When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics

by Melanie Rigney, Anna M. Lanave

The Church needs the gifts and talents of each of us to help bring the kingdom of God to this world. In this spirit, the authors, who were both away from the Church for part of their lives, invite parish leaders and adult faith formation and religious education ministers to reach out to the inactive Catholics in their midst. This reaching out means sharing their gifts and talents with those who have drifted away and are now searching for renewed faith and involvement. It also involves helping returning Catholics to recognize how their own gifts and talents can build up and complete the parish. The Church is not just about servicing its own members but is about mission, reaching out to the world and bringing Christ into our homes and workplaces. To this end, the authors offer practical, how-to advice on building parish programs that will attract inactive Catholics and keep them engaged once they ve returned. They honor existing programs such as Landings and Coming Home, but also offer ways to adapt and personalize these programs. We are called by our baptism to live the faith authentically every day, not just on Sunday. The authors provide parish leaders with the basics for setting up a parish program to assist inactive Catholics, but they also emphasize the importance of being authentic shepherds for Christ, gathering up and feeding his sheep. Returnees, they say, will be richer for rekindling their relationship with Christ and the parish will be richer for sharing their journey.

96 pages, Paperback

First published December 21, 2009

About the author

Author of Bible studies and books on Catholic saints. The forthcoming Something to Be Saved (April 2026) is my first novel. Other titles: 12 Unforgettable Men of the Gospels: Reflections & Portraits of the Apostles (2026); Unforgettable Women of the Gospels: 8 Unnamed Women in Scripture and Their Encounters with Jesus (2024); Menopause Moments: A Journal for Nourishing Your Mind, Body and Spirit in Midlife (2021); Radical Saints: 21 Women for the 21st Century (2020); Brotherhood of Saints: Daily Guidance and Inspiration (2020); Woman of Worth: Prayers and Reflections for Women Inspired by the Book of Proverbs (June 2019); Blessed Are You: Inspiration from Our Sisters in Faith (2015); and Sisterhood of Saints: Daily Guidance and Inspiration (2013) . I'm also a frequent conference and meeting speaker.

I'm a regular contributor to Living Faith, the Catholic devotional, and Women in the New Evangelization.

From 1998 to 2003, I was editor of Writer's Digest magazine and also served for a time as editorial director for Writer's Digest Books.

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not as useful a resource as one can find elsewhere. Jesus is mentioned on pages 62-63 and the word discipleship is on page 78, but as a whole the emphasis is on parish and diocesan programs and involvement in them. That is not bad, but I would rather see more emphasis placed on kerygmatic invitation to discipleship and evangelization. Other resources do that better.