Being Disciples with a Purpose and Vision

Continuing the theme of announcing the Local Pastoral Plan we have been writing and had approved by the cardinal, this week I will focus on the Purpose and Vision, which (together with the Values section) provide the foundation for our plan. Jesus has given us a mission in the Church, and all of us are called to help carry that out:
 
You and I are called to become disciples of Jesus and to help others to become disciples too. We do this in many ways already in our families and parishes - following Jesus, building each other up in faith, and handing it on to our children and to others. This plan for our collaborative will help us to be more intentional about being - and making - disciples, as Jesus commanded us to do.

The Purpose section reflects on what our parishes exist for in the first place. Please read it slowly and reflect on how we live this out in our parishes.

Our Collaborative Purpose:

“Our Saint Martha - Saint Mary Collaborative purpose is to help each other to know, love, and serve the Lord, to inspire spiritual growth as disciples of Jesus, serve those in our community, share His Good News in word and deed, worship the Lord, and celebrate as a vibrant family that places Christ at the center of our lives and communities.”

The Vision section of our plan presents what we hope our collective efforts are helping to bring about. Our parishes are already wonderful communities, but what if we could envision them as ideal? We each might have different things we might imagine being more ideal. Based on all that the Plan Writing Team learned from you and from our training, this is an attempt to provide some common ground to motivate us to move forward together.

Our Collaborative Vision:

“Picture this... Our parishes are filled with Catholics engaged in their faith through a welcoming atmosphere, inspiring music, meaningful homilies, and sacramental celebrations. A growing number of parishioners are becoming intentional disciples of Jesus Christ, realizing that growing in a relationship with Him is a lifelong process. As disciples, we continually reach out to others, inviting them to partake in both spiritual and outreach activities.”

Wouldn't that be part of what stronger, growing parishes look like? While no statement or plan can capture all of our visions and desires for our parishes, we decided these Purpose and Vision statements would provide a shared focus and help us reflect and work together toward common goals. We will continue to print sections of the pastoral plan in the bulletin, and you can read the whole plan on our website (pwc.church). Please prayerfully consider these ideas, and you can contact us at writingteam@pwc.church with any feedback you wish to offer.