Advancing Our Church

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 to Rome with other Catholic School leaders, her plans for the Roche Center.

Melodie Wyttenbach, Ph.D., serves as the Executive Director for the Roche Center for Catholic Education and is a faculty member for the Lynch School of Education and Human Development. Melodie served as Academic Director of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program for the Alliance for Catholic Education. She also served as President of Nativity Jesuit Academy for the NativityMiguel Network of Schools in Washington, DC. Melodie presents nationally on topics such as Catholic School Governance and Effective Board Management. She has also presented on Strategic Planning, Development, and Enrollment Management Strategies. She has also provided training on Making Schools Culturally Competent for New and Existing Latino Families. Melodie recently published with Dr. Mickey Fenzel, “Responding to the Call for Educational Justice: Transformative Catholic-Led Initiatives in Urban Education.” Melodie serves as the Chair for the Catholic Special Interest Group with the American Educational Research Association (AERA). She

is a member of the Leadership Development Advisory Council for the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA). Melodie received her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her Masters degrees in Educational Administration from Marquette University and Education from Mount Mary College. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Saint Louis University in Environmental Science.

Don’t miss Changing Our World’s FORGING FORWARD

Don’t miss the webinar series FORGING FORWARD, a virtual philanthropic conference designed to bring you nonprofit experts from around the country who are leading through the COVID-19 crisis.

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

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 Perez talks with us about his first couple of months in Philadelphia and both his surprise and happiness to be called to lead his home diocese. Archbishop Perez also speaks about a new virtual Lenten Retreat, which has been held nightly in service to parishes. Archbishop Perez recently transferred from the Diocese of Cleveland.

Bishop John Barres just completed his third year as Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. Bishop Barres talks with us about his new pastoral letter, The Great Week, which you can download here, and how it is being used by other dioceses to serve the faithful’s spiritual needs during this time of quarantine. Bishop Barres also talks about how families can use this time of quarantine to draw closer and deepen relationships.

FORGING FORWARD

Don’t miss the webinar series FORGING FORWARD, a virtual philanthropic conference designed to bring you nonprofit experts from around the country who are leading through the COVID-19 crisis.

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

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 Nevada, and Michael Grace, President and CEO of Catholic Charities of Forth Worth, Texas.

In the spirit of Holy Week, this episode focuses on charity and the impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on the most vulnerable in our society. These are unsung heroes who selflessly devote their time to feeding families, providing affordable housing, working with immigrant families, and much more. Learn how many senior citizens, those who are unemployed, and many others are finding themselves needing the charitable assistance of Catholic Charities for the first time. Sr. Donna discusses some of the creative ways that she is witnessing a missionary spirit among her agencies and the response of the corporate industry. We also hear how two prominent businessmen left the corporate world and took a role to lead their local Catholic Charities agency. Finally, learn more about how you can get involved and help.

FORGING FORWARD

Don’t miss the webinar series FORGING FORWARD, a virtual philanthropic conference designed to bring you, nonprofit experts, from around the country who are leading through the COVID-19 crisis.

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

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, Chaplain; Joseph Connolly, Executive Director; Sr. Jenn Schaaf, OP, Assistant Chaplain; and Robin J. McShane, Director of Communications.

Today, Saint Thomas More Chapel (renovated in 2008) and Thomas E. Golden, Jr. Center (built in 2006) are award-winning, magnificent spaces that exemplify our ministry’s commitment to excellence. More than just a beautiful building, The Thomas E. Golden, Jr. Center is a statement that Catholic life has come of age on Yale’s campus. The center, designed by world-renowned architect and former Dean of Yale School of Architecture, Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli, is located across from the Pierson gateway.

Today, of the 65% of the new students who returned their religious information cards back to the Yale Chaplain’s Office, an average of 29% self-identified as being Catholic, making Catholicism the single largest religious denomination on Yale’s campus.

FORGING FORWARD

Don’t miss Changing Our World’s Forging Forward this spring for continuing coverage of the webinar series FORGING FORWARD, a virtual philanthropic conference designed to bring you, nonprofit experts from around the country who are leading through the COVID-19 crisis.

Please sign up for the live FORGING FORWARD virtual conference.

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

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 for this informative conversation.

Dave Baranowski: David is a frequent speaker at the International Catholic Stewardship Conference. Dave experienced a unique conversion experience that sparked his change in career back in 2007 when Baranowski attended a retreat where the director encouraged participants to listen to God’s guidance — something he said he hadn’t earnestly done before. The experience convinced him to deepen his faith and focus on Christ. For more of Dave Baranowski, please listen to Episode 22: Supercharging Parish Stewardship.

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

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.

Shawn Trahan, Senior Managing Director: Shawn has more than 20 years of experience working within the nonprofit sector, including planning/directing major capital campaigns, fundraising feasibility studies, development audits/assessments, volunteer coaching, and board development and serving as interim development director. 

Thomas Farrell, Senior Managing Director: Since 1985, Tom has directed or given oversight to approximately 1,000 individual parish fundraising initiatives and to three dozen major diocesan development programs. These endeavors have taken place in a combined 100 archdioceses and dioceses and across 35 different states. Tom has also provided counsel on several Catholic education campaigns as well as appeals to other religious organizations.

Mary Beth Martin, Esq.Senior Managing Director: Mary Beth brings more than twenty-five years of experience helping nonprofit organizations design and build strategic fundraising plans, grow major gift programs, develop fundraising capacity, and execute capital campaigns and other funding initiatives.

Mike Hutchenson, Managing Director: Michael has worked in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors for more than 15 years.  Throughout his career, Michael has supported organizations in realizing their vision and has proven himself as a leader skilled in aligning operations and human capital talent and investments to maximize impact; syncing strategies with market trends to realize growth; and generating revenue and resources by developing relationships, programs and campaigns.

This will be the first in our series of podcasts that we will bring you on the topic of best practices during the COVID-19 crisis. Also, watch the Changing Our World: The Podcast for a continuing weekly webinar series called FORGING FORWARD. A new weekly series designed to bring you experts from around the country who are managing this crisis.

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

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 Youth Conference hosted by NFCYM in November 2019, which included over 20,000 attendees, and the support she receives from her board and Archbishop Nelson Perez, the Episcopal Moderator. Learn more about how Youth Ministry is growing nationwide on today’s show.

Christina Lamas made her way into the field of Youth Ministry after 10 years of volunteering at her home parish. She went on to serve as Associate Director and Division Coordinator of Youth Ministry in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Lamas has presented to national and international audiences. Currently, she is serving as Executive Director of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry and brings with her more than 20 years of experience in catechesis and youth ministry.

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

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 Roundtable. The Summitt addressed topics such as governance, transparency, accountability, and increasing the involvement of young adults in the Church. Kerry shares some of the key takeaways from the Summit and the important next steps.

Kerry Alys Robinson is the founding executive director and global ambassador of Leadership Roundtable. The Roundtable promotes excellence and best practices in the management, finances, and human resource development of the Catholic Church. Kerry is a trustee of the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities and a member of FADICA. She is the prize-winning author of Imagining Abundance: Fundraising, Philanthropy and a Spiritual Call to Service and is the founding editor of The Catholic Funding Guide: A Directory of Resources for Catholic Activities, first published by FADICA in 1998 and now in its 8th edition. She has been an advisor to grantmaking foundations,

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

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 with asking for money. Sometimes these conversations are around a diocesan appeal, a parish campaign, or an increased offertory program. Asking for money presents parishioners another opportunity to live out their faith. We hope you enjoy this conversation.

Michael has worked in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors for more than 15 years.  Throughout his career, Michael has supported organizations in realizing their vision and has proven himself as a leader skilled in aligning operations and human capital talent and investments to maximize impact; syncing strategies with market trends to realize growth; and generating revenue and resources by developing relationships, programs, and campaigns.

During his tenure at Changing Our World, Michael has provided counsel to clients, including CARE; amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research; The Salvation Army; Covenant House; and numerous secondary and higher education institutions and Catholic Archdiocesan and Diocesan campaigns. For more information about Michael, please visit Changing Our World’s website.

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

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 centered on the experience of liturgy. He began his ministry with a conversion experience which he shares with us on today’s show. Randy also shares his thoughts on how to engage young people in the life of the Church today. He also explains how Life Teen impacts teens all over the world.

Through powerful Eucharistic encounters and engaging catechesis, the Edge (middle school) and Life Teen (high school) teens are immersed in a dynamic Catholic parish culture. With the parish as their true home, teens are then further strengthened by Summer Camps, Events, Resources, and Digital (web and social media) evangelization. Their goal is not only to equip parishes worldwide with timely, high-quality resources to train Catechists and “reach” today’s teens but also to create an environment where Catholic teenagers feel supported and engaged the other 167 hours a week outside of Sunday Mass.

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.