The Parish Paper
For several years, the Presbytery of Southeastern Illinois subscribed to The Parish Paper, a monthly newsletter of ideas and insights for active congregations founded in 1971 by Lyle S. Schaller. The newsletter ceased publication in 2022.
The Presbytery of Southeastern Illinois’ purchase of photocopy rights for The Parish Paper includes:
- Permission to provide copies to our staff and the congregations within our presbytery in any of the following ways: E-mail, Postal, newspaper, newsletter, meetings, training events, and our website.
- Permission for each congregation within our presbytery to (a) photocopy or electronically distribute for local use as many copies as it needs, (b) post them on its Website, and (c) quote sentences and paragraphs.
Congregations do NOT have permission (a) to delete the copyright notice on page 2; (b) to re-write, paraphrase, or change the wording of sentences and paragraphs; or (c) to give ANY THIRD PARTY—other than staff and constituents—permission to photocopy or reprint (in any quantity, no matter how small, whether for free distribution or for sale).
2019
February 2019–Vol. 27, 2: What Is Contemporary Worship?
January 2019–Vol. 27, 1: Defining Church Vitality: Let Me Count the Ways
2018
December 2018–Vol. 26, 12: Getting to Know Our Neighbors: One-on-One Interviews
November 2018–Vol. 26, 11: How to Develop Habits for Well-Being
October 2018–Vol. 26, 10: Don’t Disagree, Deliberate
September 2018–Vol. 26, 9: Checking Up on Clergy Health
August 2018–Vol. 26, 8: How to Raise Money for Your Community Projects
July 2018–Vol. 26, 7: Inviting Informing and Including Newcomers
June 2018–Vol. 26, 6: Making the Nursery a Place of Belonging
May 2018–Vol-26, 5: How to Balance Hospitality and Church Security
April 2018–Vol. 26, 4: Church Energy Use: Can We Harness Hope?
March 2018–Vol. 26, 3: Finding Significance as a Small Church
February 2018–Vol. 26, 2: Best Practices for Church Members Serving as Staff
January 2018–Vol. 26, 1: 18 Questions for 26
2017
December 2017–Vol. 25, 12: Does Our Pastor Need a Job Description?
November 2017–Vol. 25, 11: Mistakes Churches Make During an Interim Ministry
October 2017–Vol. 25, 10: Short-Term Mission Trips that Yield Long-Term Success
September 2017–Vol. 25, 9: Equipping Volunteers Builds a Strong Church Community
August 2017–Vol. 25, 8: What Promotes Hope?
July 2017–Vol. 25, 7: How Can We Help Immigrants?
June 2017–Vol. 25, 6: Ministry in the Midst of Tragedy
May 2017–Vol. 25, 5: Financing the Local Church: What Does It Cost?
April 2017–Vol. 25, 4: Small Is Big Again: Reclaiming Small Church Ministry
March 2017–Vol. 25, 3: Guide to Good Governance
February 2017–Vol. 25, 2: How Do Congregations Respond to Interfaith Couples?
January 2017–Vol. 25, 1: Conquering the Cutback Syndrome
2016
December 2016–Vol. 24, 12: Can We Wait for God's Spark?
November 2016–Vol. 24, 11: Does Your Congregation Suffer from Anxiety?
October 2016–Vol. 24, 10: Keeping Up with the Pastor's Pay
September 2016–Vol. 24, 9: What Keeps Congregations from Implementing New Ideas?
August 2016–Vol. 24, 8: Multiple Roads to a Multicultural Congregation
July 2016–Vol. 24, 7: When Charity Brings Anything But Relief
June 2016, Vol. 24, 6: Making Congregations Greener
May 2016–Vol. 24, 5: How Do New People Hear about Your Church?
April 2016–Vol. 24, 4: How To Deal with Church Conflict
March 2016–Vol. 24, 3: What Numbers Matter for Congregations?
February 2016–Vol. 24, 2: The Payday Lending Crisis
January 2016–Vol. 24, 1: How Ministry Teams Get Things Done
2015
December 2015–Vol. 23, 12: Improving Church Communication
November 2015–Vol. 23, 11: Navigating the Currents of Endowments and Reserve Funds
October 2015–Vol. 23, 10: New Models for New Churches: What Works?
September 2015–Vol. 23, 9: Can Congregations Reach Young Adults?
August 2015–Vol. 23, 8: How To Enhance the Ministry of Associate Pastors
July 2015–Vol. 23, 7: Congregational Strength Is Always Plural
June 2015–Vol. 23, 6: Could Lack of Curiosity Kill the Church?
May 2015–Vol. 23, 5: Seeking a Bivocational Calling for Pastors and Churches
April 2015–Vol. 23, 4: Finding God's New Call in the Same Place
March 2015–Vol. 23, 3: What Churches Can Do to Increase Social Media Security
February 2015–Vol. 23, 2: How to Avoid the Potholes on the Road to Retirement
January 2015–Vol. 23, 1: Our Future Pastors: Assessing the State of the Pipeline
2014
December 2014–Vol. 22, 12: How to Make the Most of a Consulting Process
November 2014–Vol. 22, 11: Should We Consider Closing Our Church?
October 2014–Vol. 22, 10: How Can We Prevent Suicide?
September 2014–Vol. 22, 9: Back to School
August 2014–Vol. 22, 8: Do Your Mission and Method Fit Your Size?
July 2014–Vol. 22, 7: What Type of Follower Attends Our Church?
June 2014–Vol. 22, 6: Caring for the Caregivers
May 2014–Vol. 22, 5: How to Welcome Children with Autism and Their Families
April 2014–Vol. 22, 4: eGiving: It’s about More Than Money
March 2014–Vol. 22, 3: When Less Is More
February 2014–Vol. 22, 2: A Parable about Pastoral Leadership
January 2014–Vol. 22, 1: Big Ministry Trends for 22
2013
December 2013–Vol. 21, 12: Why a Sense of Belonging Matters
November 2013–Vol. 21, 11: E-Newsletters: Worth More Than You Know
October 2013–Vol. 21, 10: Growth or Decline?
September 2013–Vol. 21, 9: Disaster Relief: Congregations in the Eye of the Storm
August 2013–Vol. 21, 8: Clergy Groups: Are They Worth the Investment?
July 2013–Vol. 21, 7: The Great Recession: Its Effects on Congregations and What We Learned
June 2013–Vol. 21, 6: Making Informed Decisions during Times of Change
May 2013–Vol. 21, 5: Important Conversations: How to Avoid the Sand Traps
April 2013–Vol. 21, 4: Oral Communication: How to Strengthen Our Effectiveness
March 2013–Vol. 21, 3: What Leadership Style Works in Our Church?
February 2013–Vol. 21, 2: Can You Downsize Staff Without Destroying Your Congregation?
January 2013–Vol. 21, 1: How to Avoid Pastor Burnout
2012
December 2012–Vol. 20, 12: How to Use Our Five Senses to Experience the Wonder of Advent
November 2012–Vol. 20, 11: How to Maintain Church Health in a Declining Population County
October 2012–Vol. 20, 10: Preventing Church Fraud
September 2012–Vol. 20, 9: Where Are the Unchurched?
August 2012–Vol. 20, 8: Keys to Growing a Small Church
July 2012–Vol. 20, 7: What Message Are We Sending about Giving?
June 2012–Vol. 20, 6: Mission Possible: More Men in the Pews
May 2012–Vol. 20, 5: How to Turn Bystanders into Active Disciples
April 2012–Vol. 20, 4: How Is Your Congregation’s Health?
March 2012–Vol. 20, 3: What Type of Future Are We Building?
February 2012–Vol. 20, 2: How to Manage Change Resistance
January 2012–Vol. 20, 1: How to Perfect Your Leadership Triangle
2011
December 2011–Vol. 19, 12: How Do We Successfully Launch a New Project?
November 2011–Vol. 19, 11: Should We Unleash the Power of Congregational Planning?
October 2011–Vol. 19, 10: Why Do Smart Churches Make Dumb Decisions?
September 2011–Vol. 19, 9: Why Do People Connect with Christ and a Congregation?
August 2011–Vol. 19, 8: How to Prevent Bad Behavior During Times of Change
July 2011–Vol. 19, 7: How to Select Quality Staff
June 2011–Vol. 19, 6: What is the Pastor’s Role in Church Finances?
May 2011–Vol. 19, 5: When Does Success Lead to Failure?
April 2011–Vol. 19, 4: Incoming Pastors: Building Smoother Transition Bridges
March 2011–Vol. 19, 3: Does a Congregation’s Location Influence Its Effectiveness?
February 2011–Vol. 19, 2: Accomplishing Worthy Goals–Being Smart Is not Enough
January 2011–Vol. 19, 1: What Is Your Unconscious Intent?
2010
December 2010–Vol. 18, 12: Fifty Years Later: What Has Changed?
November 2010–Vol. 18, 11: What Are the Big-Picture Trends in Congregations?
October 2010–Vol. 18, 10: Why Are Worship Visitors Important?
September 2010–Vol. 18, 9: Planning for the Unexpected Financial Crisis
August 2010–Vol. 18, 8: How Much Should We Pay Our Pastor
July 2010–Vol. 18, 7: Should Congregations Use Internet Social Media?
June 2010–Vol. 18, 6: Why Does Mentoring Succeed and Fail?
May 2010–Vol. 18, 5: Generous Givers: A Product of Motivation and Methods
April 2010–Vol. 18, 4: What Can We Learn from the Emerging Church Movement?
March 2010–Vol. 18, 3: New Trends in Belonging
February 2010–Vol. 18, 2: Become Comfortable with Conflict: Step One to Moving Beyond It!
January 2010–Vol. 18, 1: Should We Fine-Tune Our Church’s Internal Culture?
2009
December 2009–Vol. 17, 12: Are We a Leader-Sending Congregation?
November 2009–Vol. 17, 11: Seven Roads to a Multicultural Congregation
