Divine Renovation Workshop Draws 15 Parishes Dedicated to Renewal

Story and Photos by Shelley Wolf

Cheri Banks was raised Catholic and made all her sacraments but in college she fell away from her Catholic faith. Eventually she returned to St. Paul VI Parish in Hamden, where she heard about Alpha, a 12-week course on Jesus, the Holy Spirit and faith.

“It’s like an introduction to Christianity, very thorough and user friendly. Now the wonderful thing for me is daily Mass. How lucky are we?” Banks asks. “Before learning what the Holy Spirit was, I just went to church because it was the right thing to do. Now I feel propelled. It’s just so easy.”

Many priests in the Archdiocese of Hartford would love to attract seekers like Banks. In fact, some priests are striving to transform their parishes into a more welcoming communities, ones in which newcomers can make friends, learn about Jesus and delve deeper into their faith.

Last week, more than 15 priests and 100 parishioners from 15 different parishes gathered at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Hamden for “Unlocked,” a full-day workshop on Divine Renovation ministry’s approach to parish renewal.

The event was hosted by Father Christopher Tiano, pastor of St. Paul VI Parish, as well as by his parishioners and representatives from Divine Renovation ministry. In addition to workshops and breakout sessions, the “Unlocked” event included a noontime Mass, celebrated by Coadjutor Archbishop Christopher J. Coyne.

The homily was delivered by Father Tiano, who noted that St. Paul VI Parish, born from two rounds of mergers, is the largest parish he has ever led.

About two years ago, feeling that his parish was “stuck,” Father Tiano consulted with the team at Divine Renovation to spark a cultural change. His intent was to deepen parishioners’ personal connection to their faith and encourage them to share it with others.

Divine Renovation is a nonprofit ministry that emerged from Father James Mallon’s 2014 book, Divine Renovation: Bringing Your Parish from Maintenance to Mission. Through trial and error, the Canadian Catholic priest devised an approach for moving beyond maintenance of the status quo back to the Church’s primary mission of outward evangelization.

Every pope in recent decades, Father Tiano stressed, has reminded Catholics of the need to evangelize. “Jesus Christ has transformed our lives. That’s our message. When we bring people into the Church,” Father Tiano said, “into the message, into what we share with one another, great things happen.”

Archbishop Coyne also addressed attendees, saying the top reason parishioners leave a parish is because they don’t feel welcome.

“It may sound like a cliché, but belonging precedes believing. So welcome, welcome,” Archbishop Coyne said. “In one parish we used to say, ‘Before you leave Mass today, if you see someone you don’t know, introduce yourself and get to know them.’”

During the workshops, Angie Glendenning, regional guide and coach for Divine Renovation, detailed Father Mallon’s three keys for parish renewal: recognizing the primacy of evangelization, tapping the best of leadership and relying on the power of the Holy Spirit.

The first three steps in revitalizing a parish include: creating an inspiring vision for the parish; bringing in an evangelization program or bumping up participation in an existing program by 5%; and forming a passionate leadership team to assist the pastor in realizing the vision.

“Those are the three things we think are critical for success in renewal. If that’s all you do in the next year, and continue to work on getting those things right, that is excellent,” Glendenning said. “The saying is, ‘We overestimate what we can do in a year, but underestimate what we can accomplish in three.’”