Advancing Our Church

Published: November 11, 2020 Think twice before canceling that special parish event or activity! Parish and diocesan events/activities can not only raise money, but they also build community. Join us for a conversation on activities that lead to a more close-knit and committed parish community plus hear about events that have raised significant dollars during the pandemic. This is the first o...

Published: November 04, 2020 On today’s show, we replay the October 27, 2020, webinar panel discussion called Advancing Our Parishes Through Challenging Times. During the conversation, our panelists discuss ways that parishes and dioceses have successfully engaged parishioners throughout the pandemic; and how these Church leaders have adopted effective strategies for maintaining and improving cruc...

Published: October 26, 2020 Shawn Trahan, Senior Managing Director for Changing Our World talks with Msgr. Louis Marucci , about his very successful capital campaign at St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Gibbosboro, New Jersey , and his unique approach to fundraising. The two also discuss his role in the Diocesan Capital Campaign that Changing Our World conducted in partnership with the Diocese of C...

Published: October 21, 2020 How do you engage and train clergy to talk about Stewardship? What are the key ingredients to having that conversation with parishioners? How does a Sacrament Worldview come into play? Join Changing Our World ’s panel of experts today as they discuss empowering clergy with the spirituality of stewardship. Our host, Jim Friend , participates on the panel with Changing Ou...

In March 2020, Changing Our World ‘s client, Chestnut Hill College , located in Chestnut Hill, PA, transitioned its Annual Scholarship Gala into the Hold Hope High Scholarship Challenge, an online event that exceeded all goals. On today’s show, guest Erin Wooley , MBA, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Chestnut Hill College, presents the college’s success story as a workshop at the 2...

Published: September 22, 2020 How does a college basketball career turn into lessons about life and faith, and why doesn’t God play Zone Defense? On today’s podcast Jim Friend , Managing Director at Changing Our World , goes one on one with Jeff Balistrere , author of the popular book, “God Doesn’t Play Zone Defense” available on Amazon. Jeff Balistrere was born into a coaching and teaching family...

Published: September 14, 2020 In early 2020, Changing Our World began partnering with St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in East Patchogue, NY , on a parish-wide capital campaign in support of improving the accessibility of the church hall and performing capital improvements. On today’s podcast, Shawn Trahan and Joe Jennings from Changing Our World join Jim Friend to discuss the very successful...

Published: September 09, 2020 We’re back after our summer break with more episodes to advance the mission of our Church. Today, we kick off our new series entitled, +Increasing Generosity . The focus of our series is to share our experiences and best practices of Stewardship and Philanthropy with our listeners through conversations with our incredible team and with the occasional special guest. Th...

Published: July 24, 2020 The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, H.R. 6800, passed the House on May 15, 2020, and in its current format, denies our Catholic Schools access to the proposed $200 billion budget for education funding, putting our Catholic Schools at risk of closure. Join us for this panel discussion to learn more about this important topic and what y...

Published: July 01, 2020 Catholic School resilience passed the test throughout the COVID-19 crisis through the care, compassion, and attention to the unique needs of every student. This episode is a recording of webinar number four of the “Advancing Our Church Through Challenging Times” series. Our panelists discuss a document that was created by three of our panelists on the unique value proposit...

Published: June 17, 2020 We continue with session three of our series, “Advancing Our Church Through Challenging Times,” with our host, Changing Our World ‘s Jim Friend leading another experienced panel of experts on the topic of the financial and pastoral implications of re-opening parishes and schools in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. How are dioceses thinking about the metrics required for...

Published: June 04, 2020 We continue with session two of our series, “ Advancing Our Church Through Challenging Times, ” with our host, Changing Our World ‘s Jim Friend leading an incredible panel of Diocesan Foundations leaders. This week, the panel discusses how Foundations are providing service to donors, parishes, Catholic schools, and ministries in the COVID-19 crisis. What new services are t...

Published: May 27, 2020 Join us as we kick off our mini-series “ Advancing Our Church Through Challenging Times ” with our first session, “ Engaging Young Adults .” The impact of COVID-19 has been felt by all ages, but how has the pandemic affected young adults? What will be the impact on Church engagement? Can we build a bridge between generations as we protect those who are most vulnerable? We d...

Published: May 19, 2020 How are pastor’s thinking about COVID-19 through the global pandemic? What are some of the best practices that are being developed in parishes to reach out to the faithful? Today, Changing Our World ‘s Jim Friend talks with Fr. Don Zeiler , Pastor of St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Community in McKinney, Texas . Fr. Don talks about how his parish has adapted their servic...

Published: May 06, 2020 Catholic Schools are leading the way through COVID-19 with the use of technology, training, and support. Today, Changing Our World ‘s Jim Friend talks with Bill Brannick , the Director of Technology for the PreK – Grade 12 in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia . Bill discusses how his team prepared for homeschool learning and then quickly transitioned to this new reality after...

Published: April 27, 2020 Changing Our World ‘s Jim Friend welcomes Melodie Whitenbach to the podcast this week. Melodie is the Executive Director for the Barbara and Patrick Roche Center for Catholic Education at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. Melodie talks about how she got interested in a career in Catholic Education. She also speaks about her recent trip...

Published: April 07, 2020 Holy Week 2020, during the COVID-19 crisis, has sparked new creativity and a missionary spirit in parishes across the country. Today   Changing Our World ‘s  Jim Friend talks with two missionary disciples who oversee two of the largest dioceses in the country. Archbishop Nelson Perez is the new Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (Feb 2020). Archbishop...

Published: April 05, 2020 The response from Catholic Charities USA to COVID-19 lands them on the frontlines standing shoulder to shoulder with volunteers and those who are most in need. Join Changing Our World ‘s Jim Friend for an interview with Sr. Donna Markham OP, Ph. D. , President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, Deacon Tom Roberts , President and CEO of Catholic Charities of Southern Nevad...

Published: March 30, 2020 How do you stay connected with college students when everyone is learning at home for the semester? What are the creative ways in which colleges can remain connected to students? On Today’s show, Changing Our World ‘s Jim Friend meets with members of the senior team at the St. Thomas More Chapel at Yale University who are doing just that. Jim is joined by Fr. Ryan Lerner,...

Published: March 25, 2020 What can parishioners do in the face of such uncertainty? Changing Our World ‘s Jim Friend talks with Dave Baranowski, Director of Stewardship Education for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, about ways that parishioners can stay in touch with each other through creative means. Some of these include prayer chains, drive-in Rosary services, online Masses, and much more. Join us...

Published: March 22, 2020 With public Masses canceled this past weekend, how are we engaging parishioners during the COVID-19 crisis? Many parishes and dioceses around the country are engaging in creative means to stay close to their parishioners despite social distancing. On today’s show, Jim Friend hosts a roundtable of Changing Our World ‘s expert consultants on the topic of communications. Our...

Published: March 15, 2020 How do we engage young people in conversations about their faith and the Church? Christina Lamas is the Executive Director of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM) . On today’s show, Christina shares a personal story about how she engages young people in this important conversation. Christina also shares about the very successful National Catholic Yo...

Published: March 08, 2020 Moving from Crisis to Co-Responsibility has been at the heart of the mission of the Leadership Roundtable for the past 15 years. On today’s show, Changing Our World , Jim Friend speaks with Kerry Robinson . Kerry is the Founding Executive Director and the Global Ambassador for the Leadership Roundtable. Kerry and Jim speak about the recent Summit held by the Leadership Ro...

Published: March 01, 2020 How should a pastor go about asking his parishioners for a gift? What will help a pastor feel comfortable? How should a pastor frame that conversation? On today’s show, Michael Hutchinson , Managing Director for Changing Our World, joins Jim Friend as they talk about “Making the Ask” for a parish campaign. At some point during their vocation, every pastor will be charged...

Published: February 23, 2020 How does someone go from being a non-Catholic to leading one of the largest Catholic Youth Ministry efforts in the United States and around the world? Today, Changing Our World ’s Jim Friend interviews the CEO of Life Teen International, Mr. Randy Raus . Randy has been with Life Teen International for over 23 years, serving and leading this important ministry which is...