My young adult children recently confessed that they don’t really know what I do at work, especially since my role expanded to include being the “Diocesan Transition Minister”. I explained it the way I usually do in congregations: I work with congregations who are looking for priests and priests who are looking for congregations. “So you’re like a church yenta!” they said. Always big Fiddler on the Roof fans, they pegged me as the character who matches the villagers in marriage.

One of the 7 vital signs of parish health is that a church has faithful financial practices. A healthy parish utilizes financial best practices such as transparency, on-time reporting to the diocese, and forecasting sustainable budgeting. Finances are a faithful conversation, understood as Christian stewardship and formation.

Esta lectura siempre me ha inquietado un poco. No estoy segura de qué parte me incomoda más. Jesús es brusco: ignora a la mujer. La excluye por su origen étnico al decir que fue enviado solo a la casa de Israel. Y después llega a ser francamente duro cuando compara a ella y a su pueblo con perros.