Seed In Good Soil: A Suburban Parish's Journey in Communal Discernment

By Tom Cordaro

Many parishes and congregations are in a state of crisis; participation is down and the Church has experienced massive membership losses in two consecutive generations. Young people have no interest in becoming church people. This book provides an analysis of two aspects of suburban parish culture that are at the heart of this crisis; religious individualism and a free market customer-based model of pastoral ministry. In response to this crisis this book sets forth a model of communal discernment that parishes and congregations can use to cultivate a mission-focused communal identity capable of countering religious individualism and liberating them from free market consumer culture. This book also describes the experience of a Catholic parish trying to live out this discernment model.There are books that describe the problems of radical individualism in society, but not many that describe how radical individualism manifests itself in parish/congregational life. There have been books written about consumerism but none that talk about the impact of consumer culture in the life of faith communities. More importantly, no other book provides a model and road map that has the potential to transform a parish/congregation of customers into a discipleship community. There are books and pastoral statement about being a mission church but none of them are grounded in a discipline of communal discernment that can help parishes and congregations better understanding their unique God-given calling; their own way of being together and their own way of being present in the world. Most parish/congregation renewal products are based on what they all hold in common. This book is about the particularity of parishes and congregations.; it does not presuppose a one-size-fits-all approach. It describes a communal discipline that can help parishes and congregations create an intentional communal identity based on a discernment process of identifying of the signs of their times; better understanding them in light of the social, cultural, political and economic forces at work in them; and then interpreting them light of our faith.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1980899312
• ISBN13: 9781980899310
• Release Date: May 2018
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 181 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.5" x 6.0"