Holy Family Parish

Why we will no longer be a welcoming church

We’ve decided to quit being a welcoming church. No kidding. We’re giving it up. Like so many congregations, we’ve sunk an amazing amount of time and energy into becoming a welcoming church. We changed worship styles, trained greeters and ushers, wore name tags, brewed coffee, went to workshops on hospitality and put our friendliest people …

10 Ways to Be a Welcoming Church to Those With Special Needs

For those willing to welcome those with special needs, how can today’s churches better serve these families? One parent shares some tips.

A Marriage Counselor's Top Complaint from Wives

Ten Things You Should Never Say to a Guest in a Worship Service

These unfortunate and ill-timed comments almost always guarantee that you will offend guests and make them very uncomfortable.

How To Reach Unchurched People Who Don't Think They Need God

I read a survey the other day that made me literally sit up straight as I took notice. The number of people in Canada (my country) who profess “no religion” is now at 24%, up from 16.5% a decade earlier. That’s a massive shift in a mere ten years. As I reflect on it all,…

10 Ways to Teach Kids to Sit in Church

Want to take your kids to church with you? Find out how to learn to go to "big church." Worship, learn, and serve together. Kids can love going to church.

How To Be a Bad Church Member

Ever wanted to set your church back and create an unhealthy culture? Here is a short list of things to do to: 1. Constantly point out what should be done, but never volunteer to actually do anythin…

ID Card Benefits for Religious Organizations

Find out how religious organizations and church groups are using ID card technology to help identify church members and keep them more secure.

Religious Freedom as Freedom to Discriminate?

Removing religious exemptions will not promote tolerance or inclusiveness. It will forcibly strip religious organizations of their ability to operate as religious organizations.

10 Tips for Creating Inclusive Religious Organizations

We are a stronger country when religious organizations of all faiths live up to our values -- when we are welcoming, diverse, moral, and respect one anot...

Can Body Odor Fall Under Religious Protection? — Evil HR Lady

Dear Evil HR Lady, We have an issue with an employee regarding hygiene. In a nutshell, he has bad body odor. His belief system is that soaps, deodorants ar

How Secular is “Religious”?

We don’t know how the ready access to information will ultimately change the human condition, but religions are already feeling the heat. A person today can, with a few keystrokes, discover facts about religions that, when I was young, were assiduously and successfully suppressed—particularly in those traditions common among disadvantaged people such as I was. …

Why Religious Cops Live Longer Than Non-Religious Cops

Most of us serving as police officers have considered our mortality, especially in light of the dangers we face every day. No one is guaranteed a long life, but everyone strives to lengthen the days and years we get to spend with family and friends. All of us are interested in living longer. Recent studies […]

How Religious Are You?

Pew Research has developed a typology of religion based on "how religious" a person is, along with the nature of that religious belief.

How Religious Are The World Religions?

How religious are the world religions? Most “religions” do not conceive themselves as doctrinal systems.

Why Doctrine and Pastoral Practice are Indivisible

There has been a great deal of talk in the Church lately about a supposed opposition between rules and reality, theology and life, doctrine and pastoral considerations. Some of the talk has gone to extremes, suggesting that rules, doctrine, and organized thought matter little in comparison with the pastoral needs of the immediate situation. Such …

What is Religious Liberty?

The Baptist Joint Committee advocates a “golden rule” of religious liberty: Do not ask government to promote your religion if you don’t want government to promote somebody else’s religion; and do not permit government to hinder somebody else’s religion if you don’t want government to hinder your own religion.

Religious freedom? Yeah, right!

OPINION- “Freedom of speech is the air that any thinker breathes; it’s the fuel that ignites the fire of an intellectual’s thoughts.” Raif Badawi dared to write such things …

Remember that Religious Freedom Law?

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act continues to prove itself adept at flattening government obstacles to religious practice.

Religious Reefer: Is Marijuana Halal?

Is marijuana halal? Unsurprisingly, the answer isn't so cut and dry.