Catholic Area Parishes named an excellent cluster of parishes in nationwide study

The Catholic Area Parishes (Visitation parish in Danvers; St. Francis in Benson; St. Malachy in Clontarf; St. Bridget in DeGraff, and Sacred Heart in Murdock) have been named outstanding parishes in a nationwide study. A team of researchers from the Parish/Congregation Study, based at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, spent two years searching for local church excellence. These Catholic Area Parishes were clearly the type of parishes we were looking for said the study’s director, Paul Wilkes, an author and a professor at UNCW. "We looked for parishes that nurtured the spirit, welcomed and yet challenged, both preached and - more importantly - lived the Good News. These Catholic Area Parishes were that kind of church."

The study, underwritten by a grant from the Lilly Endowment, combed the country for the best examples of local church excellence, both Catholic and Protestant. Size or location, denominational affiliation or lack of one were not important, but a certain "habit of being" was. "These parishes we found are simply wonderful places to be. They not only take care of their members and the newcomer, but reach out generously into the world. I am absolutely amazed with the abundance of goodness and greatness that was found." Wilkes said.

The study identified 300 excellent Catholic parishes and 300 excellent Protestant congregations nationwide, which will be included in two soon-to-be published companion books: Excellent Catholic Parishes: The Guide to Best Places and Practices (Paulist Press) and Excellent Protestant Congregations: The Guide to Best Places and Practices (Westminster John Knox). These parishes will be included in an annotated, state-by-state index of outstanding parishes across the country in Excellent Catholic Parishes, which will be available in February 2001.

The Catholic Area Parishes have also been invited to take part in the pastoral Summit, a nationwide conference to be held May 30-June 1 in New Orleans, that grew out of the Parish/Congregation Study research. The Pastoral Summit will bring together some of the country’s best pastors, church staff, and lay leaders. "We went in search of excellence and found it in abundance," Wilkes said. "Now we want to share this wealth because, quite frankly, most of the innovative pastoral approaches are also the most practical - and possible - for churches of all sizes, wherever they might be found in the country."

The groundbreaking Pastoral Summit will assemble, for the first time on a national level, both Catholics and Protestants, to concentrate on achieving excellence in the local church. The conference will feature workshops led by Catholic and Protestant pastors and lay leaders - many of them featured in Wilkes’ books - workshops, discussions, and conference-wide prayer and worship. "The beauty of the Summit is that we are not talking about doctrinal differences or ideologies that may sometimes be in conflict, but simply about pastoral excellence," Wilkes said. "The local church is still where most people look for spiritual nourishment and for guidance for their lives. The Summit will hold up some of the best models we have of church life so that pastors and lay leaders can learn from some of the most vital churches in the country."

The Summit will represent a broad range of denominations, church sizes, and geographical locations. From a tiny Lutheran church in rural Lone Wolf, OK, to a venerable Boston-area Catholic parish, from an evangelical Southern Baptist church in Denver to El Paso’s vibrant St. Pius X, the approaches and programs they employ are as varied as the churches themselves. "These churches are beacons of hope in a very confused time when people are looking for moral guidance and a sense of belonging, of true community," Wilkes said.

Paul Wilkes, the project director, is the author of numerous books and articles on religious belief and practice, including his latest book, Beyond the Walls: Monastic Wisdom for Everyday Life. Melanie Bruce and Marty Minchin are the study’s research associates.

Further information and pictures are available at www.pastoralsummit.org or by calling the Parish Congregation Study-Pastoral Summit office at (910) 962-7225.