Sixth Sunday of Easter

ALL THINGS NEW – Steadfast in Faith - Forward in Hope

Strategic Pastoral Planning Initiative for the Archdiocese of St. Louis

As I write this article, I am preparing for an online webinar meeting presented by the Catholic Leadership Institute.  This is the group leading the Archdiocese through our Strategic Pastoral Planning Initiative.  They tell us that, “this webinar is designed for Pastors, Primary Points of Contact, and Key Parish Leaders.  By the end of the webinar, participants will be equipped to analyze their parish’s Disciple Maker Index data, review the Parish Workbook, complete the All Things New Parish Feedback Form, and gather necessary feedback from their parishioners.  DMI results, the Parish Workbook, and Parish Feedback Form will all be available after the Pastor attends the webinar.  Parish representatives are encouraged to attend the session together.”

Like you, I am trying to unpack and understand what this meeting will involve:

1.   Analyze the results of our parish’s Disciple Maker Index surveys

2.   Review the Parish Workbook (…a binder of information, unique to each parish, prepared by the Archdiocese, which we have not yet received).

3.   Complete the All Things New Parish Feedback Form (…a form that will be explained in the webinar)

4.   Gather necessary feedback from parishioners (…which will be our task over the summer months).

 

So…there you have it, A-R-C-G: Analyze, Review, Complete, Gather!  What does this tell me?  Like every other parish in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, we will walk through this process, together.  We will be:

•  Learning something about ourselves,

•  Learning something about our broader community,

•  Learning something about the Archdiocese,

•  Learning something about the Church.

 

To help me put this a bit more into context, here is a brief quote from the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis, EVANGELII GAUDIUM, On the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World, given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on 24 November, the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, and the conclusion of the Year of Faith, in the year 2013, the first of his Pontificate.

     I dream of a “missionary option,” that is, a missionary impulse capable of

     transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things,

     times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for

    the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self- preservation. (Joy of the Gospel, 27)

 

Our Holy Father Pope Francis goes on to say:

     "The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness  and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community. While certainly not the only institution which evangelizes, if the parish proves capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it continues to be “the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters."  (Joy of the Gospel, 28)

I think St. Peter Parish, time and time again, has demonstrated itself to be a community, “capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity.”  The Good News of the Strategic Pastoral Planning Initiative for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, is: JESUS Makes All Things New!  With our gaze of faith fixed firmly on Jesus, we will, in as in the Prayer of St. Richard of Chichester:

See Thee more clearly, Love Thee more dearly, and Follow Thee more nearly, Day by Day.

 

Sincerely yours in Jesus,

Fr. John Seper