Holy Family Parish mentioned in Wall Street Journal

OPINION COMMENTARY HOUSES OF WORSHIP

Waking Up From Spiritual Sleepwalking

We studied hundreds of parishes to figure out what makes the vibrant ones shine.

By WILLIAM E. SIMON JR.
Oct. 20, 2016 6:45 p.m. ET

Some wag once quipped, “I’m not asleep, but that doesn’t mean I’m awake.” This vividly describes many of today’s churchgoers. Though disciplined about attendance, many believers sleepwalk through faith. In my Catholic tradition, the number of parishioners who regularly attend Mass and truly engage with the church stands between 7% and 18%.

Secularists describe this spiritual inertia as a byproduct of modernity. They claim that excitement about religion has dwindled as humanity looks toward science. It’s an interesting assertion but not one backed by data. Vigorous churches are found throughout the U.S., and other parishes can emulate them.

Four years ago I founded Parish Catalyst, which supports the development of Catholic parishes. In 2013 we conducted 244 interviews with pastoral leaders from Catholic communities across the country. The thousands of pages of data informed us of the most common strengths and most persistent challenges in today’s churches.

We believe that millions can move from spiritual quiescence to a life rich in prayer, Bible study, philanthropy and simple kindness. I estimate we could at least double levels of engagement at churches. Consider a few examples from some of the most successful churches we studied.

Holy Family parish in Inverness, Ill., has 80 “small groups” of about 15 people who gather regularly to pray, eat, and discuss Scripture. Father Terence Keehan said that Holy Family has 4,200 registered families, and these groups offer the intimacy that people at large parishes crave.

Ambitious mission trips can be another way to encourage long-term spiritual growth, especially when parishioners work together to serve others. Father Tony Zimmer of St. Anthony on the Lake in Pewaukee, Wis., described how his parishioners bonded by building a hospice, a school and an orphanage in Peru.

While over 90% of pastors considered the spiritual growth of their parishioners to be the strongest characteristic of their communities, about 75% believed they still needed to improve. Pastors make spiritual development an explicit goal of parish life, plan strategically, and devote the necessary resources to achieve it. At Sacred Heart Chapel in Lorain, Ohio, a staff member reworked the children’s Scripture-based curriculum and refreshed adult religious-education classes.

This focus on growing engagement has been stimulated by profound changes in the Catholic tradition. In the past, lay Catholics once saw their role as “pray, pay and obey.” Yet since the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, ordinary Catholics have become increasingly active.

With the growing priest shortage and recent financial setbacks, flourishing parishes practice shared leadership, relying on lay staff and volunteers to perform tasks that were once the exclusive domain of the clergy, such as liturgical planning, sacramental preparation and religious education. We found that greater lay leadership builds a stronger community, since opportunities for spiritual growth are no longer limited to Sundays.

The study didn’t include questions about Pope Francis, yet about one-third of the pastors mentioned him. Their comments were uniformly favorable. The pope’s call for priests to “be shepherds with the smell of sheep” inspired many church leaders. And Catholics are proud of the pope’s emphasis on openness, simplicity and compassion.

Parishes have also become more data-driven, using tools to measure engagement. Gallup’s ME-25 survey and the Catholic Leadership Institute’s Disciple Maker Index measure the spiritual health of a faith community. Once a baseline is established, a parish’s engagement can be reassessed over time.

At my parish near Los Angeles, ME-25 spurred us to develop a five-year strategic plan. It calls for evaluating and adjusting our leadership structure, assisting parishioners in meeting their needs and in finding volunteer opportunities, and offering ways for people to discover how to participate in the community.

Another tool is the Clifton StrengthsFinder survey, which identifies parishioner capabilities and matches them with the parish’s needs. For instance, an accountant could have a gift for teaching children, and he might prefer to teach Sunday school rather than help with finances. This has practical and spiritual benefits: More gets done, service ministries outside the parish proliferate, and parishioners feel more committed to helping out.

Perhaps the biggest lesson is that many Catholics would be ready to make a deeper commitment if they could be encouraged and equipped to do so. This is easier than in the past, and many churches are beginning to take advantage of the tools and strategies that modern technology has to offer. They’re also creating a sense of belonging that reaches far beyond the ethnic enclaves that defined Catholic churchgoing in the 19th and 20th centuries. The religious and nonbelievers will both benefit, as strong parishes with engaged parishioners help their communities and beyond.

Mr. Simon is the author of “Great Catholic Parishes: How Four Essential Practices Make Them Thrive” (Ave Maria Press, 2016).

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