Dear Parish Family,

As we begin our celebration of Catholic Schools Week at our Masses, I invite you to reflect on the great blessing of our Catholic education. At its heart, Catholicism is not simply a faith tradition or practice, but an entire way of life and being human after the likeness of Christ. Our Catholic upbringing may begin with religious education at a young age, but we are always being formed and growing spiritually with the help of God's grace. Enjoy a Pancake Breakfast after our 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. Masses this weekend. This week, our students and faculty will celebrate Mass, have dress-down days, scavenger hunts, golf tournament fundraisers, a career day, make cards for our nursing homes, and provide a special lunch for our teachers. We are blessed by our very own parochial school, and our school is blessed by the support of our parish community.

Rolling Out our Listening Session Themes…
I am excited to report to you the themes of our Parish Listening Sessions. You may remember that through the month of November we held sessions on three different dates with the intention of accommodating people’s schedules. I offered these sessions because, as your recently appointed administrator of the parish, I was eager to hear your thoughts about parish life from your experiences of the past, and also to know what is on your minds and hearts as hopes for the parish in the years to come. While these sessions were not mandatory for me to hold, I readily agree with guidance offered by the Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests that states, “Priests must willingly listen to the laity, consider their wants in a fraternal spirit, recognize their experience and competence in the different areas of human activity, so that together with them they will be able to recognize the signs of the times” (9). My aim is that as we move forward together as a parish family, this united fraternal spirit with Jesus Christ as our Master will indeed mark all of our efforts. Over 150 people of varying ages attended these sessions and provided valuable input. The questions I asked were the following:

From your perspective, what is important to know about the history of our parish?
Why should I be excited and energized as your pastor?
In an ideal world, what would your dream be for our future?
As a representative of your age group, what would you like to see happening at the parish that would help you and your family/friends to be more involved at the parish?

After compiling all of the responses, six main themes rose to the top as being primary on people’s minds. Over the next many months I will report back to you more detail on each of the themes. For today’s report, I simply want to share those themes with you, along with sub-themes identified in each. These themes and sub-themes provide context for the conversations we will have going forward for our pastoral planning efforts:

Community (History, Civic Pride, Parish Family): It is not surprising to me that people frequently commented on their interest of life together as a Christian community here at the parish. Pride in our parish history, delight in our civic community, and concern for us as a parish family are all aspects of community that many shared with one another in their table discussion.

Worship (Prayerful Environment, Music, Traditions): With Jesus Christ as our Shepherd and Savior, considerations about worship are a priority for many. The importance of a prayerful environment was raised, as well as music to foster that prayer. Because of our rich Catholic heritage, various traditions were also mentioned as being of great value.

Participation (Events, Involvement, Stewardship): Our faith is one that requires conscious and active participation, so this theme is a cherished one in our Catholic way of life. Various events, seeking the involvement of more parishioners, and practicing good stewardship are categories in this theme that were commonly mentioned.

Welcome (Environment, Newcomers, The Disengaged): With a growing concern for shrinking numbers of people practicing their faith, the theme of welcome was highlighted. Comments were made regarding enhancements to our environment that could help in this area, and identifying ways to reach out to newcomers as well as those who have become disengaged in the parish and in their faith.

Faith Formation (Adult Education, School, Youth Formation): Friendship with and in Jesus Christ leads us to thirst to know Him better. That kind of knowledge will require activity in our efforts of adult education, our school, and our efforts in reaching all the youth in their various walks of life.

Leadership (Shepherding, Collaboration, Presence): Hopes and dreams lead to vision – and vision leads to action. For that action to be well planned and well-orchestrated, leadership is important. Identified as being integral to the type of leadership needed in parish life are the qualities of shepherding, collaboration, and presence.

When I consider these themes and bring them to my prayer for our parish, I am motivated about what lies ahead for us as a parish community. Expressed in these is a great opportunity for building upon the wonderful foundation that exists at St. Mary Parish and furthering the Kingdom of God. Stay tuned for more details on what I heard regarding each of these themes – and eventually considering where this leads us in our work ahead as disciples of Jesus Christ.