KAPAMPANGAN businessman and book author, Dr. Irineo Alvaro Jr., launched on January 24 what he branded as an “unintentional book” on managing parishes.
The book, aptly titled “Do You Think You Can Manage a Parish? A Walk through Parish Management,” features “non-preaching” and simple guidelines for religious ministers in properly managing their congregations and parishes.
“It is ‘unintentional’ in some sense, unlike my first book ‘Fiona: A Journey with an Angel’ which I wrote with my wife Irene, as this ecumenical book has a story behind it, from a prompting of a friend and classmate, Dr. Cancio,” Alvaro, who is president and chief operating officer of BB International, a company operating several businesses inside Clark Freeport Zone, said during an interview over the LausGroup-run DwRW 95.1 FM’s “Talakayan” hosted by veteran broadcaster Perry Pangan.
Alvaro narrated that Dr. Cancio wanted his group of pastors to learn about the tenets of management that would boosts management of their parish.
“So upon his prompting as he was passionate about helping his group of pastors, I said I will just do the manuscript and that he just gives lectures. But when he got back to me after getting the manuscript, he said ‘I think you will have to do it.’ And so, here it is, something I squeezed to just 77 pages. It is not really for the learned but for the unlearned. Actually, it is not yet for commercial release,” he said.
Initial copies were given out for free though there are talks with certain church groups to produce succeeding reprints for fund-raising purposes, Alvaro said.
He added that the book “is intended for the local church workers who admit an inadequacy or feeble proficiency being managers of their own parishes.”
Though the book is filled with messages from leaders of the United Methodist Church, Alvaro clarified that his work is not intended for one particular religious organization, but for all who wish to learn something regarding parish management.
Its contents, Alvaro stressed, delve on the basic tenets of church management and “not intended to be used for deepening an academic or theological appreciation in the field of the parish or local church management.”
The book was edited by Dr. Dolores Quiambao and Antonio Pangilinan. Illustrations and layout were executed by Dominador Peña Jr. (JTD)