2026 Program

The parish is where the Church lives – it is the heart of our Church...

Every parish strives to be a vibrant community where faith flourishes, the Gospel is lived, and believers encounter Jesus in word and sacrament. Every parish experiences the challenges of being a community where the Church lives.There is no one way to make this happen, no one path to follow, no one way to be a thriving, vital community of faith. There are many paths to thriving.

With a generous 5-year grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc., the National Community of Catechetical Leaders (NCCL) and the Loyola Institute for Ministry have designed the Pathways toward a Thriving Parish project to help parishes create their own paths toward a thriving, vital community of faith that is living its mission in today’s world. The Project will work with your parish to:

• Equip a parish leadership team with the knowledge, skills, and practices for creating pathways toward thriving for your parish community.
• Form leaders in the processes of listening to the needs, hopes, and hungers of the community; discerning how the Holy Spirit is calling the parish to respond and grow; and acting by creating pathways for thriving designed for your parish community.
• Discover and empower the gifts and abilities parish community – individuals and teams – for ministry and service in the parish and in the world.

In 2025 - the first year of the project - over 50 parishes were engaged in developing and implementing pathways toward thriving. Join us in this next phase!

2026 Pathways toward a Thriving Parish Project

In 2026, the Pathways Project incorporates three elements:

• Becoming a Thriving Parish in Today’s World – An Online Course Open to all Parish Leaders
• A Team Formation Retreat Experience – For parishes that commit to continuing in the project by developing a team and working with a consultant to design pathways for their parish community
• A Guided Cohort Process for Developing Parish Pathways for Thriving – Six monthly consultative sessions to develop and implement pathways in the parish community

Part 1. Becoming a Thriving Parish in Today's World

A Free Online Course Open to All Parish Leaders - Hosted on Zoom Webinar
Thursdays, February 12 - March 12

This series is an introduction to the vision and practices for becoming a thriving parish in today’s world.

• Weekly 90-minute Sessions: Thursdays, February 12 - March 12, 2026 streaming live at 1 pm ET on Zoom
• Free tuition, provided courtesy of the grant
• All sessions are set to be video recorded

Session Topics

February 12: Session 1. A Theological Vision to Guide Today’s Parish

Presenters: Dr. Jodi Hunt and Dr. Tracey Lamont

February 19: Session 2. Pathways for Creating a Thriving Parish Community

Presenters: John Roberto and the Pathways Project Facilitators

February 26: Session 3. Skills for Leading a Thriving Parish

Presenters: Jim Merhaut and the Pathways Project Facilitators

March 5: Session 4. Cultivating the Dispositions & Habits for Parish Transformation, Becoming a Listening Church

Presenter: Sr. Nathalie Becquart, xmcj, Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, Vatican

March 12: Session 5. Developing Your Parish’s Pathways toward a Thriving Parish – An Invitation

Presenters: Dr Tracey Lamont and John Roberto with the Pathways Project Facilitators

Parts 2 and 3 are for parishes that want to continue in the project by developing a team and working with a consultant to design pathways for their parish community.

The registration fee for Parts 2 and 3 is $150.

(The total cost of Part 2 and 3 is $600. The grant covers $450 of the total.)

Part 2. A Team Formation Retreat Experience

Saturday, April 18, 11am-2pm ET

Part 3. A Guided Cohort Process for Developing Parish Pathways for Thriving

Six months of online workshops provided by a Pathways Project Facilitator in cohorts of 3-5 parishes

• Online consultative sessions in May, June, August, September, October, November
• 90-minute online sessions on Zoom
• Cohorts of 3-5 parish teams
• Scheduled by Pathways Facilitator with parish teams
• Video recording all sessions
• Pathways Planning Guidebook for all participants (downloaded from the Pathways website)
• Registration fee: $150 (The total cost of Part 2 and 3 is $600. The grant covers $450 of the total.)

Sessions

Workshop #1. Explore Parish Life Today

Workshop #2. Analyze The Parish Context

Workshop #3. Discern Pathways toward Thriving

Workshop #4. Design Pathways toward Thriving

Workshop #5. Implement Pathways

Workshop #6. Discern the Gifts of the Parish Community