Where are we going? Every journey that we set out on in life has, among other things, a destination, the place where our journey is taking us. Maybe the destination is to the store to pick up some bread, or to the restaurant to grab dinner, or to a family member or friend’s house to visit. Our destinations may vary, but rarely do we set out on a journey without having at least some idea of where we are hoping to go.
Here at St. Pat’s, we are on a journey, a journey of faith life, but where are we hoping to go on that journey together? That is the question that our Parish Pastoral Council & I have been thinking about & reflecting on for the past months. We started the discussion at our meeting in May, then things got sidetracked with my dad’s passing, & at our August meeting, we finalized what we are calling, “Vision 2023: Alive in Christ, Growing in Faith & Building Community.” I wanted to share that vision with you today, both in part in my homily at Mass, but also in the bulletin so that you could not just hear it, but also see it in print.
We are calling it “Vision 2023” because we hope that it paints a picture of where we hope to be & the growth that we hope to see happen when we arrive at the year 2023, which will also be our parish’s 175th anniversary! The vision centers around 3 key ideas...being welcoming, growing in faith, & celebrating/sharing diversity. You will find in the bulletin this weekend, some key ideas of how we hope to work together to achieve this vision. It’s a vision that we are all working on together, we all, each & every member of our parish family has a key & an essential role in bringing this vision to fruition. In each of the 3 “central ideas” we have also developed some action steps that we believe will help us to move towards making our overall vision a reality. You’ll be hearing more about those as the year goes on. We are St. Pat’s, Alive in Christ.
I invite you to keep our “Vision 2023: Alive in Christ, Growing in Faith & Building Community” in the front of your mind & heart & consider how you might respond to the invitation to help us make that vision a reality as we are welcoming, as we grow in faith, & as we share diversity.