Summary Report
Archdiocese of Boston
Spring 2011
Overall Objectives of the Process
Through ARISE Together in Christ in the Archdiocese of Boston we envisioned a movement that
would deepen spirituality, encourage multi-cultural participation, enhance collaboration within
the Archdiocesan offices, build up the morale of the clergy, promote healing and reconciliation,
reach out to inactive, alienated, and young adult Catholics through evangelization strategies, and
use the media to promote the Good News of the Spirit’s presence in the people and parishes in
the Archdiocese. As we look back on all five seasons, we see clearly each of these objectives
have been achieved to a greater or lesser degree.
Season One Theme: Encountering Christ Today
Goal: To deepen our experience of Christ both personally and communally.
Season Two Theme: Change Our Hearts
Goal: Personal conversion in light of our membership in the Catholic community.
Season Three Theme: In the Footsteps of Christ
Goal: To explore what it means to be a disciple of Christ in today’s world and how this implies
active commitment to works of charity and acts of justice; becoming a young-adult friendly
parish.
Season Four Theme: New Heart, New Spirit
Goal: To experience communal reconciliation and healing following the merging of parishes and
the sexual abuse scandal; emphasis on outreach to inactive and alienated Catholics.
Season Five Theme: We Are the Good News!
Goal: To explore the meaning of evangelization in our lives; we are called to bring the Good
News of Christ into every human situation. Evangelization training helped prepare leaders to
welcome people back to parishes through “Catholics Come Home.”
Outcomes
By the Numbers
Parishes Participating
Over 60% of the 292 parishes in the Archdiocese
participated in ARISE. In addition, people whose
parishes did not participate in ARISE have formed
groups on their own.
3 new parishes started Season 5 in fall 2010
Workshops Conducted
200+ in four languages (English, Spanish,
Portuguese, Haitian Creole), plus several “make-up
sessions” via the web.
Adult Leaders Trained
3,000+
Small Group Participants
30,000+
Parishes Using Children’s Materials
Parishes with Youth Groups
Nursing Homes/Assisted Living
44
26 representing 630 participants plus leaders
5—Brooksby Village, Peabody; Sunrise Assisted
Living, Braintree; The Boston Home, Dorchester;
Elizabeth Seton Residence, Wellesley; Carmel
Terrace, Framingham
Prison Ministry
Norfolk Prison: Five groups in English, four in
Spanish, one in Vietnamese
Framingham Prison: 40+ participants
Supplemental Workshops
Liturgy, Youth Ministry and Catechetical Leaders
Campuses Participating
Three
Campus Leaders Trained
40-50
Theology on Tap Parishes
Five
Faith-Sharing Material Languages
Six options, including English, Spanish, Portuguese,
Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, and Lithuanian; largeprint editions available; e-text available on request
ARISE
participants
at The Boston Home
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Collaborative Efforts
Worship and Spiritual Life
Ongoing Clergy Support Office (assisted with 2 Clergy renewal days)
ONE Office (worked together on the ARISE workshop- Preparing a Place: Creating a Young Adult
Responsive Parish with Fr. John Cusick and RENEW staff)
Hispanic Ministry
Multi-cultural Office
Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (assisted with the re-launch of the Justice Convocation)
Tribunal
Stewardship Office
Office for Pastoral Support and Child Protection
Catholics Come Home
Campus Ministry
“The Light Is On For You”
ARISE in the Media
The Boston Pilot
Local Secular Press:
28 articles have featured ARISE
The Belmont Citizen-Herald, The Swampscott
Reporter, The Holbrook Sun, The Patriot Ledger,
The Metro West Daily News, The Pembroke
Express, The Lowell Sun, The Weston Town Crier
have all run features on ARISE
Catholic TV
Introductory interview; Launching ARISE,
Evangelization, Liturgy, Preparing a Place, Mission,
and five Small Community Leader Formation
Workshops (English, Spanish, Portuguese); two
Justice Convocations; and during Lent 2009, each
of the six weekly faith-sharing sessions was
broadcast in abbreviated format
Internet Publicity
www.bostoncatholic.org/Pastoral-Themes/FeatureStory.aspx?id=132
www.renewintl.org/rcab (in English, Spanish, and
Portuguese)
Many of the participating parishes have ARISE
pages, blogs, or information on their individual sites
Web pages
Over 40,500 pages contain information on ARISE
Together in Christ (according to Google)
Cardinal Seán has often written about ARISE on his
blog
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Word of Mouth
Good News Stories of the ARISE Experience
Parishes of St. Michael, St. Augustine, and St. Peter Lithuanian, S. Boston
Thinking back on the entire ARISE process, we realize that we had bonded - we had become
friends. But not just social friends - these were different kinds of friends - they were friends
made in the presence of Christ and his Word. Healing is painful and it takes time. Healing
requires trust, humility and daring. Many of us have experienced healing and bonding through
the small faith communities. For some, the value of bonding in Christ is so clear, that they want
to bring their social friends who are not active Catholics into the group. But a little at a time, so
as not to disrupt the foundation of trust created in the group. Having small faith communities in
the parish is not just about another program – we see it as essential and necessary if we are to
keep our focus of a well-balanced and Christ-centered life.
St. Michael’s Parish, North Andover Workshop
ARISE is small Christian communities strengthening Church. After reading and reflecting on
Scripture, sharing faith, and building friendships outside the walls of the church building, ARISE
members come to Mass with a feeling that they are part of a family of faith. When Jesus began
His ministry, He sat around the table at people’s homes with friends, acquaintances, and
strangers talking about Scripture and it’s meaning in their lives. Jesus and His apostles left a
legacy. We are apostles by virtue of our baptism into the Catholic Church and are called to
continue the message of Christ: to touch the hearts of others, to spread the Gospel, and to love
one another. This is Church. This is small Christian communities. This is ARISE!
The Milton Catholic Collaborative
The Caring Circle, an effort that came out of our ARISE process, is an on-line community of
caring individuals who seek to live out the calling of Jesus Christ. It is a place where people in
need can connect with people who can help. It is a place to stay in touch with one another while
raising awareness about social justice and our responsibility to one another. The love of Jesus
inspires us to care for one another, to help where we can, to find fulfillment in our lives! The vast
majority of needs involve a temporary, one-time commitment. It may be a young couple that
needs winter coats for their young children, an elderly neighbor who needs a ride to church on
Sunday, or a wife who asks that we pray for her husband who is hospitalized with a serious
illness. The Caring Circle asks only that you listen, search your heart and decide if you are in a
position to assist fellow parishioners who need our help.
St. Eulalia Parish, Winchester
During the course of five sessions over the past two and one-half years, many parishioners
through the ARISE experience, have met in small Christian communities to share their faith,
share their stories, pray, support one another and grow in their love of Christ. Participants have
reported that their hearts and lives were touched by the Scriptures, family bonds were
strengthened, involvement in their parishes increased, and there was a heightened awareness of
God’s presence in their lives. Many were saddened when the experience ended and expressed a
desire to continue their faith sharing in small Christian communities.
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St. Patrick Parish, Watertown
I must first thank Cardinal Seán O’Malley for introducing ARISE to the Archdiocese of Boston
and RENEW International for assisting us in this endeavor. A priest asked me to attend the first
ARISE meeting in Boston. I accepted his invitation along with eleven other St. Patrick,
Watertown, parishioners. Right after the meeting, the pastor asked the twelve of us to take the
lead in implementing ARISE in our parish. Reluctantly, but obediently, I followed through,
helped the program director and other volunteers during summer months leading up to
September and Sign-up Sunday. I then gave up my precious Sunday afternoons, baked, and
rearranged my two-room apartment for the ten people in my small group.
What a return on investment! These beautiful people I was privileged to host/lead for six weeks
impacted both my reluctance and doubt. The outcome for me was a renewed spirit of hope and
love plus the realization of how isolated I had become in my faith – my lesson in faith sharing
was the experience of community—until now only a word. At the end of the second season I saw
one parishioner volunteering as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion and another
participant moving to a new city and volunteering in her new parish. Summarizing the past five
seasons reminds me that reading Scripture, especially as a community, is a powerful grace of the
Holy Spirit. I believe this pursuit has made Catholics less locked into their faith and more
confident about sharing it with others; my daily prayer life has deepened. Because our faith has
been shared and deepened we are now ARISING in new life.
St. Patrick Parish, Lawrence
The ARISE Together in Christ program has proved to be a grace-filled process that has
empowered participants to share their renewed faith with others. I found myself looking forward
to each week’s ARISE group meeting with great joy. The people in the group did not judge
anything that was said and I found myself opening up. The five seasons of ARISE have flown by
and St. Patrick Parish continues to grow as a tri-lingual, multi-cultural faith community.
Parishioners actively seek to live out their baptismal promises by more fully understanding their
faith and putting that faith into action. Particular focus is placed on fostering evangelization,
creating vibrant liturgy, deepening spiritual development, supporting Catholic education,
catechesis for adults and children, youth ministry, outreach to the less fortunate, leadership
formation, expanding pastoral and social services, and making the parish as a safe home for
children and people of all ages.
St. Edith Stein Parish, Brockton
St. Edith Stein Parish in Brockton was established in August 2003 as a result of a merger
between St. Edward and St. Nicholas parishes. As with most parish mergers and closures,
feelings of anger, resentment, frustration and especially abandonment ensued. Soon after the
merger, the closure of three ethnic parishes occurred. Hence, new parishioners joined St. Edith
Stein. All of these events taking place within several years left many parishioners in a state of
bewilderment. “In what direction is this parish going?” “How will three very culturally different
communities become one?” These were the questions heard again and again.
In January 2008, a team ministry under the direction of Fr. Brian Smith and Fr. Brian Flynn was
formed. With the strong encouragement of both Fr. Brians, parishioners began to attend
informational meetings about ARISE/LEVANTATE and subsequent workshops. The evaluations
after Season One were very positive and a frequent comment was “a program like this was
needed.” Parishioners looked forward to their faith-sharing sessions; it was an experience we
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never had before. Each season brought new members. Most definitely St. Edith Stein Parish has
gone through an extraordinary amount of change within the past several years. Lingering feelings
of sorrow, disappointment and yes, abandonment are still in place. The term “battered about” is
mentioned frequently. The parish consensus is that without the ARISE/LEVANTATE program
we would not have been able to survive the storm of change. There is indeed a new sense of
“calm.”
Through faith sharing we have learned how to get along in God’s family. We have supported,
nurtured and sustained one another on the journey. Not only have we shared our faith but also we
shared our cultures, which have made us ardent believers that “we are all one.” Faith sharing has
truly helped us “survive” the disappointments and fears the many changes have brought our way.
We’ve become true believers in the power of prayer and our prayer lives have grown deeper and
more meaningful. We’ve learned how to be true disciples. We’ve developed spiritual muscle and
confirmed our identities as believers. Even though change has bewildered us at times, our faith
sharing and belief in our call as Christians has moved us to work more diligently in outreach to
the poor and marginalized. ARISE/LEVANTATE has indeed brought calm amid the “winds of
change” at St. Edith Stein Parish! Our ARISE/LEVANTATE members concur, “We can and will
make it work!”
Vietnamese Community
There was hope and laughter as the group gathered. It was a celebration of the Vietnamese New
Year, the Year of the Cat. For this group of 25 adults and children it was a new year in a special
way.
The core of this gathering was a team of
parishioners from five different parishes
in the Archdiocese: St. Ambrose and St.
Mark, Dorchester, St. Thecla, Pembroke,
St. Bernadette, Randolph, and Sacred
Hearts, Malden. The team included a
Vietnamese deacon and seven laypersons,
six men and one woman. This team had
never worked or socialized together
before; they came together and organized
themselves around a task that would
enrich their lives as members of the
Members of the Vietnamese Community with
church of Boston.
RENEW International’s Sr. Honora Nolty, OP
As the Archdiocese was preparing to
support the small Christian communities which had been formed and flourished during ARISE
Together in Christ, this team volunteered to translate the materials for Lenten Longings, the
RENEW International resource that would follow ARISE. This team divided the labor and
planned the communal editing and reviewing of the body of work in order to present it in a
timely manner to RENEW International for review and final edits. “The Vietnamese community
valued the experience of coming together as part of the Archdiocesan-wide ARISE effort, and
we want to make ongoing small Christian communities a foundation of parish life. Lenten
Longings in Vietnamese is a way to respond to Archdiocesan needs and to the growing needs of
the Vietnamese-speaking Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston,” said Deacon Van Nguyen.
Plans are being made to present workshops to train Vietnamese small community leaders in in
Why Catholic? this Fall.
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Small Faith-Sharing Communities Continue
Looking ahead to moving ARISE groups to ongoing small Christian Communities:
Lenten Longings

January 2011: Small Christian Communities Beyond
ARISE workshops were offered to promote the ongoing
development of small communities as being integral to
a parish’s growth and to introduce Lenten Longings A
faith sharing for Lent 2011.
Lenten Longings A participation: Thirty new parishes;
two thirds of ARISE parishes continued faith sharing;
twice as many Spanish-speaking and Vietnamesespeaking participants; Portuguese equal to ARISE.
WHY Catholic? Journey through the Catechism

May 9-13, 2011: Information Sessions will be held for Why Catholic? Journey
through the Catechism
 Will provide support, training and resources to make small faith-sharing
communities an ongoing part of vibrant parish life.
 Will provide deeper catechesis on the Catholic faith.

Fall 2011: Launching and Evangelization workshops for Why Catholic? Journey
through the Catechism will be held in fall 2011 in preparation for small communities
beginning Why Catholic? in Lent 2012. There will also be special workshops offered
to parishes that have not participated in ARISE to better prepare for Why Catholic?
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Archdiocese of Boston
WHY CATHOLIC? PASTORAL SERVICES TIMELINE
YEAR I
May 2011
Information Sessions
Provide an overview of the Why Catholic?/¿Por qué ser católico? process and how it responds to
an identified need today: adults’ desire to connect with their Catholic beliefs and renew their
identity as Catholics. Why Catholic? will deepen the experience of those who participated in
ARISE and introduce new parishes and parishioners to small groups and faith sharing. Parishes
will have an opportunity to sign up or provide a follow-up contact at the workshops. (Target
audience: pastor, pastoral staff, parish and catechetical leaders)
Spanish:
Portuguese:
May 9
May 10
May 11
May 12
May 13
May 9
May 10
1-3 pm
1-3 pm
1-3 pm
1-3 pm
1-3 pm
7-9:30 pm
7-9:30 pm
St. Joseph, Wakefield
Our Lady Help of Christians, Newton
Pastoral Center, Braintree
St. Michael, North Andover
Pastoral Center, Braintree
Pastoral Center, Braintree
St. Anthony of Padua, Allston
October-December 2011
Launching Why Catholic?
Provides an effective approach to adult faith formation and assists in creating a tailored plan to
implement Why Catholic? as a total parish experience. The workshop focuses on the
responsibilities of the Why Catholic? parish team and presents new evangelization strategies,
especially ways to invite those who have reconnected with the parish through Catholics Come
Home to become part of a Why Catholic? small group. (Target audience: Why Catholic? parish
team, pastor, and pastoral staff)
January 2012
Small Community Leader Formation—Pray: Christian Prayer
Focuses on the rich heritage of Catholic spirituality and prayer, and provides experiences of
different forms of prayer. (Target audience: Small community leaders, Why Catholic?/¿Por qué
ser católico? team)
Lent 2012
Faith Sharing – Pray: Christian Prayer, Sessions 1-6
Spring 2012
Adult Faith Enrichment: Why Catholics Pray
Presents the richness of the Catholic tradition of prayer, its faithful practice, and the need for spiritual
reading and other spiritual aids. Explores different forms of both private prayer and common prayer
within the family, small communities, and other groups. (Target audience: entire parish, Why
Catholic?/¿Por qué ser católico? Team, small community leaders, small community participants,
catechists, RCIA participants)
Fall 2012
Faith Sharing—Pray: Christian Prayer, Sessions 7-12
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