Is your parish showing signs of decline? Fewer worshippers at Divine Liturgy? Smaller church school? Atrophy of once vibrant ministries?

What, if anything, can parishes do about the above?

For those not satisfied with slow decline the following are some thoughts about building urgency for a stronger parish.

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The recently held Parish Health Summit was one of the few structured Diocesan gatherings in recent memory where priests came together to openly discuss parish life. The environment and agenda was vastly different from Diocesan Assemblies and Clergy Convocations. Summit attendees participated in workshops and exercises designed to openly and fairly describe the strengths and challenges of their parishes.

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The Diocese of the Midwest recently held a Summit for parishes that had demonstrated growth over the past five to ten years.

There was a universal feeling among all present that "our parish is far from a model parish." Warts and imperfections in parish life abounded. Yet, as one listened it was hard not to feel that, in an aggregate sense, the collective insight of those assembled could be used to describe a composite view of good Orthodox parish practices.

1. Ethnic Diversity
None of the parishes in attendance was dominated by a single (traditionally Orthodox) ethnic group.

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if your parish is in the midst of re-thinking your set of parish ministries --adding new and replacing old this article about Holy Trinity Parish in Overland Park KS may be of interest to you.

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The parish council at Holy Trinity parish in Overland Park KS recently developed a best practices manual for answering these questions.

The document has been posted here for your review.

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