ROCKFORD—One reason parishes don’t become great parishes is because they already are good parishes, said speaker Mark Mogilka at the Nov. 7 Ministry Day, held at St. Rita Parish.

“What we need are really great parishes,” he said, but “good is kind of comfortable.”

The annual day brought together 176 parish staff members and leaders  to be inspired and encouraged to lead their good parishes toward the “great.”

Bishop David Malloy led the opening prayer and then asked attendees to be joyful, confident and united as they worked to make their parishes even better.

Mogilka used the morning session, “Growing an Engaged Church — Why?” to outline the challenges, using statistics of Catholics nationwide, in the Diocese of Rockford and in his home diocese of Green Bay, where he is director of the Department of Stewardship and Pastoral  Services. Some of the statistical trends were challenging to hear, including those about those persons who are Catholic but in a cultural or “country club” kind of way.

“Cultural Catholicism is dead,” he said. “We have to foster intentional Catholicism” and move from a “Church of Maintenance” to a “Church of Mission.”

“God is not afraid of new things,” he said, quoting Pope Francis. “We need leadership from you … beyond the comfort zone where real growth takes place.”

The morning session was followed by discussion at the tables. Lunch was followed by an afternoon talk, “Implementing the New Evangelization.”

Noting there are “no silver bullets,” Mogilka encouraged the parish leaders to work to develop a “culture of discipleship,” by engaging Catholics to volunteer in meaningful ways at and through the parish and by helping them deepen their relationship with Jesus.

Noting earlier that some former Catholics have said they left because they never felt connected to Christ at their parish, the afternoon session included a strategy for making disciples by building “opportunities for encounters with Christ into parish life.”

Drawing on Pope Francis, Mogilka illustrated that “Jesus Knowledge” is a matter of heart, mind and action, and he gave thoughts on providing opportunities for parishioners to encounter Jesus through all three.

Parish leaders then discussed those ideas as they might apply to their respective parishes.

Pointing to an ongoing growth in the number of Catholics and the “tremendous resources” in the Church, Mogilka maintained a “glass half full” approach to the challenges.

Regarding the Catholic Church today, he noted, “I think we have a sleeping giant.”