Our hope for this phase of leadership formation is that our priests and other parish and school leadership will grow in their understanding of and zeal for the work of evangelization, embracing this as the primary mission of the parish: to preach the Gospel with courage and confidence, with fidelity to the teachings of Christ and his Church, with Spirit-inspired creativity, with generosity and self-sacrifice, being continually transformed and renewed in heart and mind (cf. Rom 12:2).
For our priests in particular, our hope is that they would dedicate themselves with new energy to the formation of their parish and school staff and other parish leadership; that they would know their staff and leadership personally, and each person’s progress on the path of Christian discipleship; that they would work to create a sense of community among their staff and parish leadership, helping them to rediscover the gifts and calling of their baptism and confirmation. Above all, we hope that all our priests and deacons will be re-invigorated and renewed in their prioritization of the interior life through their daily routine of holy Mass, holy hour, and praying the breviary. For the more our clergy are filled with the indwelling love of Jesus Christ, the more they will be able to communicate his love to their parishes and beyond.
For the lay leadership in our parishes and schools, our hope is that all would become ever more ardent to deepen their prayer lives and to participate frequently and devoutly in the sacraments of the Church; that they would not only cultivate their own interior lives, but become more enthusiastic promotors of growth in the interior life for others; that they would become ever more aware of their own gifts and callings so as to enter more whole-heartedly into the work of their own apostolates; that they would be authentic witnesses to Jesus Christ, living joyfully in accord with the teaching of the Church; that they would be active seekers of life-long spiritual growth and conversion; and finally, that they would take co-responsibility with their pastors for making the work of evangelization the primary mission of the parish.
May our priests and lay leaders in parishes and schools strive always to serve as good models for the broader parish and school community, and indeed for the world, of authentic Christian living: of prayer and holiness, of fidelity to Christ and evangelistic zeal for the salvation of souls.
Easter 2020 - The Paschal Mystery | El Misterio Pascual
June 2020 - Evangelization | Evangelización
July 2020 - Discipleship | Discipulado
August 2020 - Baptism & Confirmation | Bautismo y Confirmacíon
September 2020 - Reclaiming Sunday | Recuperando el Domingo
October 2020 - Interior Life: Prayer | Oración
November 2020 - Interior Life: Mortification | Mortificación
December 2020 - Confession | Confesíon
January 2021 - Goodness | Bondad
February 2021 - Beauty | Belleza
March 2021 - Truth | Verdad
April 2021 - The Personal Apostolate | El Apostolado Personal
Pastor/Evangelization Lead Accountability Guide
Formation of “leadership” refers to priests, deacons, religious, parish staff, school principals, teachers and administration, and other members of parishes who exercise leadership in various capacities (e.g. pastoral and finance council members, catechists, etc.).
Goal 1. For priests and other parish and school leadership to understand and embrace the Catholic Church’s vision for evangelization.
Principal Objectives. Priests and other parish and school leadership will:
Goal 2. For priests and other parish and school leadership to grow together in holiness through a deepening of their interior lives by more intense prayer and mortification.
Principal Objectives. Priests and other parish and school leadership will:
Beginning Easter 2020, the Diocese will launch a monthly newsletter containing information and help for parishes and schools to participate in the broader efforts of the diocese. Every month will be dedicated to a different theme with some practical instruction and ideas for parish application.
The Catholic Herald will have a page in every issue dedicated to evangelization. Existing diocesan formation events will also be strategically focused around this common effort.
Finally, every parish will be assigned an individual member of the chancery staff as a liaison who will walk with them through this whole process to offer support and assistance.
The primary expectation for parish and school leadership during this phase is to be attentive and responsive to the bishop’s communications and diocesan newsletters. But in order to lay the groundwork, the following action items should be accomplished in every parish and school by Pentecost 2020:
At the top of the agenda for each of these meetings in March or April should be to read and discuss the Vision Statement.
Go Make Disciples has already been a tremendous blessing at our parish. Fr. Paul Arinze and I made sure that our core team was representative of all the different people in our parish so that we would have a diversity of perspectives and experience. The core team began meeting in July and even at the first meeting, you could feel that something special was happening.
One of the first things we did with the core team was explain that the focus of Go Make Disciples, especially the first phase, is on their personal formation and spiritual growth. They needed to know that this is not a committee or another “program.” This is a life-changing opportunity to deepen your relationship with Jesus and become the disciple He is calling you to be. With that in mind, we provided a list of the spiritual practices everyone needed to not only commit to, but embrace with love and enthusiasm.
Our monthly meetings start with check-ins to see how people progressed with their spiritual practices. These are occasions of personal sharing—both our victories over the past month and our struggles or failures. By having conversations that are honest and vulnerable, we have found accountability with each other and that people truly help each other with amazing ideas and encouragement.
As we work through the newsletters and supplemental books and videos each month, the core team really helps us understand what will be helpful for the parish as a whole and which areas will be most challenging for people. The group always has fantastic ideas that will definitely drive our work in phase 2 and beyond. We are keeping a list of all their recommendations and insights. Their feedback even shaped what we are doing with other leadership groups in the parish, such as the school staff, parish staff, and catechists.
There is a tendency to think people are too busy and won’t have the time for meetings or assigned reading, but it has been the opposite. Our core team hasn’t just read the monthly newsletters, they have read entire books (Into His Likeness and Prayer for Beginners were particularly helpful). In addition to the monthly meeting, they asked for weekly prayer meetings! People show up at 6:30 a.m. before work to meet each week because they can tell the difference it is making in their spiritual lives.
My advice to other parish leaders is to throw yourself into Go Make Disciples as if you were throwing yourself into the arms of God. Read everything the newsletters recommend. Push yourself to the next level in your own spiritual practices. It can be a lot of work: organizing, communicating, learning, etc. but when the end goals are the glory of God and the salvation of souls, what could be more important?
- Kris, Evangelization Lead
If there is one thing in GMD we’ve been successful with at St. Patrick, it is getting creative with our monthly Evangelization Team meetings. Especially in 2002, we have become quite skilled at rolling with any obstacles that get in our way, by the grace of God.
This was especially true in the success we experienced in our October Evangelization Team meeting. The focus of October was the interior life, specifically prayer. Rather than getting together in a typical large group setting, Fr. Brian and I split up the team and met with individuals or couples. Because prayer life is an intimate topic, this arrangement offered an avenue to go deeper with one another.
The meetings took on all sorts of forms. There was a Saturday morning breakfast at the local café, talks at a coffee shop, walking the bike trail, and a few family dinners. With the personal time devoted just to the members of our Evangelization Team, we could really get into the when, where, what, and why.
Some couples reminisced about prayers they used to do together and how they would like to do that again. One couple shared the beautiful prayer traditions they had with their grown children, especially with high Feasts of the Church. Some were able to share times in which they could hear God’s voice so clearly. We talked about praying with young children and for adult children. We could also challenge one another in cultivating our prayer lives. It was such a beautiful experience, and I could not recommend it enough!
- Kristia, Evangelization Lead