Renewing prayer and purpose
By Melanie Sisinni
11/20/2025
Parish life today is more complex than ever. Pastors navigate sacramental, pastoral administrative, operational and organizational responsibilities.
Recognizing this challenge, longtime friends Patrick Lencioni and John Martin founded Amazing Parish, a Catholic nonprofit dedicated to strengthening parish leadership through practical tools rooted in organizational health, teamwork and spiritual renewal.
Lencioni, an expert on organizational health, and Martin, a Catholic entrepreneur, shared a conviction: the same tools that help organizations thrive could powerfully serve the church. Today, under executive director Tim Glemkowski – who helped organize the National Eucharistic Congress – the program equips pastors to lead with clarity and faith.
“So many pastors are asked to be the equivalent of a CEO of a nonprofit – something they weren’t trained for in seminary – and that tension can be overwhelming,” said Glemkowski.
The program accompanies pastors with coaching to build healthy leadership teams and bring clarity to their parish mission. Over the past 12 years, Amazing Parish has coached more than 1,100 pastors across the country, including several in the Diocese of Erie.
“It’s not about handing someone a playbook and saying, ‘Good luck,’” Glemkowski explained. “It’s about walking with them every step of the way, helping them align everything around the mission of making disciples.”
With Bishop Lawrence Persico’s support, pastors in the Diocese of Erie are encouraged to explore Amazing Parish through Catholic Foundation grants, ensuring cost is not a barrier. Jillian Zaczyk, executive director of Faith Formation, and her predecessor, Deacon Steve Washek, helped introduce the program in 2019.
“It gave our team structure and prayer practices that helped us grow,” said Zaczyk. “We realized how transformative it could be for parishes.”
For Father Rich Toohey, pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish in Erie, Amazing Parish felt like a natural fit. One of the greatest gifts, he said, has been accountability.
“Having people who push me, encourage me and hold me accountable makes me a better leader,” Father Toohey said. “And the coach they assign us — it’s like having a leadership mentor walking with you the whole way.” 
Working with the same team for three years has brought stability and focus, allowing parish leaders to steadily integrate Amazing Parish principles into parish life. The most significant shift, Father Toohey noted, has been in teamwork.
“We don’t often get training in healthy teamwork, conflict resolution or strategic visioning in seminary,” he said. “Amazing Parish gives us those tools, and honestly, they’re essential.”
Father Stephen Schreiber, pastor of Erie’s St. Joseph Bread of Life and Sacred Heart parishes with St. Paul Mission Church, recalls first learning about Amazing Parish over coffee.
“[Faith Formation] told me about the program, and it really resonated with me that Amazing Parish wants to help Catholic parishes be, as the name indicates, amazing,” said Father Schreiber.
He also appreciates the way Amazing Parish teaches “vulnerable trust”—the ability to be honest even when it’s uncomfortable.
“We need to be able to say to each other, ‘I think you’re making a mistake here,’ and receive that in a healthy way,” said Father Schreiber.
Sometimes that means letting go of small details.
“The pastor doesn’t have to decide whether the flowers are going to be purple or yellow,” said Father Schreiber. “My job isn’t to choose flower colors. It’s to preach Jesus. Amazing Parish helps me focus on what matters most, while empowering lay leaders to take care of everything else.”
Father Andy Boyd, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Mercer, began the program this summer, and says it’s transforming leadership at his parish. “Amazing Parish has been helpful in allowing me to bring parishioners into conversation about what our mission is and how we are going to carry it out,” Father Boyd said. “It’s helping us think differently about what it means to be a parish — less about maintaining structures, more about growing mission.”
While still early in the process, Father Boyd is optimistic. “I think it’s going to help us not just to function better, but to truly reach out, form disciples and grow in faith together. Even in a short time, it’s been a blessing.”
Bishop Lawrence Persico expressed gratitude for the program’s presence in Erie.
“This initiative gives pastors and parish leaders the tools they need to foster prayer, teamwork and mission at the heart of parish life,” said Bishop Persico. “With God’s grace, I pray it will be successful in helping our parishes become true communities of faith, hope and charity.”
That encouragement has given the program both credibility and momentum. With priests like Fathers Toohey, Schreiber and Boyd participating, the initiative is becoming a shared diocesan effort of faith and renewal.
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