Ted Bergh's blog

These two excerpts are from the Boston College, Church 21 Resources program from an article published in the Spring 2010 edition – Characteristics of an Evangelizing Parish by Jane Regan.

Michael Daley, a religion teacher at St Xavier High School in Cincinnati, attends a local megachurch at the invitation of a student's family and ponders why 30-50% of the megagachurch congregation are former Catholics and why he is still Catholic. See the article in the January 29, 2010 Catholic Telegraph: What Keeps Me Catholic?

The quote that follows is by Fr. Richard Erikson from his article in the January 15, 2010 edition of the Archdiocese of Boston Newspaper The Pilot. This article was titled, Heeding the Call to Faith Formation and Evangelization.

The Saturday, Jan 16, 2010 New York Times included an article Pastors in Northwest Find Focus in ‘Green’ that promoted being a Green Church as a way to evangelize. I found this a curious fulfillment of the USCCB letter Go and Make Disciples in that in promoting Gospel values to value the Earth and the environment, it was also possible to attract those who had no church community.

According to Fr. Longenecker, in his January 10, 2010 article, Does the “Springfield Spirit” Point the Way Home for Protestants in NCR, there is a real desire by some Christians to find a church that is historical, traditional and liturgical:

The title, Getting Catholics Invested in the Mission, of an interview in NCR (December 31, 2009) of Francis J.Butler, president of FADICA, Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities.

Our Lady of Soledad Parish has adapted the Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Church growth model but Catholicized it. In the December 21 2009 edition of America Magazine, in an article titled Parish Revival, Pastor Bruce Cecil describes his process. His goal was to stop being a “sacramental machine” for families who came for Baptism, First Communion or Marriage only to vanish once the sacrament was received.