In line with CTU’s fifty year mission to prepare effective church leaders and in response to our current challenging times, this series can help parish staff, volunteers, and clergy not just survive but thrive.
Thriving in Ministry is a program at Catholic Theological Union funded by a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.
Each topic is covered in four short videos suitable for use with parish staff, volunteers, and/or clergy, but there is no preferred order of topics. Start with the one that seems of most immediate value.
Allow silent reflection time after your team watches each video. Reflective space will aid in opening participants’ hearts to the workings of the Holy Spirit. Then allow 30-40 minutes for small or large group discussion. We provide questions and additional resources in the discussion guide for each topic.
Give your leadership time to absorb the material in this comprehensive resource.
We recommend taking a year to complete the series. Here are two structures to consider:
- Complete the series in half-day workshops, showing all videos on the topic in one day with reflection and discussion following each. This is our ideal suggested structure.
- Complete the series in weekly units, sharing one video each week followed by reflection and discussion. This structure may be the best choice if in-person viewing is difficult and videoconferencing must be used.
How will you know this series is helping your parish thrive? What will participants do differently in response? As each video + discussion concludes, invite participants to prayerfully create two action plans: one for themselves in their individual role and another for the parish. Keep it simple: two or three steps to strengthen personal skills in this area and two or three actions to help the parish move forward. For example, an individual plan after watching the videos on Stress Management and Burnout Prevention could be to spend 10 minutes a day enjoying nature and an extra hour a week with family. The parish plan might include scheduling a retreat focused on stress management, eating lunch together as a staff three days a week, or closing the office early on Fridays to allow staff more time with family.
