Feeling the rise of urgency…

For some time now I’ve been feeling like I need to write about how to raise Catholics in a post-church world. This blog post is spurring that feeling even more! Jack Rakosky notes:

At this time, strengthening social networks is more important than strengthening culture. People who have social networks (families, close friends and small groups) in a congregation are healthier, happier and more willing to give of their time, talent and treasure. Beliefs and values acquired from sitting alone in the pews or childhood education do not seem to confer many benefits. The good news is that social networks spread and maintain culture; the bad news is we can no longer rely on Catholic family and ethnic social networks to grow and maintain themselves. The parish today has to build and strengthen social networks of families, friends and small groups.

I've been blessed to be a part of a small community of Catholics who gather once a month to nurture our own and each other's faith. We also worship together nearly every week, but it's the joy and irreverence of our monthly gatherings that sustains me. I think we've built a social network of the sort Rakosky speaks of, and I'm eager to share what we've been doing and hear from others about their own experiments.