Next to Christmas itself, Fall is absolutely my favorite season of the year. The days get cooler, the nights get longer (which I love) and here in Maryland the foliage delights with its annual...

Fall is the perfect time for the Church to welcome back parishioners otherwise occupied during the summer months. It is the time to expect visitors and newcomers to give your church a try....

The National Eucharistic Revival being sponsored by the USCCB enters its second phase this summer, styled the “Year of Parish Renewal.”  This can be an important opportunity for...

I was speaking to a bishop recently who was telling me about an experience he had at an area parish. He received a call on a Saturday afternoon from the pastor requesting weekend Mass coverage as...

It has long been my contention that one of the easiest “wins” a parish can achieve comes in cleaning up public spaces, such as lobbies, nurseries, and the sanctuary. Clutter and dirt...

When I arrived at my parish, the expectation was that the pastor does everything, from unlocking the front doors on Sunday mornings to changing the toilet paper in the men’s room (I’m...

I just wrapped up several days at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress spent talking to parish leaders from across the country. On the final day, at the final session, I offered a...

It wasn’t so very long ago that your church’s front door was … your front door. It was how newcomers and visitors (and everyone else) came to you. The values held by growing...

After three difficult years unlike any other in churchworld (and the world at large) we are all left wondering what the year ahead will bring. And as a pastor, my number one question is definitely:...

I received a surprise phone call from my friend Rick Warren (yes, the Pastor Rick Warren) over the Thanksgiving holiday. Once I got over my shock that Pastor Rick would take time to speak to me, we...