In this innovative, imaginative, and empowering work, popular author Fr. Bill Bausch shares ways to make today's parish a vibrant and collaborative community. He investigates the question "What is the parish?" and further, "What is the Church?" using his insights as a springboard to effectively creating a parish that is focused, contemporary, liturgically-based, and responsive to the lives of its members.
The Total Parish Manual is filled with anecdotes, descriptions, examples, and step-by-step procedures to help the reader implement the ideas expressed in the book. There are seven main parts to this volume, as well as a concise Introduction: Parish Basics, The Sacraments, The Liturgical Year, Planning, Sowing Seeds, Rhythms & Reflections, and Parish Pages, which contain over a hundred pages of handouts and resources materials to support the techniques described. Full reproduction rights are given for all material in this manual.
The writing is honest, direct, and fully respectful of Catholic teaching and tradition. Bausch gives useful information on such essential areas of Christian ministry as recruiting volunteers, marriage rites and preparation programs, rituals for seasonal and ordinary time, parish organizations, lay ministries, small faith communities, community outreach and evangelization, and parish social activities.
This book is based on the actual manual that Bausch has used successfully in his own world-renowned parish over the last twelve years, revised and expanded for popular use. For all who work in any type of parish ministry, The Total Parish Manual will help make their parishes truly "come alive."
"This book, like most of [Bausch's] books, is nothing if not practical, offering very specific ways to organize and carry out an enormous range of practices and programs..., and the vision is obvious: a parish in which nothing of human concern is beyond its interest and in which anyone can take initiative and all should share responsibility. This book spells out the vision in terms that are easily understood and always suggestive." - Philip J. Murnion, Executive Director, National Pastoral Life Center.
"Ideas, ideas and more ideas, that's what this book is all about. My suggestion to a parish would be to take each chapter, make a list of all the ideas contained in that chapter, pass the list around to the staff, council and parish leaders and ask them, "How many of these do you think we could try out in our parish?" That is how practical this book is and how useful it can be for a modern Catholic parish." - Thomas Sweetser, S.J., Co-Author, Tranforming the Parish.
This item does not qualify for free shipping. However, normal shipping applies and there is never a surcharge.