We see it all across America – parish life that is dull, disjointed, and underserving its parishioners and community. Parishes often don’t have the resources, both money and personnel, to correct these problems, though many pastors and parishioners want the change.
L’Alto Catholic Institute is here to change that.
L’Alto Catholic Institute aims to partner with parishes in the Chicagoland area over a period of nine months to walk with them and help them form intentional ministries and disciples. Their goal is to help the individual parishes reach their goals and they help the pastor and staff create a vision and mission that fits the parish’s needs and resources and then work together to pull that off.
“Through our Parish Partnership, we make a substantial commitment to your community to help you begin the lengthy process of building a culture of missionary discipleship at your parish. We help you hone in on a specific vision for evangelization, create a strategic plan for achieving that mission, and begin forming and training your leaders in creating a clear path to discipleship for your parishioners,” they state on their website.
Formed by a number of graduates of Franciscan University of Steubenville who all have extensive ministry experience, L’Alto was not founded with a big business plan in mind, but with a heart for renewal and deepening of faith.
“It really grew from sensing that the Lord is up to something right now in renewing parish life with a vision centered around forming disciples and then asking how we could help support parishes who were stumbling in attempting to affect that change in their efforts to do so,” Founder and President Tim Glemkowski explained.
Verso l’alto is the battle cry of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati which means, “To the heights!” Tim and the rest of L’Alto want to help parishes reach the heights of heaven.
Check out L’Alto’s parish partnerships page for more information on what they can do for your parish!
Other exciting things coming out of L’Alto Catholic Institute are its ministry for women Project 5.41 co-founded by Tim’s wife Maggie and sister Jill Duran which aims to help high school women in the Chicagoland area deepen their understanding of their femininity.
While L’Alto is currently only in the Chicagoland area and can only partner with a few parishes at a time, so they can provide the individualized attention each parish needs, they are in the process of building regional outreach directors for L’Alto so that they can reach even more parishes.
Many exciting things are happening in the renewal of parish life and L’Alto Catholic Institute is heeding the call and leading the way. Check them out for a renewed sense of vision and commitment, and find out if partnering with them could help your parish community!
