"How to write the history of a parish" by J. Charles Cox. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

In this small but thoughtful volume, a respected theologian and churchman opens up a theological approach to history.

Steeples topped by crosses still dominate neighborhood skylines in many American cities, silent markers of local worlds rarely examined by historians. In Parish Boundaries, John McGreevy chronicles the history of these Catholic parishes and connects their unique place in the urban landscape to the course of American race relations in the twentieth century.

Louisiana has sixty-four parishes, and many of them are as individual and different as the state itself is different from others in the Union. St. James Parish, a small parish of 249 square miles, is not only one of the oldest settlements in the state, but it is different in its population make-up and is important historically. Cabanocey . . . is a splendid history of the Parish of St. James. . . . Lillian C. Bourgeois captured the spirit that animates the population, which is descended from French, Spanish, Acadian, German, and Creole peoples. Bourgeois writes of the population's customs, beliefs, language differences, and folklore. Cabanocey is not a collection of dry facts and dates; rather, it vividly describes how, more than one hundred years ago, the people of St. James Parish lived, who they were, and what they contributed to their parish and their state. Before the Civil War, St. James Parish was the educational center of Louisiana, and Jefferson College was the first important college in the state. Founded in 1830, it had fine buildings, a well-equipped laboratory, and an impressive library. The Convent of the Sacred Heart (1835) for girls was well-known by prominent families in Louisiana, Mexico, and Central America, who sent their daughters there. Cabanocey contains St. James genealogies and thousands of names of early settlers, including the soldiers, taxpayers, officials, prominent families, and the first settlers and their children. From the early censuses and church and court records, descent is traced for many names. The censuses of 1766, 1769, and 1777 are complete and were obtained from the archives in Seville, Spain.

"This volume," says James Coriden in his introduction, "... allows the reader to reach an accurate understanding of the authentic nature and function of parishes within the Catholic tradition." It describes the origins of parishes and their historical evolution, offers a theology of parish as a local church, links parishes to the church's social teaching and provides a comprehensive overview of their function in Roman Catholic law and their relationship to American civil law." "In clear, nontechnical language, the volume outlines the canonical status of Catholics as parishioners - as well as their rights, duties and forms of assembly and the relationship of parishes to other ecclesial and civil bodies. Ministerial students, clerical and lay ministers, members of parish councils and laypersons generally will find this book an indispensable handbook for living and working within parish communities. Christians of other denominations will make fruitful connections between their own congregational life and Roman Catholic experience."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This is a great book for anyone interested in how the Parish priest goes about their work. A systematic guide to the pastoral care of the parish church and the community intended for those with no previous knowledge.

The History of St. James the Greater Parish traces the evolution of a parish that was erected on June 7, 1961, by Most Reverend Francis P. Carroll, Bishop of Calgary, to serve Catholics who resided in the Altadore, Lincoln Park, and Lakeview districts of Calgary. Grounded in tradition, pastors and parishioners moved forward by embracing the forms of renewal in the Church resulting from the Second Vatican Council, which took place from 1962 until 1965 in the Vatican Basilica of St. Peter. For more than fifty years, St. James Parish has contributed to the spiritual life of the congregation and to the welfare of the larger community. Whereas pastors and parishioners have previously been from Europe by descent or birth, the changing face of the parish is now reflected in the multi-ethnic congregation that continues to serve the faithful within the Diocese of Calgary.

Drawing on the wisdom gleaned from thriving mega-churches and innovative business leaders while anchoring their vision in the Eucharistic center of Catholic faith, Fr. Michael White and lay associate Tom Corcoran present the compelling and inspiring story to how they brought their parish back to life. Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, and Making Church Matter is a story of stopping everything and changing focus. When their parish reached a breaking point, White and Corcoran asked themselves how they could make the Church matter to Catholics, and they realized the answer was at the heart of the Gospel. Their faithful response not only tripled their weekend mass attendance, but also yielded increased giving, flourishing ministries, and a vibrant, solidly Catholic spiritual revival. White and Corcoran invite all Catholic leaders to share the vision, borrow their strategies, and rebuild their own parishes. They offer a wealth of guidance for anyone with the courage to hear them.