with the way the chapters were written since they were more like vignettes of parish life...it was hard for me to perceive that these stories reflected the entire life of the parish. Every parish has a great story of ministry and every parish has a depressing story of disempowerment, injustice, and such. I would have rather read how the parishes created their successful programs in some more detail than given.
There's an index of "points of excellence" that parishs can strive for. I'm grateful such a "study" was done and is now available.
I liked the wealth of info in this little book. I wasn't too pleased with the way the chapters were written since they were more like vignettes of parish life...it was hard for me to perceive that these stories reflected the entire life of the parish. Every parish has a great story of ministry and every parish has a depressing story of disempowerment, injustice, and such. I would have rather read how the parishes created their successful programs in some more detail than given.
There's an index of "points of excellence" that parishs can strive for. I'm grateful such a "study" was done and is now available.
December 20, 2011
I can't wait to visit a parish or two to find out if they still have the same characteristics that led to them being featured in this book. I do think the principles gathered by Wilkes and his team are characteristics that every parish should employ at one time or another. Just having two or three of these qualities will create at least a tolerable parish. What I got out of Excellent Catholic Parishes the most is that each parish needs to be an attraction to everyone, especially disgruntled Catholics and those that have left the Church. Simply being "The Church" isn't enough to encourage people to follow her teachings. Many parishes (like my own, I'm afraid) believe it is enough, and it's killing them.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews