A shared parish is a Catholic parish with two or more racial, ethnic, or cultural groups, each with its own masses and ministries but sharing facilities, leadership, and periodic worship and expressions of communal life. Our hope is that any discussion focused on shared parish life will be a leaven for all parish life.
The National Conversation on Shared Parish Life (NCSPL) is a partnership between pastoral leaders and scholars working together to shape a renewed shared parish life
- that better reflects gospel imperatives toward equal justice for all,
- that better cultivates the charisms of all the baptized,
- and that reveals the Church as a house for all God’s peoples.
The focus of the NCSPL is on frank dialogue and discussion in search of that wisdom the Spirit has given to our many communities for the good of all. The NCSPL is supported by a grant from an anonymous foundation, and is a project based at the Center for Religion and Spirituality at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
Phase One: Gathering Initial Wisdom
- The formation of the NCSPL team
- A virtual gathering of pastoral leaders, scholars, and experts on July 22-24, 2021.
Phase Two: Gathering More Specialized Wisdom
- Local and geographical conversations on particular topics
- Web-based opportunities for feedback on particular topics
- Conversations among affinity groups (such as pastors, parish staffs, theologians, etc.)
Phase Three: Sharing Wisdom
- Creation of an online multilingual and multicultural series of videos for pastoral leaders.
- Publishing of a book or a series of journal articles by scholars
The NCSPL Team
We are also grateful for the contributions of Rev. Héctor Madrigal of St. Joseph’s Parish and the Diocese of Amarillo in Texas.