Pastoral Planning Process

Seven Essentials of Parish Life
Since the fall of 2010, the parish Pastoral Council has been engaged in a process of developing a 3-year pastoral plan. This initiative comes in response to diocesan directives and the practical need of every parish to have a formal means of guiding its regular operations and providing direction for its future. The pastoral plan is intended to assist St. Stephen’s in successfully expressing its mission of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In accordance with the longstanding Tradition of the Church and contemporary Canon Law, every Catholic parish lives out its mission with due attention to these 7 essentials. Indeed, the purpose of the pastoral council is primarily “to research, consider and propose for action” those matters that directly relate to these 7 elements. Over the course of the next several weeks, each of the 7 essential elements of parish life—Evangelization, Stewardship, Word, Worship, Community, Service and Leadership—will be highlighted. As depicted in the graphic above, while each element comprises a separate area of parish life, all the elements are interrelated. At the center of this relationship is the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist from which the parish draws its identity and sustenance in Christ Jesus.

What is evangelization?
The word evangelization comes from the Greek term meaning “good news.” For the most part, Catholics in the United States have understood evangelization to mean announcing the Gospel to those who do not believe. In the past, it has been more associated with missionary activity in foreign lands. However, the meaning of evangelization has undergone development in more recent times in response to current historical circumstances.

The documents of the Second Vatican Council certainly set the groundwork for a broader understanding of the term. However, Pope Paul VI’s 1975 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (On Evangelization in the Modern World) provided the foundational context for defining evangelization by firmly identifying it as the mission of the Church.

We wish to confirm once more that the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church. It is a task and mission which the vast and profound changes of present-day society make all the more urgent. Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize. (EN, 14)

In keeping with this broad understanding, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops issued Go and Make Disciples: A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the U.S. in 1992. The plan offered 3 goals that are applicable to all parishes:

GOAL 1: To bring about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for the faith that, in living their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with others.

GOAL 2: To invite all people in the U.S., whatever their social and cultural background, to hear the message of salvation in Jesus Christ so they may come to join us in the fullness of the Catholic faith.

GOAL 3: To foster gospel values in our society, promoting the dignity of the human person, the importance of family, and the common good of our society, so that our nation may continue to be transformed by the saving power of Jesus Christ.

Evangelization is predominant in the graphic above because it is at the heart of our individual and communal call to bear witness to Christ. Church teaching affirms that evangelization permeates all parish activity and is the essential element of its pastoral mission.

So what are the implications of evangelization in moving forward in our pastoral planning process?

What is stewardship?
Stewardship is an integral part of Christian discipleship, a response to the call to follow Jesus. Discipleship and the practice of stewardship constitute the Christian way of life. From the outset, it requires an acknowledgement that all of life is a gift from God and it follows that the appropriate response is humility and gratitude.

It is a way of life that is both privileged and challenging. As Christians initiated in to the Church through Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, we become the caretakers of all that God has given to us, including first and foremost, God’s creation, but also the Church. For believers, stewardship involves sharing of our time, talent and treasure in service to the community of faith. Members realize their obligation to contribute to their parish’s mission and do so willingly and generously by sharing their personal resources.

In their 1992 pastoral letter, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, the U.S. Bishops stated:

Essentially, stewardship means helping the Church’s mission with time, money and personal resources of all kinds. This sharing is not an option for Catholics who understand what membership in the Church involves. It is a serious duty.

A parish that is living out the essential element of stewardship places a priority on regular sacrificial offering by its members in the weekly offering. The more emphasis a parish puts on regular contributions to fund its mission and budget, the less it needs to rely on extraordinary fundraisers such as bingo, raffles and the like.

Parish leadership practices good stewardship by consistently reporting how parish resources are being utilized, how plant and properties are maintained and how funds are reserved for future needs. In addition, it manages a balanced budget, responsibly pays off its indebtedness and has an abundance of members involved in a variety of ministries and service opportunities within and beyond its parish boundaries.

If a parish is to fulfill its unique mission, its members need to be deeply committed stewards, willing to share their gifts, talents, money and other material resources in a spirit of generosity that corresponds to the self-giving of Jesus Christ.

In various ways, stewardship in the Church leads people to share in the work of evangelization, in ministries of word, and in service to others through works of justice and mercy. Evangelization, word and service are all interrelated with stewardship and vice versa. Together these essential elements form the community of faith which carries out is call to discipleship.

What is Word?
The parish essential referred to as the "Word" relates to all the ways the parish is involved in catechesis. The term catechesis literally means "echoing the word" and has been used to denote the process of handing on the faith. In his apostolic exhortation Catechesi Tredendae, Pope John Paul II states:

"Quite early on, the name catechesis was given to the totality of the church's efforts to make disciples, to help (people) believe that Jesus is the Son of God so that believing they might have life in his name, and to educate and instruct them in this life, thus building up the body of Christ....Catechesis is built on a certain number of elements of the church's pastoral mission which have a catechetical aspect... They are: the initial proclamation of the Gospel or missionary preaching to arouse faith; examination of the reasons for belief; experience of Christian living; celebration of the sacraments; integration into the Christian community; and apostolic and missionary witness." (CT, 18)

Here we see how the element of "Word" interrelates with all the other essential elements of the pastoral mission. By preaching and teaching the word we build communities of faith whose worship, service, stewardship, and leadership all contribute to the underlying element of evangelization.

The spreading of the word takes place in many formal and informal ways with the parish: adult, youth, and children's education and spiritual formation; the process of initiating new members as described in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults; sacramental preparation for the sacraments of Baptism, Penance/Reconciliation, COmmunion, and Marriage; family formation, renewal efforts, and Sunday homilies. These and other means of passing on the message of Jesus Christ are all aspects of "Word" within the community of faith. They are part of the ongoing process of maturation and growth in the Christian journey. As individuals and as a community of faith, Christians are called to an ever deepening relationship with Christ. Growing in that love relationship, gaining insight into the nature of God, the Incarnate Word of Christ the SOn, the power and action of the Holy Spirit, and the continual revelation of God's Word in the Church constitute this formative process.

What is Worship?
Some years ago, then Cardinal Ratzinger—now Pope Benedict XVI— said: “The Church stands or falls with the liturgy.” This is another way of saying that there is nothing more important than the liturgy. The Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy affirmed this by stating: “The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows.” (SC, 10) All of parish life is centered on its liturgy. This is true for the Church as a whole and for each parish as well. That is why we do our very best to celebrate good liturgy. What makes for good liturgy? In that same document, the bishops of the world expressed the earnest desire for all the faithful to achieve full, conscious, and active participation in its liturgical celebrations. Indeed, the Council members stated that this full and active participation “is the aim to be considered before all else; for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit.” (SC, 14) Since then, pastors and others responsible for parish worship have strived to attain this ideal through the necessary instruction and ongoing formation of parishioners and parish liturgical ministers.

Personal and communal prayer are essential to the building up of the Body of Christ. In the celebration of the weekly Eucharist and in other sacramental and liturgical rites, individuals gather together to manifest a communal proclamation of faith. In doing so, they carry out the mission of evangelization by witnessing the Good News of Jesus Christ to one another and to all. It can be said that worship itself is evangelization, since it gives public expression to the faith of the community and its degree of commitment to furthering the Kingdom of God. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy states:

For it is the liturgy through which, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, the work of our redemption is accomplished, and it is through the liturgy, especially, that the faithful are enabled to express in their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church.

Moreover, in Vatican II’s Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, we read:

Nourished by their active participation in the liturgical life of their community, they (the laity) engage zealously in its apostolic works; they draw (others) towards the Church who had been perhaps very far away from it; they ardently cooperate in the spread of the Word of God, particularly by catechetical instruction; by their expert assistance they increase the efficiency of the care of souls as well as of the administration of the goods of the Church.

Thus we see how the worship of the community interfaces with and supports all the other essential elements of the pastoral mission of the parish.

What is Community?
Community is an essential element of parish life which draws parishioners together in mutual support, activity, celebration, and growth. It is the unity that results when members become involved with one another in all other aspects of the pastoral mission. By so doing, the universal Church and each parish reflects the very nature of the Trinity itself—the communion of self-giving, mutual love expressed in the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

By joining together in word, worship, evangelization, service, stewardship and shared leadership, members of the parish form a community where life is shared and nurtured. This development is an ongoing process, ever evolving, changing and responding in new ways to the promptings of the Spirit.

Community is both the basis for and the outgrowth of the pastoral mission. Without a deep and abiding sense of the unity which binds them together in faith, parishioners cannot begin to discern the ways in which God is calling them, collectively, to experience the Kingdom more fully. Likewise, as the parish labors together toward the fulfillment of its mission, bonds of community are continually strengthened and renewed. An experience of Christian community is both a premise and a product of parish life.

A parish is a place where everyone belongs. Inclusivity and mutuality are hallmarks of community. So special efforts are made to provide for the needs of a wide range of persons, including young people, single adults, minorities, the separated and divorced, single parents, the widowed, those who are physically and mentally challenged, the homebound, the elderly and those who are otherwise neglected. In addition, the parish collaborates with neighboring parishes and promotes ecumenical relationships and activities as appropriate to enhance the mission of the whole Church

The parish’s prayer, faith formation, service, social activities and hospitality are outwardly directed, never totally focused on its own life. This broad perspective enables the parish to better connect with the wider human community.

From Jesus’ invitation to the disciples, to the earliest Christian communities, on down through the millennia to today’s parishes, community has been an essential part of Christian life. Each part contributes its own gifts to other parts and to the whole Church, so that the whole and each of its parts are strengthened by the common sharing and by the common effort to attain fullness of unity. Community is the human dynamic through which the mission of the Church is embodied and embraced.

What is Service?
The mission to which Christ calls the Church clearly includes works of charity and justice. Throughout his public ministry, Jesus demonstrated the degree to which we are to provide service to others in need while working to change the social conditions that create such needs. The Church is called both to direct service (works of charity, like providing food, clothing and shelter) and to address the root causes of social problems (works of justice, like changing an unjust law or social structure).

Jesus’ own mission was characterized from the beginning by what the Church has come to call social ministry or outreach and service to others. In the synagogue, Jesus read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. (Luke 4:16-22)

Jesus continually modeled and mandated such service to others as a primary requirement for discipleship. Later, the letter of James reminds the early Christian community that faith without works is dead. (Jas 2:14-17) Already the faithful were in need of encouragement to persist in lives of service to others as an important part of their Christian call.

In our own time, the U.S. Bishops have issued a clear reminder to the Church of this essential element of service. In the 1993 statement, Communities of Salt and Light: Reflections on the Social Ministry of the Parish, they said:

The central message is simple: our faith is profoundly social. We cannot be truly Catholic unless we hear and heed the Church’s call to serve those in need and work for justice and peace. We see the parish dimension of social ministry not as an added burden, but as part of what keeps a parish alive and makes it truly Catholic. Effective social ministry helps the parish not only do more, but be more—more of a reflection of the Gospel, more of a worshipping and evangelizing people, more of a faithful community. It is an essential part of parish life.

There can be no fidelity to Christ, his teaching or his Church without the element of service—both charity and justice—on behalf of others. By means of collaboration and integration, parish leadership brings together liturgy, formation, outreach and action into a sense of common mission.