Transcript St. Mary Parish Visionary Meeting

St. Mary Parish
Visionary Meeting
May 31, 2014
Background
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Last Fall, St. Mary’s began a time of discernment in seeking who we are, what we
are called to do, and how should we go about accomplishing our parish vocation.
•
This was not merely a localized reality.
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Pope Francis’ call in the “Joy of the Gospel”
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Very rapid spread throughout our country of two key books on rethinking how
we do parish.
•
•
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Rebuilt: the Story of a Catholic Parish/ Tools for Rebuilding
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Forming Intentional Disciples
Our entire Diocese had formation days studying both books.
Each of these, albeit in different ways, confirmed a key message the Holy Spirit is
saying to the Church and to our parish…
We can no longer “do parish” the
way we have always done it!
•
Many years ago, our immigrant
populations in the USA focused
their lives around their parish. It
was very easy for people to
come to the Church who was
waiting for them with open arms.
•
Society supported being a part of
a faith community, because that
is what your family did. I am a
Catholic, because I am Italian…
•
In today’s culture, that is not
necessarily the case…
We can no longer “do parish”
the way we have always done it!
•
Sports, media, school, and the
busyness of life all compete for
our attention. Society no longer
supports (and is sometimes
against), the need to be a part
of a faith community.
•
I am spiritual…but not
religious…
We can no longer “do parish” the
way that we have always done it!
•
With each successive generation, our youth become
detached from practicing their faith.
•
Statistics from 2007 Sunday Mass Attendance
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Builders Ages 65 + 45%
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Boomers Ages 47– 64 20%
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Gen X Ages 26– 46 13%
•
Millennials Ages 18– 25 10%
There is a severe
hemorrhaging going on in
the pews.
“If this trend does not change, in ten years it will cease to matter that we have a priest shortage.
The Builders will be largely gone, the Boomers retiring, and our institutions—parishes and schools—
will be emptying at an incredible rate.”—Sherry Weddell, Forming Intentional Disciples.
Only 30% of Americans who were raised
Catholic are still practicing.
Though there are many
reasons for this…the
primary reason for the
emptying of pews
across all ages and
ethnics groups is this:
The majority of adult
Catholics are not even
certain that a personal
relationship with God is even
possible.
In a recent poll: only 48% percent of all
Catholics were absolutely certain that the
God they believed in was a God with whom
they could have a personal relationship.
There is also a trend noted that the younger
the generation, the more connected is their
Mass attendance to their certainty whether it
is possible to have a personal relationship
with God.
The game has changed
•
With older generations, it might have
been enough for Catholics to be
Sacramentalized. But not
anymore…the game has to be
changed.
•
Catholics need to be Evangelized!!!
They need to know that an explicit,
personal attachment to Christ—
personal discipleship—is normative
Catholicism. Only then will the
transformative power of the
sacraments take root.
•
This Crisis is also a blessing: It forces
us to get to the heart of the Gospel,
which is where we should have been
anyway…
“Faith is above all a personal,
intimate encounter with Jesus,
and to experience His closeness,
His friendship, His love; only in
this way does one learn to know
Him ever more, and to love and
follow Him ever more. May this
happen to each one of us.”
--Pope Benedict XVI
I invite all Christians, everywhere, at
this very moment to a renewed
personal encounter with Jesus Christ,
or at least an openness to letting him
encounter them; I ask all of you to do
this unfailingly each day. No one
should think that this invitation is not
meant for him or her, since “no one is
excluded from the joy brought by the
Lord.” — Pope Francis
P
And it is not just the Holy
Father saying…
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John 20:31: But these are written that
you may BELIEVE (i.e. Trust, Entrust)
that Jesus is the Christ, and that
believing you may life in his name.
•
John 17:3: And this is Eternal Life,
that they know you the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom you have
sent.
•
John 15:15: I have called you
friends…
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Hosea 2:19: And I will espouse you
forever; I will espouse you in
righteous…and you shall know the
Lord…
We need to creatively find ways to help the
people in our pews, as well as outside of our
Church walls to personally encounter Jesus.
We want to become a parish of intentional
disciples.
Growing
Intentional
Disciples for the
parish is the game
changer.
And intentional disciple is someone
who has personally encountered the
Lord’s love and has made an
intentional choice to active follow the
Lord in deep relationship.
Like St. Andrew and St. Peter:
Intentional Disciples have dropped
their nets and begun to follow the
Lord as Disciples.
The Presence of a Significant Number
of Disciples Changes Everything
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Disciples...
•
pray with passion
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love the Church and serve her with energy and
joy
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give lavishly
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hunger to learn more about their faith
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fill every formation class in a parish or diocese
•
manifest charisms and discern vocations
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clamor to discern God’s call because they long to live it
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evangelize because they have really good news to share
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share their faith with their children
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care about the poor and about issues of justice
•
take risks for the Kingdom of God
The Fruits Parishes with
Intentional Disciples manifest
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Vocations flourish (in one diocese, over 1/3 of diocesan vocations come from
two small parishes our size)
•
Financial Support Abundant
•
Parishioners are actively involved in ministry within and beyond the walls of the
parish.
•
Presence of the Holy Spirit is palpable at Mass, which is the fruit of a laity
wholeheartedly devoted to prayer.
•
Charisms of the Holy Spirit become truly manifest
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THIS IS NORMATIVE CATHOLICISM WHEN LIVED OUT FROM AN
INTENTIONAL DISCIPLESHIP MODEL. Sound appealing?
Where do we start? Begin with
understanding the journey toward
intentional discipleship…
•
There are 5 key stages or
Thresholds in the spiritual
journey towards mature faith.
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Initial Trust
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Spiritual Curiosity
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Spiritual Openness
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Spiritual Seeking
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Intentional Discipleship
Distrust to Trust
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People need to trust the messenger,
before they can even hear the
message.
•
Messengers: You, another Christian, a
Church, a book, or even God
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People need a relationship with the
messenger that leads to a relationship
with God
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Destroying Trust: Avoid defensiveness,
debating to win, judging
•
We are first called to be “bridge
builders”.
Complacent to Curious
•
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Something about the messenger or
message makes them curious, e.g.
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Love, beauty, truth, wisdom, hope.
Witnesses’ lived life is authentic
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Joy and peace even in strife and
struggle
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Lives the Love described in 1
Corinthians 13:“Love is patient, love
is kind....”
Destroying curiosity
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Duplicity, hypocrisy, not
transcending what the secular world
has to offer, rigidity
•
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Closed to
Change…Openness to
Change
Starts to imagine living life differently
Experiments with change
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Changes a negative habit
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Chooses the greater goods over the
lesser
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Experiences themselves or sees in
others greater freedom after change
Barriers to Change
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Past failures
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External factors – family, friends, job
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Fear, anxiety, strong seated negative
emotions
Meandering to Seeking
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Not ready to commit to a particular
way; looking for the best way
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Challenges During Seeking
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Seeking a halfway, more
comfortable path
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Hanging on to serious
reservations
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Fear of commitment
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Fear of missing out on something
better
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Needing approval of others
Seeking to Discipleship
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They stop searching and repent and
give their lives to Jesus
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Finally realize they are not the
author of the best way: the best
way is the Way, the Truth, and
the Life. They commit to Jesus.
They drop their nets.
•
There are challenges ahead,
more conversion points and
even deeper commitments, but
this basic commitment to God,
to His Son Jesus is sacred and
central to their lives.
Fostering Trust
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Building Trust
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Fostering Trust
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Invite, engage, pray, learn (about them!)
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“Where is God in this situation/your life?” • “I’ll pray for you”
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Notice those who are new in the parish or a parish activity
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Greet them, watch out for them in the future, introduce them to Father Andy
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Invite them to be your guest at an upcoming parish event
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Think about ways to engage newcomers if you are planning an
event/activity in the parish.
Provoking Curiosity
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Be Christian—Be people of Hope
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Be people who live differently. Live your life in
such a way that it does not make sense, without
the existence of God.
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St. Catherine of Sienna: “If we are who are meant
to be, we will set the world on fire.” True
Catching Fire!
Enabling Change
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Be ready to be a patient friend and companion
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Be ready to show them change is possible, witness to
God get them through it
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Allay fears
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Pray
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Share your delight in the Lord, share the beauty of His
Creation (e.g., arts), the freedom that comes with
change, etc.
Support through Seeking and
Discipleship
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Share the fullness of the Gospel
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Story of salvation: Father’s Love, Jesus, Holy Spirit, His Church
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If Catholic introduce/invite them to adoration, a greater
understanding of the Eucharist, more frequent reception of the
sacraments especially confession
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Share your own faith life more deeply PRAY WITH THEM all the
more
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Help them across the threshold of discipleship
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CAVEAT: Crossing must always be their decision
A year in Review…Key
books and principles from
them…
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The Joy of the Gospel:
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We cannot passively and
calmly wait in our church
buildings, we need to move
from a a pastoral ministry of
mere conservation to a
decidedly missionary
pastoral ministry. EG #16
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The Church which “goes forth” is a community of missionary
disciples…
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Evangelizers thus take on the “smell of the sheep” and the
sheep are willing to hear their voice…they are supportive,
standing by the people at every step of the way. EG #24
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(We) cannot leave things as they presently are. “Mere
administration” can no longer be enough. Throughout the
world let us be “permanently in a state of mission.” EG #25
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I dream of a “missionary option”, that is, missionary impulse
capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s
customs…can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of
today’s world rather than for her self-preservation. EG #27
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The PARISH is not an outdated structure;
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…it continues to be “the
Church living in the midst of the homes of her
sons and daughters.” This presumes that it really
is in contact with the homes and lives of the
people, does not become a useless structure out
of touch with people or a self-absorbed group
made up of a chosen few. EG #28
•
The Church is called to be
the house of the Father,
with the doors always wide
open. One concrete sign
of such openness is that
our church doors should
always be open, so that if
someone, moved by the
Spirit, comes looking for
God, he or she will not find
a closed door. EG # 47
I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty
because it has been out on the streets, rather than a
Church which is unhealthy from being confused and from
clinging to its own security…
More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be
moved by the fear of remaining shut up within our structures
which give a false sense of security, within rules which
make us harsh judges; within habits which make us feel
safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does
not tire of saying to us: “Give them something to eat.”
EG#49
There is a Marian “style” to the Church’s
work of Evangelization. Wherever we look
to Mary, we come to believe once again in
the revolutionary nature of love and
tenderness. EG #288
Key thoughts
from “Rebuilt”
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Many of the practices within parish life can be prone to consumerism. Key
question: Are we disciples or consumers? Are we concerned with who is not
in the pews?
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Who is Kendall Ken, Plano Paul or Pablo? The Quintessential man of our
area who is who we should be evangelizing.
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Though the Mass is not necessarily always the best initial point for Kendall
Ken to encounter Catholicism, it is the definite way that many in modern
american society first will. Are we able to engage them and make their
“Weekend Experience” matter?
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Interesting how many times we spend a lot of time on things throughout the
week, and then we sometimes “throw Mass together” without the same
preparation as other important but more secondary items.
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How do they encounter our parish? Do we seem to be an exclusive club of
the special? Or do they feel like we want them to a part of own family?
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One Church—One Message. Make the Message
Matter.
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Utilization of Message series.
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Music—> does it engage the heart?
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Mission, Vision, Strategy
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Sacraments as opportunities.
Vision, Mission, and Strategy of St. Mary
Parish (this comes as the fruit of all that has
said in this presentation so far)
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Mission: To be led and to lead others into a growing relationship with Jesus
Christ.
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Vision: To be Intentionally Christ’s, sharing Jesus with others like Mary did.
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Strategy:
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Allowing the Mass to Matter in people’s lives. Allowing the Mass to be a
place of experiencing the one who loves us. Moving away from obligation
to desire.
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Forming our parish to be a parish of intentional disciples, that are
missionary and evangelizing by nature.
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Being concerned with who is not here, and loving them to much to sit in the
pew and wait. If what we have is truly good news…shouldn’t we want to
share it?
Initiatives
already begun
at St. Mary’s
Liturgy: Source and Summit
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Message Series—Special focus on Homily
preparation. Focus on Intentional Discipleship.
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Rethinking the introduction and
announcements. Focus on welcoming new
persons.
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Music ministry —Praise and Worship added
(while preserving more traditional style as
well).
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One pass of the collection
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Mass more timely but not rushed.
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“Greeter” and “presentables” ministry
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Children bulletins (and more child friendly
atmosphere).
Adoration: Key for growing
disciples
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This summer, we will be doing a low or
no cost renovation of Original St. Mary
Church. Making it a place to better
encounter the Lord and be won over by
him.
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Camera system that will enable us to
keep St. Mary’s open 24 hours, in
accordance with Pope Francis’ desire.
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Adoration Committee is doing good
work in strengthening guardians, and
strengthening exposition program.
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Sign and promotion of original church
to better welcome larger outside
community.
Formation
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There were key moments within this year’s Religious
Education, in which large amounts of RE families were
engaged in celebratory moments.
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Further efforts our process to bring intentional
discipleship materials within grade level, middle school
(“Chosen” confirmation program), and high school (“YDisciple”). Focus on relationship with God, and done in
the context of small groups. Current youth group is
possibly the strongest it has even been. Another vocation
came from the Parish this year (Damon Hopkins)!
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TMIY (“That Man is You”) formation program —life
changing for our men. (Looking into a future women’s
version, “She”, as well).
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Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic message series and
book gift.
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Countless opportunities at our school…
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Renovation of Hispanic Ministry, with the initial guidance
and wisdom of Sister Maria, and now under the leadership
of Dcn. Eduardo
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Our last Light of the World group was largest amount of St.
Mary parishioners ever.
Outreach and service
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We began our mobile food truck
ministry, in an amazing way. 210
families,1,800 (?) persons taken
care of, 30 plus volunteers—young,
old, english, spanish, all working
together.
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Diocese was amazed at our
enthusiasm and the need!
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(Future: I want you to help me to
know what are the most important
things to “Plano Paul.” Example: I
plan to do Reaper Football ministry
on fridays at the games next fall).
These are just some of the key
areas concerning our mission
vision and strategy. A major one is
yet to come…
This will be a key tool for becoming a parish of intentional
disciples.
Background
•
In January 2014, Fr. Andy discovered that his mom and
dad were involved in a ministry called Christlife, out of
the Archdiocese of Baltimore. It was reaping a lot of
fruit, and touching life-long parishioners with
relationship of Christ.
•
Curious, Fr. Andy attended a national training course in
Baltimore in February 2014. He went hoping that this
could give us the tool what Sherry Weddell points us
toward in “Forming Intentional Disciples”.
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He was right…
An Evangelization process
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As we learned from Forming Intentional Disciples, we have to
respect the process of someone coming to “dropping their nets” and
following Jesus.
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“Sometimes we are giving College Courses to Preschoolers” —
Sherry Weddell. Sometimes we jump past the initial stages of
evangelization and begin catechesis without the proper soil
prepared…and the seed does not grow.
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Christlife has a very gentle approach and respects this process,
preparing the soil for someone to hear the Kergyma and encounter
Jesus personally.
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Christlife occurs in three parts, with each part meeting once a week,
for 7 consecutive weeks.
Discovering Christ is
where we encounter
people wherever they
are and gently prepare
the soil for the Holy
Spirit to touch them
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Focus is originally on welcoming in dinner fellowship. Not
student—teacher, but guest—host model.
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Relevant Teaching through DVD (gradually leading
through the kerygma…)
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Small group discussion (not a teaching moment).
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Later in the course there is a 1 day retreat, in which
participants can be prayed over for a release of the Holy
Spirit.
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Everything is gradual but not watered down—> can reach
atheist, unsure, fallen away or life long parishioner.
Following
Christ
After participants have
moved through a journey
toward intentional
discipleship, that seedling
needs to be nurtured, so that
the Choice for Christ does
not become a wishful idea.
•
Following Christ follows similar format (there
does not have to as much dinner fellowship as
Discovering Christ).
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Focus is how do I “live the life”. Focus is on
themes mirroring “4 Signs of a Dynamic Catholic”
by Matthew Kelly
Sharing Christ then helps these Disciples
who have begun to deepen their
relationship learn how to share it with
others.
•
Jesus calls all to be Evangelists
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Focus is how to become a true evangelist
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Sharing first from what God has done in my
life. This is platform and foundation that gives
confidence to share the faith.
Time Table proposed
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Summer and Fall 2014: Form leadership of about 4
to 8 people. Prepare and Pray. Engage larger
group to prepare team. Go through Christlife first
as a team.
•
During this time, prayer teams will be formed
to walk the neighborhoods of the parish
praying for inhabitants.
•
Parish homilies, message series, and
promotion will occur among parishioners.
Time table (cont.)
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Advent 2014: Teams to go door to door and welcome people to
Christmas at St. Mary’s and “Discovering Christ” which would
happen shortly afterward.
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Christmas day—> Fr. Andy will give a welcome to begin the
Christlife adventure with us. Show the Introduction video at all the
Masses.
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After Christmas Break until Lent —> Run “Discovering Christ” for
the 1st time
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Lent: Run Following Christ
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Easter: Run Sharing Christ
The tool
•
This process allows us to form intentional disciples within the
pews. Intentional disciples changes everything!
•
Also gives us an avenue to finally visit homes and meet the
people where they are at, inviting them to something that is very
non-threatening (but powerful!).
•
Gives a tool that will not be in competition with our Light of the
World ministry, (because of its different approach and timing), but
will be able to strength each other.
•
Has the capability of being done in Spanish. A shared experience
between both cultures…is a powerful and attractive possibility.
We still need to look into this possibility.
Something I
need you to
pray about…
•
As Pope Francis is clearly telling us…we can no
longer “do parish” the way we have always done
it.
•
It is key for the success of EVERY dimension of
parish life that Evangelization remains central to
our existence (Our Mission). “The Church exists
to Evangelize!” —Pope Paul VI, Evangelii
Nuntiandi.
•
CHRISTLIFE is a key tool that gives us a game
plan to evangelize, outside our walls and inside.
•
I ask you to pray about being apart of this
adventure with me…
•
I believe you each have different gifts that could aid
in this adventure.
•
I have already begun to ask some parishioners to
be a part of the leadership team, and will continue
to do so in the next coming weeks (early June).
•
Like LOTW, the different job responsibilities can be
as involved (i.e. administrative coordinator) or as
little as you can commit (i.e. like making a meal,
praying the rosary in the neighborhood). But what
we could accomplish in Christ if we all found our
way to help!
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Leadership team:
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Main Leader: Fr. Andy
•
Overall Administrator: Mark Toft
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Evangelization Coordinator: Deacon Doug Wells
•
•
Evangelization Team: TBA
Intercession Leader: TBA
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Prayer Team:TBA
•
•
Small Group Coordinator: TBA
•
Small Group Facilitators: TBA
•
Small Group Helpers: TBA
Hospitality Coordinator: TBA
•
Team Members:TBA
•
Greeters:TBA
•
Dinner Coordinator:
•
Helpers:
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Registrar and DataBase Coordinator
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Worship Leader
•
Retreat Coordinator
•
I ask you to prayerfully consider helping in these
areas.
•
Pray and Listen…It is okay if God says “not
now”…but you have to honestly ask him :-).
•
Several people were unable to make it to this
meeting. I will hopefully have this Presentation
on our website for their and for your review.
•
Let me know of other names to contact who
would be interested in serving.
Fr. Andy thanks
you for coming
and for all the
ways in which
you have said
Yes to God in
service of His
people!!!!!!