Advancing Our Church

December 04, 2022 Today, Jim Friend is joined by  John Matthew Knowles , J.D., a business development strategist and advancement executive who serves as Executive Director of the  Diocesan Fiscal Management Conference , or DFMC, and President of the  Catholic Finance Association . In addition to these leadership roles, John serves on boards of directors, task forces, and advisory co...

Published: November 14, 2022 Healing and renewing our Church is the goal of the  National Eucharistic Congress , headed by the new Executive Director,  Tim Glemkowski . The Church has been rocked with scandal, division, disease, and doubt, but now the bishops plan to confront these challenges by reminding everyone that  Jesus is present  and more powerful than the storm. Join&#...

Published: November 01, 2022 Join  Brian Crimmins ,  CEO of  Changing Our World , and  Nathan Chappell ,  Senior VP of AI at  DonorSearch , authors of the new book  Generosity Crisis: The Case for Radical Connection to Solve Humanity’s Greatest Challenges  as they share a startling analysis of the changing nature of generosity in America and why its decline...

October 17, 2022 Today we are talking about #cryptocurrency, an evolving topic that is more and more relevant to our world and our Church. Join  Changing Our World’s   Jim Friend  and his guest, Matthew Pinto, the host and founder of the  Catholic Crypto Conference . Matt is conducting the conference on November 17/18 at the Valley Forge Sheraton in PA. Matt discusses how busin...

Published: October 03, 2022 This week we welcome  Tom Smith , Director of Development for the  Archdiocese of Newark . Tom began this new role in October 2021 and is enjoying being back in his home diocese. Tom and Jim discuss his role in the diocese, working with Cardinal Tobin, and how his parishes have been moving forward during these challenging economic and turbulent times in our wo...

Published: September 20, 2022 We are currently experiencing the “Great Transfer of Wealth,” and over the next few decades, financial experts predict that between $40 trillion and $140 trillion will be passed from one generation to the next. Up to one-third of this wealth will be transferred to nonprofits through planned giving. We are joined today by  Renée Underwood , CFRE, the Chief Develop...

Published: July 13, 2022 Today we are joined by the team of the  Xavier Society for the Blind . Xavier provides the Word of God, Roman Catholic teaching, literature, spiritual and inspirational material to the blind and visually impaired. They provide these services to persons of any faith in whatever format best meets their needs at no charge. Xavier works to explore ways to make this materi...

Cristofer Pereyra and Erin Monnin have authored the new book, Catholic Leadership for Civil Society , to provide a guide to authentic lay Catholic leadership. The book challenges the laity to take on leadership roles in the secular world. Join Changing Our World’s Jim Friend and his guests for this thoughtful conversation about the role of lay leadership in our Church today. About the Book Catholi...

Published: June 13, 2022 In late February,  Vinea Research  administered an online survey to a sample of more than 1,500 self-identified Catholics who went to Mass at least once per year. The results of the survey included both positive and negative outcomes for Catholics, with one of the significant negative outcomes being that in-person Mass attendance has decreased and is not expected...

Published: May 23, 2022 We are joined by Emmy Nominated Journalist  Natalie Brunel l  a leading advocate for Bitcoin and the host of the popular podcast  Coin Stories  (YouTube link) where she interviews leaders in the Bitcoin space. Before turning her career towards Bitcoin full-time, Natalie was an Emmy-nominated senior news correspondent and investigative journalist. Natalie...

Published: May 09, 2022 Are you looking for some expert Development advice as you begin your planning for the next fiscal year? Join us for this conversation on major/planned giving, annual fund, donor stewardship, and, much more. This Catholic Philanthropy Roundtable is hosted by  Changing Our World ‘s  J im Friend   with special guests  W illiam M. McLean, Jr. ,  Chief D...

Published: April 28, 2022 Mercy School For Special Learning  joins AOC as we celebrate Autism Awareness Month. Mercy’s mission is unique as one of the few Catholic schools in our country that provides a Catholic education for children and young adults. The staff at Mercy afford their students the best opportunity to reach their utmost potential. Mercy’s mission is the embodiment of the Cathol...

Published: April 11, 2022 Join us for a conversation with  Kailash Duraiswami  on the evolving landscape of using technology in the New Evangelization. Kailash is a technology entrepreneur, most recently in the Artificial Intelligence space as the founder of Pantenix. Pantenix is an artificial intelligence platform that automates manual data entry for financial services companies through...

Published: March 30, 2022 Today we celebrate  Catholic Sisters Week  by hearing the vocation story of  Sister Jane Wakahiu , LSOSF, Ph. D., the Associate Vice President, Program Operations, and Head of Catholic Sisters at the  C onrad Hilton Foundation . Sr. Jane is a member of the Institute of the  Little Sisters of Saint Francis, Kenya . She provides leadership and direc...

Published: March 16, 2022 Julianne Stan z  joins   Jim Friend   to discuss her new book,  Braving the THIN Places . A “thin place” is where God’s grace is waiting to happen. Your thin place might be an important threshold, a soul friend, a fresh chapter in your own life story, a painful secret or fear, or a time of hardship. Whatever the circumstance, a thin place is where God...

Published: February 28, 2022 Join  Clark Bartram  and  Jim Friend  for a conversation about health, fitness, and spirituality. Clark Bartram is an inspirational Christian, professional fitness model, published fitness writer, and ISSA Master Personal Trainer from Ohio. He is well-known as an online trainer and TV fitness show host. Most recently, Clark has made it his personal...

Published: December 21, 2021 On August 6, 2021, Bishop Koenig, Bishop of the Catholic  Diocese of Wilmington , announced Ms.  Sheila O’Hagan McGirl, CFRE , would take the reigns as the new Director of Development for the diocese. On today’s show,  Changing Our World’s   Jim Friend  talks with Sheila about her career path to this new role and how God guided Sheila and her f...

Published: December 05, 2021 The  Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers  was born out of a need for education, resources, and servant laymen and women to respond to mental health crises. On today’s show,  Jim Frien d  interviews the organization’s President,  Deacon Ed Shoener  of the Diocese of Scranton. Deacon Ed will share that he was inspired to join wit...

Published: November 15, 2021 In celebration of Vocation Awareness Week,  Changing Our World ‘s  Jim Friend  invited  Fr. Michael Zimmerman , who currently serves as assistant Vocation Director for the  Archdiocese of Boston  and as an adjunct Scripture Professor at  St. John’s Seminary . With the heart of a teacher, Fr. Michael was inspired to create a systematic...

Published: November 10, 2021 What are your year-end giving strategies? How will you close the calendar year and capitalize on the giving season? Jim Friend is joined by Lisa Quist , the new Executive Director of Mission Support and Chief Development Officer for the Franciscan Friars of Atonement . As the Executive Director, Lisa provides strategic leadership for their comprehensive multichannel fu...

Published: November 01, 2021 This week we travel back to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to talk with Michelle Brown , the Chief Development Officer for the Independent Mission Schools (IMS). Michelle is responsible for raising more than $15M annually and overseeing communications, marketing, and public relations for the organization. Michelle brings 21 years of non-profit leadership experience in...

Published: October 24, 2021 Catholic Healthcare Systems serve a unique mission in the community, and never has the mission been more important than during the pandemic. Join our host, Jim Friend , and his special guest, Jim Choma , Vice President for Catholic Mission and Chief Development Officer for Saint Peter’s Healthcare System. Mr. Choma shares stories of community partnerships and the incred...

Published: October 19, 2021 The Permanent Diaconate is a vital support to parish ministry. The Church calls men to serve as Ordained Deacons to be a sacramental sign of Christ to the world. Today we meet representative members of the Formation class in the Diocese of Allentown. They talk about the Deacon’s ministry, the process of Diaconate Formation, and how it has impacted their lives. Join Chan...

Published: October 12, 2021 Father Christopher Walsh , Pastor of Saint Raymond of Penafort Catholic Church in Philadelphia , joins this week’s podcast to discuss identifying and overcoming racism within ourselves and in our parish communities. Fr. Chris shares his experiences of providing pastoral service to a primarily black community and how together, they have formed a vibrant and inclusive com...

Published: October 05, 2021 Changing Our World ‘s Jim Friend speaks with Fr. Jim McDermott, SJ , a Jesuit priest, writer, and editor for America Magazine. Fr. Jim writes about pop culture and our faith in Christ. During this conversation, Fr. Jim discusses his career as an editor, writer, and screenwriter and his experience of writing an op-ed this year about his life as a gay priest and the suppo...