Last summer during a gathering of Doctor of Fall 2018 Ministry students at St. Vladimir’s Seminary I met Nathan Hoppe, an OCMC missionary to Albania. In reviewing his experiences, we discussed what he was considering for his program’s final project. He wanted to explore: How is it possible to revitalize or build a Church community whose foundation had been destroyed? It would seem, I proposed, that many of us, even in more traditional settings, are trying to do something similar — it’s just that we are working on renewing or even creating a foundation under an existing building. Online conversations often consider this as one of the most difficult building projects, but as was suggested: “If the house is worth anything, then it makes sense to do a proper foundation” (The Journal of Light Construction).

For many, going to church is bad news. They are reminded of all that is wrong in our world by the lack of love from their fellow parishioners. What they hear preached seems to be just more railing about how bad the world is or how bad they are. It is difficult in such an environment to motivate yourself to attend the divine services, let alone commit yourself to a parish.

by Fr. Lawrence Farley