New Pentecost: Breaking the Circle of Insanity

Probably many of us are familiar with Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. It sounds logical and unquestionable. However we so easily fall into its trap. It manifests itself in our personal lives, when we so deeply desire a change but don’t have enough courage to step out of our comfort zones. This pattern is also noticeable in our families, communities and so much within the Church. That’s why we ask the same questions over and over, “How do we bring young people to the Church?”; “how do we retain parents of baptized children within faith community?”; “how can we engage parishioners in the ministries and programs we offer”? If what we currently do doesn’t bring the answers to those questions, we have to do something different than we are doing now.

A few years ago I “accidentally” came across the book “Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, and Making Church Matter”, by Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran. Drawing on the wisdom gleaned from thriving mega-churches and innovative business leaders, while anchoring their vision in the Eucharistic center of Catholic faith, the authors tell the compelling and inspiring story how they brought their parish, Church of the Nativity in Timonium, MD, back to life. And certainly it didn’t happened because “that’s the way we’ve always done it”. They had the courage to step outside the box.

Last year our parish, St. Patrick in Hamilton, ON, joined the Rebuilt Parish Association. We gained unlimited access to effective and proven ministry materials developed and utilized at Church of the Nativity. But most importantly it gave us an opportunity to connect with the parishes that want to strive, renew and bring life to their communities. Being passionately inspired by what we were learning, as a Pastoral Team, we decided to participate in the first Rebuilt Conference held in the very Church of the Nativity in Timonium in April 2018.

This conference was way more than we hoped it would be! This parish in Maryland, outgrew their old church (which is now used as a meeting/youth/music area), and is part of their new campus. Approximately 5,000 people now attend Mass regularly each weekend. Their new church and additional space cost $15 M and they are debt free because of their parishioners’ belief in good stewardship. It all happened because they used a very practical approach to their ministry: comforting outsiders and challenging insiders.

On Sunday we “sneaked in” for an ordinary weekend Mass… Well, it was anything but ordinary! The hospitality and welcome was overwhelming. You could feel it all the way through the experience, from the moment of arrival in the parking lot to the departure. It’s certainly a priority that makes a difference for all visitors. The contemporary music, along with a mixture of traditional pieces, drew all into the spirit of prayer and worship. The inspiring message was something to take home with you, reflect on and put in practice in your daily life.

In the following days we had a chance to participate in a variety of sessions and workshops. All of them were very practical and inspirational. They basically shared their experience of the renewal of their parish with participants.  Not everything would work in every parish because of the different realities of each parish, but certainly the principles would! Their pastoral approach can be summed up in three strategies: 1) Focus on unchurched people.  2) Create a great weekend experience, and 3) Challenge church people with a clear discipleship path.

Probably what inspired and encouraged me most, was witnessing pastors, pastoral teams and parishioners of many parishes, who came from 30 US States and 10 countries, to  participate at the conference and who are so passionate about the renewal of their local communities. It truly confirmed for me that there is a movement in the North American Church seeking a new beginning for the life of faith. The time has come to break the circle of insanity and to stop “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.  A new Pentecost has begun!

By Jarek Pachocki, OMI