Around
Epiphany ……….….…
Around Epiphany is intended to provide a place to present
information normally not included in the Parish Bulletin or
in
other sections of Epiphany’s
website.
Periodically items will be included on a variety of subjects
in
which you might be interested. For example the first few
items,
included in the following index, cover the Parish Mission
and the
Pastoral Council.
You may click any item in the index to quickly locate it.
In addition Around Epiphany provides a mechanism
for you to contact us by e-mail. Just click
mail
for AroundEpiphany
to do so.
We encourage you to send us your comments, suggestions,
questions, or criticisms. We will try to respond to you in
all
cases and incorporate them in future items.
Index of Around Epiphany Items:
January 2, 2008 Pastoral Plan – Goal 5
December 26, 2007 Pastoral Plan – Goal 4
November 6, 2007 Pastoral Plan – Goal 3
October 12, 2007 Pastoral Plan – Goal 2
August 10, 2007 Pastoral Plan – Goal 1
July 3, 2007 Dropping down a level: the Pastoral Plan
June 7,2007 Still more on the Mission Statement !!
May 1, 2007 Parish Mission Statement -- Community
April 2, 2007 Epiphany have a Mission Statement?
******
January 2, 2008 Pastoral Plan – Goal 5
To empower the youth and young adults of our
parish to live as disciples
of Jesus Christ in our
world today.
In August, when we were
discussing Goal 1 of the Pastoral Plan,
To deepen our understanding of and
commitment to our faith,
we
described how the Pastoral Council thought it essential that
the needs of the adults of
the parish be addressed.
Consequently, it set as a
primary objective the offering of
on-going, comprehensive
educational programs and activities
for adults of the parish,
and Adult Faith Formation was the
subject
of much discussion.
Goal 5 focuses on another of
our great needs, the formation of
our youth and young adults,
not just with children attending
Epiphany’s School, but with
the children not attending it, with the
young people we often forget
about, those attending high school,
college and beyond.Two
months ago, New York Times columnist
David Brooks wrote about an
identifiable phase of life emerging
between adolescence and
adulthood that he calls the “odyssey
years.” He describes an
extended period lasting into the 20s,
the
same span of years Goal 5 is aimed at.
The astounding challenges
encompassed by Goal 5 becomes
Obvious
in reading its objectives:
- To draw young people to responsible
participation
in the life, mission, and work of our Catholic faith
community, by inspiring them with the joy of the
Gospel and the strength of the Eucharist; by
cultivating their gifts and talents; and empowering
them to use their talents in leadership and ministry
in the Church.
- To foster the total personal and spiritual
growth of
each young person by helping them apply their
Catholic faith to their daily life experiences; by
fostering in them a personal spirituality and
prayer life; and by promoting their positive
self-image.
- To invite and enable their ongoing conversion to
Jesus in holiness of life by offering retreats that
will help them develop a personal relationship
with Jesus; and, by helping them develop their
biblical and doctrinal literacy and a deeper
appreciation of scripture and the teachings of the
Church through bible study.
First steps have already
been taken towards providing our
youth and young adults with
the opportunity to become active
participants in our parish
through social, service, spiritual and
catechetical
experiences.
The EDGE Catholic
Middle School Ministry is the parish youth
group for students in grades
7 & 8. Designed to meet the social,
educational and spiritual
needs of middle school youths, EDGE
provides a great opportunity
for middle school youth to grow
their relationship with
Jesus Christ and the Catholic community.
Today’s EDGE participants
will, as they grow older, become the
seed
bed for other groups of youth and young adults in the parish.
Further studies are intended
to evaluate still other types of
organizations to best meet
the needs of Epiphany Parish youth.
******
December 26, 2007 Pastoral Plan – Goal 4
To engender a spirit of
unity among all
our
ministries and organizations.
Goal 3 called
for us to encourage broader participation of
Parishioners in parish life.
Such
participation requires that we know what’s going on in the
parish.
That’s the focus of Goal 4.
We’ve
already completed some of the actions called for under this
goal.
No
doubt, you’ve already seen copies of the Parish Organization
Directory:
the booklet with the tan cover can be found at the
entrances
to the church. A copy is also available on this web site.
Just click
to review it.
You’ll
find it contains descriptions of some 60 Epiphany
organizations.
If you’re interested in joining one or more of them,
just
get in touch with the contact person indicated. Visitors and
new members are always welcome.
You
may also have noticed that the parish bulletin and this web
page
are attempts to make Epiphany News available to
parishioners,
whether they are inclined to “read” or “search the
web.”
Some
actions, delayed because of our many 50th Jubilee activities,
and yet to be planned include:
·
To hold a Formation Evening: a
guest speaker and
refreshments will allow parishioners to relax
together and get
to know the members and
objectives of other organizations.
·
To schedule “leader “ meetings 2-3 times during the year.
The intent of these meetings is to provide opportunities for
further leader formation, for more intensive sharing
of
organizational plans, and, for fostering
inter-organization
cooperation.
******
November 6, 2007 Pastoral
Plan – Goal 3
To encourage broader participation of our
parishioners in parish life.
Goal 1 of the Pastoral
Plan focuses on our “personal
formation” in the
faith.
Goal 2 on broadening our
view of Christianity to include all
those who could use our
help in the parish, the neighborhood
and
the world.
We’ve been acting like a
football team sitting in the classroom,
studying the x’s and o’s of
the coach’s favorite plays. Goal 3 is
aimed at getting us all out on to the field to participate in the
game. In a culture which
seems to encourage more and more of
us to become “couch
potatoes,” it may be the most difficult
goal
we’ve
discussed so far.
Unless we all take on the
challenge of participating, there’s little
sense in having a Parish
Plan, little hope for the parish, and even
less hope for the future of
our Church.
Four
objectives are identified. The first 3 aim to build attendance
at Sunday liturgy, to
increase participation in the liturgy and to
welcome new members to our
community.
The
4th aims at knowing the talents and interests of parishioners
So that we might better enlist their support and services.
The objectives are:
To increase the number of parishioners who attend
weekly liturgy.
To explore better ways to invite people to active
participation in the liturgy
To convey a sense of welcome
to new parishioners.
To determine the gifts, strengths and
interests of all
parishioners; and, to encourage them to
share their
gifts of time, talent, and treasure for ministries of
service and prepare them for this
ministry.
1. To increase the number
of parishioners who attend weekly
liturgy.
With nationwide statistics
indicating that less than 40% of
Catholics attend Mass
regularly, the first order of business, if we
are to do more than preach
to the choir, is to find ways to reach
parishioners who don’t join
us at Sunday Mass. Studies are
planned to investigate communicating
with them by
newsletters, directories,
web sites, word-of-mouth,
personal invitations, … .
Ways must also be found to make
attending parishioners
and guests more welcome and thus
to
maintain our level liturgical participation.
Finally, for those
persons who won’t come, we must
overcome those factors
which are keeping them away. For
those who can’t come, it
is our Christian responsibility to
find ways to help them to do so.
2. To explore better ways
to invite people to active
participation in the
liturgy including carrying the gifts,
Eucharistic Ministers, lectors, ushers.
Coming to Sunday liturgy is different than
attending the
theater. We attend the theater to be entertained; we come to
liturgy to participate in
worshipping our God. We should all be
doing our parts as
ushers, Eucharistic ministers, lectors,
choir members, carrying
up the offertory gifts, singing in
the pews.
To improve participation we
need to explain to parishioners the
meanings of the liturgical rites
and the benefits they bring to us.
For example, many found Fr.
Greg Fairbank’ s homilies at the
recent
40 Hours Devotions very helpful.
Expanding musical styles and
selections should encourage
greater involvement. Tapping
into the abilities of younger
parishioners
will give us many more talented participants.
3. To convey a sense of
welcome to new parishioners.
Once again, coming to Sunday
liturgy is different than attending
The theater. At the theater
we are members of an audience. At
liturgy we are members of a
community, members of the body
of Christ. New
parishioners should be welcomed. Make
room for them in the pews.
Introduce yourselves to them.
Really mean it when you
exchange the kiss of peace with
them. Exchange a few words
with them as you make your way
to the parking lot. Invite
them to come with you to your next
parish
affair.
At the parish level, we will
be collecting information regarding
their family, interests,
etc. at the time they register, so that we
may better welcome them,
identifying programs or activities of
interest, and inviting them
to participate. To facilitate these
efforts, we will continue
the personal home visitation of new
parishioners.
4. To determine the
gifts, strengths and interests of all
parishioners; encourage
them to share their gifts of time,
talent, and treasure for
ministries of service and prepare
them for this ministry, a parish-wide survey will be
conducted in order to
develop a database of the unique gifts
and interests of
parishioners that will allow us to discern how
to use those gifts when the occasion arises.
******
October 12, 2007 Pastoral Plan – Goal 2
To stimulate a greater awareness of the
needs
of the human family and to discover new
ways
to respond to those needs.
Caring for Ourselves: Goal 1 is primarily
introspective. It looks
towards
deepening “our” understanding of the faith and
strengthening “our” commitment to it.
Caring for Others: Goal 2 turns our focus to
“others”. Our Lord
dedicated
his life to others – gave his life for others – on the
cross.
He made carrying our crosses a requirement for being his
followers: "If any want to become
my followers, let them deny
themselves
and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke
9:23) He went so far as to
identify himself with the hungry,
thirsty,
naked and imprisoned: “just as you did it to one of the
least
of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
(Matthew 25:40)
So
goal 2 looks towards making the Parish community more aware
of
the needs of the human family and towards discovering new ways
the Parish can act to respond to those needs. It
sets two objectives:
1. To encourage more active participation of
all parishioners, including senior
citizens,
young adults, and families in our
outreach
programs.
2. To increase awareness of local and global
needs.
The first calls for
increasing the number of parishioners helping in
our outreach programs. It
also looks towards expanding the scope
of all parish committees to
include assistance to people with
varied needs in our parish
and in the surrounding community. In
addition, the possibility of
forming a St. Vincent de Paul
organization
in the parish is to be explored.
The second objective is
aimed at making ourselves more aware of
the less local, the more
global needs of the human family, using
homilies and the Sunday
Bulletin to encourage us respond to them
with our prayers, our
charity and our political activities.
******
August 10, 2007 Pastoral Plan – Goal 1
To deepen our understanding of and
commitment to our faith.
A “Felt Need”: The first goal is easily arrived at! The
Pastoral
Council,
as probably most parishioners, feels a great need exists to
deepen
our understanding of and commitment to the faith. Without
that, fulfilling the Parish Mission Statement is, at
best, problematical.
Objectives of Goal 1: 2 objectives were immediately established:
1. To offer on-going, comprehensive educational
programs and activities
for specific targeted
audiences.
2. To continue other programs that provide
opportunities for study,
reflection and sharing,
e.g. Parish Retreats,
Disciples in Mission, …
Current Activities: The 2nd objective assures that activities
already
deepening the faith life of
some of Epiphany’s parishioners not be
sacrificed. Such activities
include Epiphany’s School and Religious
Education Programs, Bible
Study, Community of Disciples,
Charismatic Prayer,
pre-Cana, pre-Jordan, the Rite of Christian
Initiation
of Adults and Parish Retreats.
The Council intends to
evaluate these efforts to see if there are
ways in which additional
support or coordination with other Parish
activities
can further enhance their effectiveness.
New Approaches:
However, the Council felt a need for still more!
And that’s where confusion and challenge exist!
Just what does our “felt need” mean,
just how do we proceed?
Goal
1 talks of understanding our faith. And, to many,
understanding
means education. Some ask don’t we already do
that
for the children in Epiphany’s School and Religious Education
Program?
Others wonder if we shouldn’t do more for our high
school and college students.
Still
others ask what are we doing to educate Epiphany’s adults:
shouldn’t
we invite some guest speakers or plan a lecture series
for Lent and Advent?
Nostalgia’s Temptation: It’s difficult not to get
all wrapped up in
nostalgia, wishing for the “good old days” when the Parish
was
the
center of neighborhood life. Remember 3 or 4 priests living in
the
rectory? A school full of children – 2 classes of each grade
being
taught by the good sisters? Parishioners flocking to
evening missions and novenas?
Face
it! The parish, the neighborhood, our culture have changed.
These
are the days of 1 priest rectories; small schools without
sisters;
fathers and mothers both working; lives so frenzied and
full that it’s nearly impossible to schedule an
evening meeting.
In Today’s Reality, What Are We To Do: Few priests, small
schools!
A bishop recently commented, “Many
Catholic parents
are now hard pressed to give
an explanation of the faith to their
children and grandchildren.
… Truly we have reached the point
that the significance of
celebrating and living the sacraments
has to be consciously put
forward to the entire family, not just
the
children.”( Bishop Alvaro Corrada, Catechumenate April 2006)
What About The Adults:
Indeed, what about the adults?
Mustn’t
they also continue to grow In faith? Doctors, nurses,
priests,
deacons, teachers, police and fireman are all required
to
keep themselves up to date by continuously training.
Shouldn’t
all Christians do the same? Indeed, don’t they have
both
the right and responsibility to be active participants in
forming and transforming parish life?
Adult Faith Formation: And
so the words Adult Faith Formation
became
an important element of Goal 1. To undertake the
formation
of Epiphany’s adults is no easy chore, for it will require
serious
thinking about the life of our parish, about adult faith
formation
and the mission of the church. You might want to think
about
it, even study something about it. If so, why not check out
Our
Hearts Were Burning Within US, a
November 1999
publication
of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
It’s available at http://www.nccbuscc.org/education/ourhearts.htm
In
formulating Goal 1, the Council may have hit upon the “new”
need
of Adult Faith Formation. But notice Objective 1 calls for
on-going,
comprehensive educational programs and activities
for specific targeted
audiences. And action steps ask
that a
specialist in adult faith
formation be invited to meet with parish staff
and appropriate committee
chairs to explore possibilities for the
parish.
Still other action steps
call for identifying people from different age
groups interested in
developing and implementing faith formation
programs; soliciting leaders
from the parish interested in
coordinating and conducting
formation activities for specific
targeted audiences; and,
finally inviting parishioners to attend
specific
programs.
Think about it! Think about joining in the excitement
that’s sure to come?
******
July 3, 2007 Dropping down a level: the Pastoral Plan
Mission Statements are
great: inspirational and impressive! But, at their level, little gets
accomplished. The young husband may promise his wife a “palace:” without
detailed plans, that’s all she’ll get.
To get anything done, we’ll need more than a Mission
Statement.
Any high schooler would
be overjoyed to find out Euclid stopped with his axioms! But with only axioms
the world would be without geometry and all it does for us!
So the Pastoral Council
worked its way down closer to detailed plans,
developing 5 goals, each with its own subsidiary objectives supported,
in turn, by a 3rd level of
action steps. As we unwind our way out of the 50th Jubilee
Celebrations, they’ll discuss all these with all Epiphany’s Organizations and
together we’ll proceed to build the palace which is the Epiphany Community.
The sum total of Mission Statement, Goals, Objectives and Action Steps
is the Epiphany Parish Pastoral Plan.
The 5 goals are:
1.
To deepen our understanding of and commitment to our
faith.
2.
To stimulate a greater awareness of the needs of the
human family and to discover new ways to respond to those needs.
3.
To encourage broader participation of our
parishioners in parish life.
4.
To engender a spirit of unity among all our
ministries and organizations.
5.
To empower the youth and young adults of our parish
to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today.
Why don’t you reflect on these goals, their relationship
to the Mission Statement and how they address the needs of Epiphany as you see
them? Next time we’ll start discussing how the Council got to these goals and
the objectives and action steps they associate with them.
******
June 7,2007 Still more on the Mission Statement !!
No one sent in their
thoughts. But don’t hesitate to send them
in now. We’d be glad to
share them – just an e-mail is all
that’s
needed.
We left off last time just
as we were about to see how the
Pastoral Council feels we
should accomplish the mission
Jesus gave us to
Spread the Good News of Salvation.
Their first suggestion is
that we welcome all – everyone –
to
be part of our worshipping community
through prayer and the Eucharistic celebration
and the other sacraments;
That’s
why we’ve joined this community, isn’t it?
Welcoming them to join us in
prayer; to join us in what is unique
to
Catholic communities:
Jesus
instituted these sacraments as the means
by
which we Catholics are showered with God’s
graces.
Few
other churches have preserved that Christian
heritage;
few others can give their members the
strength,
the perseverance, the inspiration that
Christ’s sacraments give us.
Think about it: the
sacraments make us capable of enjoying
and living the good life.
And it is in living that good life that
we
give an example – a witness to the world.
That,
in its very living, spreads the Good News of Salvation.
Indeed with Christ’s grace,
we give witness to the Truth in word and deed;
we teach and proclaim God's Word.
Most
importantly,
we love our brothers and sisters;
we
reach out to them
healing them in their need,
serving them in their poverty.
And there you have it –
the entire Parish Mission Statement.
That is challenge Jesus
gives us every Sunday as we leave
Mass.
Let’s pray that we are able to meet it,
pray through the intercession of
Mary our
Mother to the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit
to guide us.
******
May 1, 2007 Parish Mission Statement -- Community
We were just getting around
to why it mentions community
so often when we were
interrupted. Have you thought about
that?
Obvious, isn’t it?
If we were an “individual,”
we’d only be one. There’d be no
need for a parish or a
church to meet in. If we were “one”
you wouldn’t need me and I
wouldn’t need you. We wouldn’t
have
husbands, wives, children or parents.
But
we do need each other.
Jesus recognized that. One
of the first things he did was
gather
together 12 disciples. And that was the first Church.
The Pastoral Council
composed the Mission Statement to say
we are not any old kind of community. We’re a very special
community: a Catholic
Christian community, called just like
those first 12 through God’s
gift of faith in Jesus Christ. Our
faith
is our trust in the Good News Jesus came to give us:
We
are saved!
Good News that He not only
gave us but told us –
commissioned
us – to give to everyone else.
Oops! Out of space again!
Next time let’s look at how the
Pastoral Council suggests we
accomplish the mission Jesus
gives
us.
But this isn’t intended to
be a monolog. What do you think
about
our
Catholic Christian
community?
What are we doing right – or
wrong; how could we do better
at
spreading Jesus’ Good News?
We’re interested in your
comments or questions. Why not
click mail for Around Epiphany and send them
to us now.
******
April 2, 2007 Epiphany have a Mission Statement?
Of course we do!
It
was first published when Monsignor James Baldrick was
Pastor and can be seen in our Church Bulletins.
It’s good you asked!
The
Pastoral Council just recently revised it ever so slightly.
So it might be a good time to review it.
First, here it is:
We,
the faithful of Epiphany of Our Lord Church are a Catholic
Christian Community committed to
the gospel message that
Jesus
Christ is our Savior. Therefore, our mission is to spread
the
Good News of Salvation.
We strive to
accomplish this mission by:
· welcoming all to be part of our worshipping
community
through
prayer and the Eucharistic celebration and the
other
sacraments;
· witnessing to the Truth in word and deed,
· teaching and
proclaiming God's Word;
· loving our brothers and sisters;
· healing those in need;
·
serving the poor.
We
pray to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, through the intercession
of Mary,
our Mother, to guide us.
What do you think of it?
Just a few words – but it says a lot!
Space
here is limited, but next time we can get a word in edge-wise,
let’s discuss “community.”
Why don’t you think it over
in the meantime.