Imagine being asked to do a very important job when you know that you can control only about one-third of the result. ![]() But the data shows that two-thirds of our kids’ educational outcomes are determined outside the school by many external factors: number of words read to the child when they’re young, parental income, parental time spent with the child, stress levels in the house, quality of neighborhood, and so on. Millions of teachers do just that every day. We expect schoolteachers to do amazing work. But part of you knows, “There are deeper problems here than I can solve.” There are many people stuck in versions of this same situation. The last thing I, as the CEO of a nonprofit, could do would be to stand up and say, “The problems are getting worse, not better.” And we were doing phenomenal work that was changing lives. ![]() People were volunteering, working hard, and donating money every day to keep the organization going. My job was to motivate people and to be grateful. Our nation’s $22 trillion economy was turning against people, and there’s no nonprofit on earth that operates at that level the largest nonprofit in the United States has a budget of less than one-hundredth of $1 trillion.ĭespite my epiphany, it was very difficult to acknowledge this thinking in my role. Over time, I became aware that the economy was transforming in fundamental ways that would displace millions of workers, requiring larger changes to society than my nonprofit could address. The priest ensures that each member of his congregation can rely upon him for instruction, forgiveness, a listening ear, and spiritual nourishment-much like other father figures in our lives.The following is excerpted from “Forward: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy” published by Crown ( pre-order )ĭuring the six years I spent running Venture for America, my job involved speaking regularly about the mission of the organization - in our case training entrepreneurs and creating jobs in communities around the country. In return, the congregation views him with filial affection. This practice has persisted to modern times, as priests are customarily called father today.Īside from the name itself, priests are referred to as father for multiple reasons: as a sign of respect and because they act as spiritual leaders in our lives.Īs the head of a parish, each priest assumes the spiritual care of his congregation. The highest title in the Catholic Church, that of “Pope,” is derived from those early titles.īy the late Middle Ages, priests belonging to various religious orders were called father. This name eventually became associated solely with the Bishop of Rome. However, an accepted way to address bishops was “papa” or “pappa,” which referred to the role of the bishops as father figures. In the early church, members of the clergy generally did not have standard titles. Since the early periods of the church, religious leaders have been referred to as some form of father. ![]() But have you ever thought about the origin of calling priests father? At Father’s Day each year, many of us may take time to reflect on the various father figures in our lives.įor some of us, that includes our parish priests.
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