Finnegan's Parish & Other Stories
Finnegan's Parish & Other Stories

Author: John Dahlgren

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2006-06-01

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1411681487

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Would you create a whole new world religion for a bet? What would you do if you stumbled upon the legendary fountain of youth but found - too late! - there was an unexpected side-effect? How would you react if you went for a job interview and discovered the interviewer was a bit, well, odd? Do your next-door neighbors have a secret so mystifying and enthralling that you're willing to risk your sanity to find out what it is? Filled with larger-than-life characters, unexpected twists and side-splitting satirical humor, these stories by John Dahlgren will leave you laughing, pondering and possibly outraged . and perhaps make you think twice before you next open your bathroom door.

Rebuilt
Rebuilt

Author: Michael White

Publisher: Ave Maria Press

Published: 2012-02-28

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1594713871

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Drawing on the wisdom gleaned from thriving mega-churches and innovative business leaders while anchoring their vision in the Eucharistic center of Catholic faith, Fr. Michael White and lay associate Tom Corcoran present the compelling and inspiring story to how they brought their parish back to life. Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, and Making Church Matter is a story of stopping everything and changing focus. When their parish reached a breaking point, White and Corcoran asked themselves how they could make the Church matter to Catholics, and they realized the answer was at the heart of the Gospel. Their faithful response not only tripled their weekend mass attendance, but also yielded increased giving, flourishing ministries, and a vibrant, solidly Catholic spiritual revival. White and Corcoran invite all Catholic leaders to share the vision, borrow their strategies, and rebuild their own parishes. They offer a wealth of guidance for anyone with the courage to hear them.

Sacramental Cocoa and Other Stories from the Parish of the Poor
Sacramental Cocoa and Other Stories from the Parish of the Poor

Author: Lynn E. Perry

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press

Published: 1995-01-01

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 9780664255213

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There will always be those among us who are unable to fully provide for themselves. In Sacramental Cocoa, Lynn Perry writes of her experiences with the marginalized and disenfranchised, who, not unlike their more prosperous counterparts, long for connection with others and with God. Sacramental Cocoa is a love story. The vignettes affirm the connectedness of all people and our place in God's world.

Practicing and Other Stories
Practicing and Other Stories

Author: Ralph G. DePalma,

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2003-10-22

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 1413400086

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This is the autobiography of a surgeon who began life in the Bronx, New York. His colorful memoirs describe his childhood and education, and critically analyze scientific contributions in vascular disease, shock and treatment of impotence. He describes what it was like do general practice in the Bronx along with experiences in New York City; in Seville, Spain as a young Air Force Officer; residency and practice in Cleveland, Ohio; Reno, Nevada; and Washington DC. Dr. De Palma reflects upon life in rapidly changing times as well as responsibilities and uncertainties that exist in academic medicine and research.

Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples
Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples

Author: Sherry A. Weddell, Editor

Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor

Published: 2015-01-15

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13: 1612783791

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"It is not the same thing to have known Jesus as not to have known him, not the same thing to walk with him as to walk blindly, not the same thing to hear his word as not to know it.... We know that with Jesus life becomes richer."-Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel In her first book, Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus, Sherry Weddell, cofounder of the Catherine of Siena Institute, captured the attention of Catholics across the globe as she uncovered the life-changing power that accompanies the conscious decision to follow Jesus as his disciple. Now, in the groundbreaking Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples, she has gathered together experienced leaders and collaborators whose exceptional field-tested wisdom and enthusiasm for transforming Catholic parishes into centers of discipleship and apostolic outreach is both inspiring and practical. The authors consider: The role of intercessory prayer in parish transformation How "fireside chats" can help a pastor connect with his parishioners and call them to personal discipleship and mission The co-responsibility of lay people andpastors in the work of making disciples The revolutionary impact of a discipleship approach to youth ministry How one parish successfully fostered a culture of intentional discipleship, and much more As Sherry asks in her own chapter, "Are we willing to answer the call and pay the price necessary to become a new generation of saints through which God can do extraordinary things in our time?"

Amelia Bedelia
Amelia Bedelia

Author: Peggy Parish

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 1999-03-06

Total Pages: 74

ISBN-13: 0694012963

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Amelia Bedelia, the housekeeper with a literal mind, merrily upsets the household when she "dresses" the chicken and "trims" the steak with ribbons and lace.

Forming Intentional Disciples
Forming Intentional Disciples

Author: Sherry A. Weddell

Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor

Published: 2015-11-30

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 1612789439

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How can we transmit a living, personal Catholic faith to future generations? By coming to know Jesus Christ, and following him as his disciples. These are times of immense challenge and immense opportunity for the Catholic Church. Consider these statistics for the United States. Only 30 percent of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing. Fully 10 percent of all adults in America are ex-Catholics. The number of marriages celebrated in the Church decreased dramatically, by nearly 60 percent, between 1972 and 2010. Only 60 percent of Catholics believe in a personal God. If the Church is to reverse these trends, the evangelizers must first be evangelized-in other words, Catholics-in-the-pew must make a conscious choice to know and follow Jesus before they can draw others to him. This work of discipleship lies at the heart of Forming Intentional Disciples, a book designed to help Church leaders, parish staff and all Catholics transform parish life from within. Drawing upon her fifteen years of experience with the Catherine of Siena Institute, Sherry Weddell leads readers through steps that will help Catholics enter more deeply into a relationship with God and the river of apostolic creativity, charisms, and vocation that flow from that relationship for the sake of the Church and the world. Learn about the five thresholds of postmodern conversion, how to open a conversation about faith and belief, how to ask thought-provoking questions and establish an atmosphere of trust, when to tell the Great Story of Jesus, how to help someone respond to God's call to intentional discipleship, and much more. And be prepared for conversion because when life at the parish level changes, the life of the whole Church will change.

A Blessed Company
A Blessed Company

Author: John K. Nelson

Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press

Published: 2003-01-14

Total Pages: 492

ISBN-13: 0807875104

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In this book, John Nelson reconstructs everyday Anglican religious practice and experience in Virginia from the end of the seventeenth century to the start of the American Revolution. Challenging previous characterizations of the colonial Anglican establishment as weak, he reveals the fundamental role the church played in the political, social, and economic as well as the spiritual lives of its parishioners. Drawing on extensive research in parish and county records and other primary sources, Nelson describes Anglican Virginia's parish system, its parsons, its rituals of worship and rites of passage, and its parishioners' varied relationships to the church. All colonial Virginians--men and women, rich and poor, young and old, planters and merchants, servants and slaves, dissenters and freethinkers--belonged to a parish. As such, they were subject to its levies, its authority over marriage, and other social and economic dictates. In addition to its religious functions, the parish provided essential care for the poor, collaborated with the courts to handle civil disputes, and exerted its influence over many other aspects of community life. A Blessed Company demonstrates that, by creatively adapting Anglican parish organization and the language, forms, and modes of Anglican spirituality to the Chesapeake's distinctive environmental and human conditions, colonial Virginians sustained a remarkably effective and faithful Anglican church in the Old Dominion.

Parish the Thought
Parish the Thought

Author: John Bernard Ruane

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2011-08-16

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 1451664419

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In a warm and affectionate narrative that "transports readers back to a time before cable television, cell phones, and the Internet" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), John Bernard Ruane paints a marvelous portrait of his Irish-Catholic boyhood on the southwest side of Chicago in the 1960s. Capturing all the details that perfectly evoke those bygone days for Catholics and baby boomers everywhere, Ruane recounts his formative years donning the navy-and-plaid school uniform of St. Bede's: the priests and nuns; bullies, best friends, and first loves; and most memorable teachers -- including the miniskirted blonde who inspired lust among the fifth-grade boys but was fired for protesting the Vietnam War. Here are stories from the heart of his hardworking, blue-collar family: the good times and bad; sibling rivalries; summers by the lake; delivering newspapers in the frigid Chicago winter; the fire that destroyed the family home; and the loss of their beloved mother to cancer. And here are priceless accounts of Ruane's days as an altar boy: from an embarrassing bell-ringing mishap, to serving a strict pastor who built a magnificent church but couldn't inspire Christian spirit, to the Heaven-sent guitar-playing priest who turned worship around for a generation of youth.

ChurchMoney
ChurchMoney

Author: Michael White

Publisher: Ave Maria Press

Published: 2019-09-13

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1594719136

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There is a secret formula to help convince parishioners to give financially to your church. It’s pretty simple: Just ask them. And when you do, make sure it’s not about the money. In ChurchMoney, Rev. Michael White and Tom Corcoran—award-winning authors of the bestselling book Rebuilt—will help you learn the basic skills you need to discover that true success in raising funds comes from the incredibly freeing approach that connects giving to discipleship. The two share stories of success and failure during their twenty years leading the Church of the Nativity in Timonium, Maryland. They tell you what they learned to meet the real financial challenges of their mission. And they offer the practical wisdom and inspiration you need to tackle the thorny matter of raising money in your Catholic parish. So if giving isn’t about the money, what is it about? Giving is about: loving God and serving him; loving others and helping them fall in love with their Savior; transforming the world little by little through love; and the eternal impact we can and need to make with money. White and Corcoran contend that giving actually glorifies God and attracts others to the Church. Over and over again in scripture, they point out, you’ll find the same, simple point: Giving gladly serves as a key ingredient to the Church’s growth from its very beginning. White and Corcoran share the lessons, facts, habits, and great ideas they’ve implemented from some of the most successful and vibrant churches in the United States. ChurchMoney offers a proven plan for raising money in parishes. It’s readily adaptable, firmly rooted in the reality of leading a Catholic parish, based on the Bible, and finessed with the best advice of communication professionals. You will read stories of embarrassing failure and exhilarating success in tripling a budget and running three extraordinarily successful capital campaigns over a ten-year period including a recent campaign leading to the construction of $16 million sanctuary built debt-free. White and Corcoran have increased staff fourfold and significantly raised salaries and increased staff benefits while expanding mission outreach both locally and internationally.