A seminal moment in the study of U.S. Catholic parish life came in the 1980s with the publication of a series of reports from the ground-breaking Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life. These reports are now badly outdated, as Catholic dioceses grapple with new challenges that didn't exist in the 80s. Topics that were not considered then, like greater Catholic mobility, increased cultural diversity, and structural re-organization as well as the rise of lay leadership, have attained new s...

A practical, accessible guide to help church leaders through the steps needed to ensure an effective, accountable, and transparent financial process in a parish.

The Church is not a business, but it does have a stewardship responsibility to ensure that all of its resources are used as effectively as possible to carry out God's work on earth. In the case of human resource assets, good stewardship involves assisting those engaged in ministry (whether clerical or lay) to achieve their greatest potential through the various components of performance management, including performance assessment. This unique collection brings together both scholars and p...

Becoming a Pastoral Parish Council is a basic primer on how a parish council can be set up and organized, and what roles it can play.

How many parishes do you know of that are truly great?In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins makes the point that good is the enemy of great. What does a great parish look like? Obviously it nurtures the spirituality of its parishioners, but it must do more than that. To be truly great, a parish must also have the temporal side in order. It must be a welcoming, community building place where people want to be. And it must be well-managed.Let''s be very clear. The C...

Based on extensive research, this volume offers insight and help on the key fiscal topics confronting church leaders today, including: Why is the church so uneasy with the topic of money? Is there a difference between stewardship and fundraising? How can we motivate giving? Should we invest church funds? It tackles the resistance, fears, and difficulties about money common in congregations. The book is must reading for lay leaders and anyone in pastoral ministry today.

As an adjunct to the Best Practices in Church Management Series, Creativity in Church Management covers a number of topics that, while important, do not warrant their own volumes in the series. Topics include co-responsibility, managing parish diversity, and issues surrounding parish reconfiguration and consolidation.

Today’s parish leaders are expected to be holy and prayerful spiritual guides, great preachers and compassionate confessors, but also to make important decisions in key areas like finance, budgeting, hiring and firing, fundraising, risk management, relationship-building, and more—often with virtually no transition or training. And with all the requisite education in philosophy and theology they must provide future pastors, in addition to formation in priestly spirituality and pastoral care...

The Vestry Handbook was first published in 1988 and a revised edition was published in 2000. Over that span of time it has sold nearly 90,000 copies and continues to sell well each year. Inevitably, such a working guidebook becomes out of date if not revised at regular intervals. The Canons of the church change and new issues confront Vestries. The author consulted diocesan administrators, other clergy, the Church Deployment Office, and the Church Pension Fund for this timely revision. Can...

The role of lay ecclesial ministers-professionally prepared laity who serve in leadership roles-is becoming critically more important in the life of the Catholic church. In Lay Ecclesial Ministry, theologians and pastoral leaders from diverse disciplines provide a deeper understanding, envision future direction, and offer inspiration for these new ministers and the community of the church.Building on the themes of the first official document addressing lay ecclesial minist...

A fascinating and enlightening look at the world’s oldest and most mysterious institution, written by an American journalist with unparalleled knowledge about the Vatican's past and present.The sexual abuse scandals that shook American and British Catholicism in 2002 brought to light a long-standing cultural gap between the English-speaking Catholic world and the Vatican. In Rome, the crisis was often seen as an attack on the Church mounted by money-hungry lawyers, a hostile press,...

A revised and updated edition of the manifesto that shows how simplicity is not merely having less stress and more leisure but an essential spiritual discipline for the health of our soul.