Talking All Things Ministry So You Can Do Church Better
Rich Curran, Executive Director of the Parish Success Group, joins Chris and John for a conversation around the future of the Catholic Church in a Covid and post-Covid world.
Rich argues that parishes will need to reassess their models and ministries to adapt to the new culture we are in, including looking at how we offer Mass, rethinking programmatic offerings, and shaking up old models that will not work moving forward.
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Special guest Dr. Leonard deLorenzo joins co-hosts Chris and John as they explore the definition of Co-Responsibility in the Catholic Church and its implications for parishes and dioceses.
Lenny shares new forms of shared leadership that allow the faithful to live out their baptismal call as co-responsible for the mission of evangelizing the world.
Lenny is a faculty member at the University of Notre Dame and is part of the team at the McGrath Institute for Church Life, which is hosting a summer series on Called and Co-Responsible: Summer Seminars for Church Life Renewal.
He is also the author of many books, including his latest release, A God Who Questions.
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“I do not share the fear they put on when they and their children leave their homes every day” -Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archdiocese of Chicago
Dr. Ansel Augustine joins Chris and John in this episode to break open the topic of racism and justice in our communities. Stemming from his experience as a Black Catholic in a Black community, Dr. Augustine shares small and practical ways that parish leaders can discuss racism in our ministries, noting that it will be uncomfortable for us.
As Dr. Augustine says, “Jesus calls us to do the right thing, not the easy thing.”
Catholic resources on race that were mentioned in the podcast episode can be found here:
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As parishes are caught up in the requirements for opening the Church back up for Mass, we can’t forget that we still need to plan for the Fall.
In this episode, Chris and John discuss how to plan for the new ministry year while dealing with the ambiguity of what the Fall might look like. We explore the opportunity that has been given to us to be creative, provide new and more effective ministry, and still be adaptive and nimble as we embrace an uncertain future.
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In the second part of this two-part episode, Chris and John continue their discussion as to asking the question “why” we should open back up the doors of the Church for Mass. Many leaders have asked the question “how” but not as many have asked the question, why?
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Many parishes and dioceses have been asking the question, “how?” when it comes to opening back up for Masses. Not as many parish leaders have asked the question, “why?”
In this two-part episode, Chris and John explore 3 “why’s” parishes might resume Masses and delve into critical questions that all parishes should be asking before they determine whether they should or should not open back up for liturgy.
In this episode, we refer back to these podcast episodes:
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In this episode, Chris and John explore the importance of engaging in non-Catholic resources to help expand our leadership within a Catholic setting. We specifically talk about books, authors, experiences, and podcasts that have helped us become better Catholic ministry leaders.
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In this episode, we are joined by Diana Macalintal and Nick Wagner from Team RCIA as we discuss how to go about the sacraments of initiation during Covid-19 and when we open the doors back up.
We answer the question of when to celebrate the sacraments, what to do with the Elect right now, and what a year-around model of RCIA could look like.
To find more information about Diana, Nick, and their ministry, and hear previous podcast episodes with them, visit:
Previous podcast with Nick: Restored Order from a Theological Perspective
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In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Josh Packard, Executive Director of the SPringtide Research Institute as we discuss the reality of loneliness in 13 to 25-year-olds and how parishes and ministries can respond to this trend.
For more information on this study, please visit:
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And they will open back up. When they do, what is your plan?
In this episode, Chris and John explore some ideas and questions to discern as we prepare to welcome people back on to our Church campuses, with the hope of not only getting people to come, but keeping them with us over the long-term.
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