BOOKS:

A HANDBOOK FOR BUILDING STRONGER PARISHES: Case Studies, Reflections, Worksheets, Action Plans

In this new book, Dr Trudy Dantis draws on her ground-breaking research into factors that lead to parish vitality to provide Australian case studies with down-to-earth examples of what can be achieved in eight key areas that lead to stronger parishes: planning, spirituality and faith formation, liturgy, community building, welcoming and hospitality, outreach, evangelisation and leadership.

This work is supported by Dr Robert Dixon’s helpful introductory articles enabling parishes to build up a comprehensive parish profile from readily available information.

A Handbook for Building Stronger Parishes provides excellent case studies, reflection questions, worksheets and action plans to support you and your parish team.

The handbook is now available for purchase from: garrattpublishing.com.au. Please type “Building Stronger Parishes” in the search box.

BUILDING STRONGER PARISHES REPORT SERIES 2016 

Following the Project Report published in May 2015, six sub-reports have been produced on various aspects of parish vitality arising from the research. The reports are produced in both hard copy and downloadable formats. These are now available from the ACBC website at www.catholic.org.au/shop/acbc‐shop. Use the search function to search for ‘Stronger Parishes’.

The six reports are:
1) Community Building, Welcoming and Hospitality
2) Liturgy
3) Spirituality and Faith Formation
4) Mission, Outreach and Evangelisation
5) Leadership
6) Planning

BUILDING STRONGER PARISHES PROJECT REPORT MAY 2015
Trudy Dantis and Robert Dixon

This comprehensive report on the project is available from the ACBC website at https://www.catholic.org.au/shop/acbc-shop. Use the search function to search for ‘Stronger Parishes’.

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

Tracing the Pulse: An Investigation Into Vitality In Australian Catholic Parishes
Trudy Dantis
The Australasian Catholic Record
Volume 92, Issue 2 (June 2015)

Abstract: As a ‘definite community of Christian faithful’, every parish is called to embody the presence of the church in the wider community. It does this by being a place of living communion and participation that is wholly mission-oriented, an environment conducive to hearing God’s word and growing in the Christian life, and one that is engaged in dialogue, proclamation, outreach, worship and celebration. In doing so, a parish becomes ‘salt’ and ‘light’ for the community it is located in (cf. Matt 5:13-16). Parish vitality can therefore be likened to the ‘saltiness’ or ‘luminosity’ of a parish community. It is imperative for every parish community to grow in health and strength if it is to be an effective source of evangelisation and an authentic witness of the Gospel. As Wittberg notes, ‘To the extent that their communal “salt” loses its flavor, parishes – are worse than irrelevant, because they no longer image God’.

Click here to access the article.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS:

BUILDING STRONGER PARISHES PRELIMINARY REPORT – 2012 Supplement

Click here to view the report.

BUILDING STRONGER PARISHES PRELIMINARY REPORT (2011)

Click here to view the report.