If you need some summer reading...

Dear Fellow Parishioners:

What are you reading this summer? Many of us look forward to catching up on some reading during the summer months. This summer I’m reading (and re-reading) a book by Sherry Weddell called: Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus. Among the many books on the topic, I find Weddell’s book to be the most concise and useful. Instead of just pointing out problems we’re having as a church, she provides many practical ideas that we can try here at Saint Ambrose. So what’s the problem she addresses? Here it is:

• Only 30 percent of American’s who were raised Catholic are still practicing
• Fully 10 percent of all adults in America are ex-Catholics
• Only 60 percent of Catholics believe in a personal God

We can’t solve the problems of the church in the U.S., but we can reverse these trends in our area. Saint Ambrose can be the unique example of how the church can be vibrant and grow. It is possible by the grace of God, and if everyone of us makes a conscious choice to know and follow Jesus while we are inviting others to know Jesus. Weddell’s book may help us. I’ve given copies of the book to the members of the Pastoral Parish Council (PPC) to read this summer so we can use it as a basis for discussion and action in the fall. I have a copy of the book for you, too, if you’d like to read it and offer the PPC and me your reactions. Just let me know, and I’ll give you a copy. Unfortunately the book is not published in Spanish, so if there is someone who is able to translate a brief summary that would be very helpful.

Is it just about getting more people to come to Saint Ambrose? No, it’s about sharing an incredibly powerful relationship with Jesus AND intensifying that power by increasing the number of people who gather with us. A warning comes with Weddell’s book: “Be prepared for conversion because when life at a parish level changes, the life of the whole Church will change.”

Your brother,
Fr. Kevin Carlin Kennedy