Parish Transformation
MEETINGS WERE HELD FOR 16 WEEKS!!!
Fr. Mike invited anyone interested to come to the meetings. The strength and success of the program depended on gathering a large cross-section of the parish to become a part of the Transformation team and help create the future vision for the parish.
Dear Friends,
 Parish Transformation celebrates the gift of our parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago by making our parishes stronger and more effective in fulfilling the mission that Jesus has entrusted to his Church.
In Part I of Parish Transformation, parish leadership was given the opportunity to identify their strengths or “pearls of great price” that give the parish its distinctive character and definition. The design of Parish Transformation was also intended to identify those areas in parish life and ministry that may be weak or ripe for new development. A self-assessment tool was provided which outlines Parish Foundations and Building Blocks which provide the focus for parish leadership’s discussion and planning. The goal of the process was to enable the parish to articulate its mission and vision and provide a concrete strategy for revitalizing the parish for the future.
Part II of Parish Transformation focused on the financial and material aspects of parish life through a benchmarking process. The mission and vision of a parish give shape and direction to how a parish uses its resources. The benchmarking process helps a parish to establish a strong financial foundation so that its mission and vision can be successful. Helpful tools were provided by which a parish reviews in detail its financial and material resources, personnel, budget, facilities, etc... in light of what we have learned to be best practices in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Issues surrounding personnel, schools, and facilities were addressed in view of strategizing for the future well-being of the parish.
Throughout the Parish Transformation process, parish leadership was given the aid of a facilitator, a pastoral coach and a financial adviser so that the pastor and his designated parish leadership would have the support and assistance they need to successfully complete the process. The ultimate goal of the Parish Transformation process was to learn new ways of looking at parish life, to adopt new pastoral and fiscal practices where it is advantageous, and to initiate an ongoing review and refinement of the mission and vision of the parish at regular intervals.
 What is the governing theme of the Strategic Pastoral Plan: Reflect Christ’s Light?
The governing theme of the Strategic Pastoral Plan: Reflect Christ’s Light, is to more deeply incorporate baptized Catholics into the Catholic Church, as the Body of Christ, and do so over the entire course of their lives.
What is the overall goal of the Strategic Pastoral Plan: Reflect Christ’s Light?
The overall goal of the Strategic Pastoral Plan: Reflect Christ’s Light, is to improve the total Archdiocesan October count in each parish by 20% by 2016.
How does Parish Transformation fit in the Strategic Pastoral Plan: Reflect Christ’s Light?
The Parish Transformation initiative is one of five focus areas of the Strategic Pastoral Plan. The Parish Transformation initiative will be rolled out across the entire course of the Strategic Pastoral Plan. All parishes will participate in the initiative, but at different times.
What is intended by the Parish Transformation initiative?
The Parish Transformation initiative in intended to renew the sense of mission at parishes and to ensure that parishes are financially stable.
What key components are included in the Parish Transformation initiative?
The key components included in the Parish Transformation initiative are: helping parishes to identify their particular mission; employing best practices to maximize the material support of the mission; and drawing from the stories of success of other, similar parishes. The program also focuses on increasing and renewing the involvement of lay leaders in the parish.
What is being done to initiate Parish Transformation?
A pilot program has been launched in 2011 with 24 parishes across all six Vicariates that includes 19 parishes with schools. The 16 week program offers a structured process and tools to help parishes develop action plans to improve both their mission and their financial outlook.
Fr. Mike Solazzo
From Bulletin November 3, 2013
On the Mission side, we have moved ahead with regular Eucharistic Adoration on First Friday mornings and weekly Tuesday afternoons/evening; for adult faith formation we have offered sessions on prayer (Praying with Icons), four groups of Bible Study -Jeff Cavins program; Fostering Faith program for parish catechists (for those who teach religious education in the Archdiocese of Chicago); parish collaboration projects such as tri-parish RCIA program, shared senior ministries; still in process, a joint parish Vacation Bible School for next summer. On the Finance side, we've established an alumni e-mail list with the goal of keeping the mission /legacy of St. Tarcissus Parish before them; more aggressive fundraising efforts such as the Parish Auction which raised over $48,000 this year.
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From Bulletin October 21, 2012 - MEETING ON OCTOBER 15
Dear Friends,
Last week our Parish Transformation Team met to review our action plan. This was done for us to make sure we stay focused on our goals that were set for both Mission and Finance.
On the Mission side, we are focusing on prayer and hospitality. Weekly adoration on Tuesday afternoon has been established to provide more quiet time to spend before the Lord in the eucharist. At Sunday Mass you will be invited to introduce yourselves to those around you as we begin our liturgies. We have established a Welcome Committee to bring welcome baskets to the homes of new parishioners. And we now have our St. Tarcissus prayer cards that all parishioners will be receiving.
On the Finance side, we have identified the need for an Increased Offertory Program which will start soon. This will help us to generate more funds in order for us to continue to offer the quality of ministry we need to have in order to meet the needs of our parish community.
Along with that, the Archdiocese is requiring that we participate in a Capital Campaign beginning in January. All parishes will be required to do this at some time. We have been chosen to be in the first group. The Capital Campaign will enable us to raise money above and beyond our Sunday offertory and this money will be split between the parish and the Archdiocese, much like the Millennium Campaign, and give both the parishes and the Archdiocese a cushion in savings to be used at the discretion of each. For us, it will help us create a "rainy day fund," so to speak, to provide better financial security as we look toward the future of the parish. In the weeks ahead, you will hear more about all of this. It is imperative that you carefully and intentionally read the bulletin and check the website for all of the information to keep yourselves informed.
As the information is given to us, it will be shared with you. These are exciting and challenging times to be part of the parish and the Archdiocese of Chicago.
As we pray our prayer to St. Tarcissus, may we ask for his intercession and guidance as we move forward in faith as the people of God.
In all of these endeavors, I ask for your support and trust in your cooperation.
Father Michael Solazzo
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From Bulletin July 1, 2012 - MEETING ON JUNE 25
Dear Friends,
Last Monday evening, we completed the Parish Transformation Program. It has been a tremendous experience of creativity, vision and spirituality. All through the process, I have reported weekly on each step of the program as we moved from the building blocks of Mission and Communion, to School and Finance.
At the final meeting, an action plan was developed. This plan will be presented to our Vicar, Bishop Kane, for his approval and acceptance. Once that has happened, it will become our responsibility as a team and as a parish, to carry out the plan over a prescribed period of time. Within the next few weeks, this plan will be communicated to the parish both by bulletin and website and you will be able to see what our goals and objectives are, how we propose to achieve them, and who will lead us to do this.
While the Transformation Program has ended, the work is just begun. I look forward with great enthusiasm to watching this strategic plan unfold and ask that as a community of faith, we continue to pray for the success of this plan and for all those involved in making it happen.
To the Transformation Team, particularly to the chairs of the Team, Nicole McGrath, Geoff Pautsch, and Roy Hecker, I want to express my deep gratitude for all you have done and your commitment to this process. I am so proud of all of you and most grateful for your vision, your spirit, and your dedication to seeing this process through to completion. Thank you for giving up the past twelve Mondays to be present to this process and for all you have contributed to it to have made it so enjoyable a journey. To our team facilitators, John Mastro and Sophia Saeed, thank you for your guidance and support. We couldn't have done this without you. You are all a blessing to this parish and most particularly to me, your pastor.
May God continue to bless our efforts and this great parish of St. Tarcissus.
Father Mike Solazzo
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From Bulletin June 24, 2012 - MEETING ON JUNE 18
Dear Friends,
Here is a brief summary of the conclusions from Meeting 11 of the Parish Transformation Program. Keep in mind that is an overview. Specifics for the goals and objectives will be determined next week at the final meeting.
For Church, it was determined that there needs to be better communication of our financial situation to our parishioners, through the bulletin, website or direct mailing. A strategy to communicate this more effectively will be developed. There needs to be an implementation of a planned giving program to increase offertory collections, including electronic giving as well as identifying and working with big donors from our parish community. It was suggested that we develop a fundraising committee, apart from our finance committee, to help raise revenue for the parish.
There was also a suggestion for becoming more welcoming in regards to new parishioners, to both identify them and engage them in parish life. It was determined that we need to improve upon the Annual Catholic Appeal process with follow-up for unfulfilled pledges. Also it was stressed that we need to better communicate the need for Planned Giving (Wills and Estates) and to present speakers and opportunities for parishioners to become better informed about this; perhaps to do this through seminars and gatherings targeted for parishioners 55 and over. Regarding our capital needs, it was determined that we need to establish a Capital Needs Committee to properly address this item.
For our school, it was noted that while we do a good job overall regarding Catholic education, we can still improve our mission and program offerings; to become more eucharist-centered as we strive to strengthen our Catholic identity. We should provide more opportunities for ongoing catechesis and formation beyond the classroom. As for school governance, it was suggested we increase the diversity of skills found among school board members and our volunteer groups.
At our final meeting of the program on June 25th, we will create the timelines for us to achieve these goals. The notes from the Mission group were not available at the time this bulletin went to print. They will be included in next week's bulletin along with a final summary of the Parish Transformation Program.
Father Mike Solazzo
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From Bulletin June 17, 2012 - MEETING ON JUNE 11
Dear Friends,
Last Monday evening we resumed our Parish Transformation meetings. We have now completed ten of the twelve meetings. At this time we have identified our goals and objectives for an action plan in both the areas of Mission and Finance.
On the Mission side, in order to form and build up communion (unity), the objectives and actions are: begin every parish event with prayer, teach people how to pray, to enable them to become leaders of prayer; provide opportunities for communal and individual prayer; gain a better appreciation of the eucharist as sacrament, to stress this as we enter the "Year of the Mass", an Archdiocesan focus. Lastly, to use technology and other forms of communication to reach out and to inform the parish community; to gain knowledge of and understand the talents/needs of the parish community; to reflect a more multigenerational approach in our ministries and gatherings.
On the Finance side, it was determined that while we are now doing much better with holding down expenses and meeting our budget, we will concentrate on building parish revenue. This will be done by increasing offertory contributions, more solid fundraising for parish/school, better presentation and implementation of the electronic giving program, GIVE CENTRAL.ORG, regular information about the need for planned giving, estates and wills, etc., leaving a legacy behind for those yet to come. This will be continued at meeting eleven and finalized at meeting twelve. Then it will be presented to our Vicar, Bishop Kane, for a final review and acceptance.
Please pray for the Parish Transformation Team and for the fruits of their work.
Father Mike Solazzo
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From Bulletin May 27, 2012 - MEETING ON MAY 21
Dear Friends,
This past week at meeting eight of our Transformation Program, we began to explore what our action plan might look like for our Mission as well as for School and Finance.
On the Mission side, two building block priorities were identified- Catechesis and Communion. For Catechesis, it was determined that we must broaden educational opportunities for adults and make them more appealing/interesting. It was also noted that we need to engage our youth to help them live and know their faith. For Communion, it was determined that we must increase opportunities for prayer when we come together as a community. It was also noted that we need to renew our understanding of the importance and place of the Eucharist in our lives. It was also recognized that we need to improve communication in our parish by utilizing a mix of both new and traditional media and to find ways to become more aware of and engaged with all the members of our faith community.
On the School and Finance side, it was determined that we must look more seriously to find a better and more effective way to raise funds for the parish through opportunities that include the school and parish as a whole, not one over the other or in competition with each other. The school is clearly a mission of the parish, not the other way around. It was also noted that we need to increase our offertory giving; not just how much we give but how we give, from surplus or sacrifice. It was accepted that we must begin to explore how we will manage a capital campaign in order to accomplish work that needs to be done for the facility here. All were in agreement to say that we must identify the need, specifically before we can raise funds for a major project like a roof, or tuckpointing, or organ repairs etc. People need to know what it is they are being asked to fund before they fund it. Money is more effectively raised when it is for a specific purpose / project than it is for simply offsetting operational costs. Also better information and formation around the idea of good stewardship was considered to be key to make this happen.
The Parish Transformation Program will not meet for the next two weeks, but during that time, the team will attend one of two workshops with other parishes going through this process to look at our parish benchmarking trends, those things which make us similar or dissimilar to each other. We will also be introduced to the "Best Practices" for good business operations and for the success of carrying out our Mission well. The subsequent meetings, ten, eleven, and twelve, will have us look at our action plans to achieve our goals and what this will look like for us here at St. Tarcissus.
Stay tuned for many good things yet to come..
Fr. Mike Solazzo
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From Bulletin May 20, 2012 - MEETING ON MAY 14
Dear Friends,
At meeting seven of the Parish Transformation Process, we began to summarize all that we have gleaned from our earlier meetings. We revisited the building blocks for Mission and as we did we focused on how we see our mission here at St. Tarcissus.
It was unanimously accepted that the Eucharist is central to our mission as it is to our faith. Using our parish patron, St. Tarcissus as a model, it was determined that our mission must focus on the gift and power of the Eucharist. It is the Eucharist that binds us together as a community of faith and makes us one. It was also accepted that we must form ourselves through better catechesis so we can articulate, defend, and celebrate our faith as Catholic Christians.
To accomplish this, we must use all the communication tools available to us, for good communication fosters community, or communion of mind and heart. This will keep us focused on our mission which is the work of the Gospel. Drawing from the generations of faith both past and present, we find the wisdom needed to determine how to put our mission into action as we answer the call to holiness through love and service. As we reviewed the seven building blocks for mission, we were asked which ones advance our understanding of mission and which ones still need to be strengthened for our mission.
A summary:
- Evangelization, advances mission;
- Catechesis, advances mission;
- Prayer and Worship, needs strengthening;
- Communion/unity, advances mission;
- Missionary Spirit, needs strengthening;
- Call to Holiness, needs strengthening;
- Spiritual Stewardship, needs strengthening.
So now we will develop a plan for action as we move to the next phase of the Transformation process. This will require us to take a hard and honest look at our finances and how well we use them to foster our mission. We will look at the "Best Practices", a financial guideline for healthy business operation. So putting these two pieces together, we will develop a Mission Action Plan and a Finance Action Plan. This will be done in meetings eight, nine, and ten.
As you can see, we are moving along in the Transformation process in a spirit of prayer, open communication, enthusiasm, and confidence that our Mission will be accomplished. I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all who are participating in this Transformation process. You are doing a good and valuable work in giving the gift of yourselves for the Mission of St. Tarcissus Parish. I am so proud of you.
Fr. Mike Solazzo
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From Bulletin May 13, 2012 - MEETING ON MAY 7
Dear Friends,
At last Monday's Parish Transformation Meeting we discussed three more building blocks for Mission here at St. Tarcissus. The first was MISSIONARY SPIRIT. In our conversations we heard that our mission is both personal and communal. We have our individual ministries, all designed to serve the larger community, the greater good. It was shared that to be in mission means we must live the mission, faith in action; our actions speak louder than our words. It was also shared that we must invite others to become missionaries, not in the conventional sense of going off to foreign lands preaching the Gospel, but witnessing our faith here and now in our everyday lives. It was noted that while we have many ministries here at the parish, we do not have one unifying mission. We asked the question How do we share our ministries and understanding of mission with others? Do we talk about what we do and why we do it? How do we identify our call to be missionary? While we have many individual strengths, we do not "answer the call" as an entire parish. It was suggested that building relationships is key to fostering a missionary spirit.
Our second topic, the CALL TO HOLINESS had us examine what holiness is and who do we see as the "holy ones in our midst." While many felt that the call to holiness is universal, it still requires individual response. We grow in holiness through the gift of self. holiness is nurtured by community and witnessed by those who are true to their baptismal call as God's Chosen, our primary vocation. The call demands a response. It is an invitation to Come and See, to walk with Christ. We are Seekers, seeking God alone, together. Rather than going out after people, like Jesus, we invite others to come along and discover who they are and what they have to offer. It was recommended that we partner in our faith with each other, become mentors and companions for each other.
The third topic discussed was SPIRITUAL STEWARDSHIP. It was first identified that we lack connection between generations; that we must cultivate a more mutigenerational approach to our being in mission, young and old alike, being in mission together. Stewardship was re-examined as more than financial giving but also the giving of one's time, presence and heart. Good stewards are good servants who are willing to place themselves at the needs of the community of faith. This is something we are all called to do and are capable of doing. In the end, we recognized that we have a huge body of talent here at the parish and we need to tap into it by partnering with others and serving the parish as a whole and to do so by being grounded in prayer. Good stewards pray constantly and prayer leads them to generosity of spirit and life.
Next week we will begin to formulate our mission and identify common themes that might influence our mission here at St. Tarcissus.
Fr. Mike Solazzo
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From Bulletin May 6, 2012 - MEETING ON APRIL 30
Dear Friends,
At the last Transformation meeting, we looked at two building blocks for Mission - COMMUNION and PRAYER/WORSHIP.
In speaking about Communion, it is important to note that we are talking about those things which build or enable a sense of unity among us. While many ideas were shared, the consensus was that first and foremost St. Tarcissus must be a welcoming community where all people feel comfortable. It was agreed that we are particularly good at this in regards to our baptismal program and outreach to those families, many of whom are newer to the parish. It was also felt that our worship is both inviting and inclusive with a variety of musical settings, a little something for everyone. However, to achieve this, requires that parishioners be willing to attend different Mass times in order to find what best suits their needs. Attention to our youth was another issue, with the recommendation that we involve them more in our worship and personally invite them into the liturgical ministries available to them. It was suggested that we could work harder at communication between ministries and organizations. Good communication builds solid communities and that fosters unity. We were reminded that when we are at liturgy, we are witnessing the "miracle" of the Eucharist, the center of our faith lives.
Regarding Prayer and Worship, it was noted that along with the variety of Masses and music, we also have a variety of prayer styles demonstrated by our priests. Many saw great value in that and also mentioned how important it is to foster and support the Children's Liturgy of the Word model and God's Stars program, to make our worship more accessible and understandable for our youngsters here. Having our Ministers of Care present and blessed at Mass gives some connection between the worshipping community present and those who are unable to join us. It was suggested that perhaps we can find ways to link our youth to our people who are unable to attend and find ways to reach out to them and serve them better; a great way to show the far-reaching arms of the church, being an extension of church and worship to those most in need.
Next week, we will look at our Missionary Spirit and our Call to Holiness. Come join us along the way as we share and discuss and pray together as we create a new vision for the future of our parish. We gather every Monday night at 7 pm in the Auditorium. After all, Monday night football is long over and you can always tape Dancing with the Stars.
Fr. Mike Solazzo
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From Bulletin April 29, 2012 - MEETING ON APRIL 23
Dear Friends,
At meeting four of our Parish Transformation Program, we talked about our building blocks for mission. The primary goal of the building blocks for mission is to become familiar with the core foundations through which our parish will carry out the mission and ministry of Christ and grow in His likeness.
The first two building blocks proposed were EVANGELIZATION and CATECHESIS. Regarding evangelization, it was noted that we should not be afraid to speak of or share our faith stories. It was felt that we don't always feel confident or well prepared to do that; not part of Catholic tradition. While we don't want to be evangelical preachers, we do want to be able to explain our faith and talk about it inteligently.
First we identified what evangelization means. It is primarily understood in the Paschal Mystery, the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus and that this is within every person's reach. Jesus died for all! It was questioned whether apologetics (explanation and defense of faith) is evangelizing? How is this done? By word of mouth, personal testimony, social media and interaction, were some of the ways shared. Some felt a need to have better language when talking about faith. Others said it was in the lived example of our faith, letting people know who we are by what we do; showing we are Christians by our love; a need for more and better adult formation (catechesis) much like the RCIA model; to give witness by our service; to bring people in rather than seeking out. It was felt most heartily that evangelization must always be done because it is always needed. Also needed, an understanding of both the personal and communal nature of our relationship with the Risen Christ. Since most evangelization takes place in smaller groups, to afford this model and use groups to evangelize the larger parish. School, Religious Ed. and ministries do this well, but where else do we need to do this? The challenge is not in bringing people to the church, but bringing the church to the people. The future seems to indicate that there will be fewer numbers of people, but does that necessarily mean less faith? Regarding catechesis, most felt the need for continued education so that what was learned in childhood could develop and grow within us to accompany us through adulthood. Liturgical catechesis is most needed to help people understand not just the liturgy but also to understand why we do what we do as Catholics. As there is a need for ongoing evangelization, so also for ongoing catechesis. We should never stop learning about our faith. With limited time and budgets to become more creative in our approach toward faith formation, to become catechists for each other, to lead each other into the mysteries of our faith, to lead each other to Christ.
In our next meeting, we will explore more building blocks to help us do this. If this sounds interesting to you and you'd like to become involved in the conversation, then come and join us on Monday nights at 7 pm in the auditorium as we continue to move through the transformation process.
All are welcome!!!
Fr. Mike Solazzo
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From Bulletin April 22, 2012 - MEETING ON APRIL 16
Dear Friends,
Last week at our Parish Transformation meeting we began to explore a spiritual narrative for the Mission of our parish. We were invited to do this through various lenses, how we see things, and then through these lenses, examine possible themes that influence our parish mission.
The first lens was through the charism (gift or characteristics) of our patron saint: St. Tarcissus. We all know his story, a young boy who rescued the Eucharist from barbarians invading Rome in the early centuries and that he gave up his life to protect the Eucharist. Thus becoming one of the early Roman martyrs. So it became obvious to us that the Eucharist should be central to our life here at St. Tarcissus Parish. Just as it is central to our life here, it is also central to our faith. The liturgical documents say it is the "source and summit of our faith."
A second lens asked us to look at the demographic challenges and opportunities we face in our parish. With smaller families and fewer people attending Mass on a regular basis, and the shrinking size of the church in Chicago, particularly in Cook County, as people move out to the more affordable collar counties, we are faced with smaller communities of Catholics. This is both a challenge and an opportunity for change.
A third lens had us consider our Pearls of Great Price, as the scripture story reminds us. To identify them and take hold of them and make them the hallmarks of our parish. They were identified as our church, our neighborhood, our stability-a multi-generational community. These were all seen as gifts and treasures in our parish.
A fourth lens asked us to find a scripture passage of particular relevance for our parish. Many recalled and cited the passage from Acts 2:42-47, the story of the early Christian community, it's generosity toward and care for each other all done in the name of the Risen Christ Whose life they celebrated.
A fifth lens asked the question "What is a particular spiritual challenge for us here at the parish." The answer seemed to be two-fold. The increase or rise of secularism in our society, placing little or no emphasis on church or religion; and our inability as a parish to be completely welcoming to all since our architecture gets in the way, too many stairs, too many barriers. While the auditorium is seen as our primary social center, not everyone can access it. That makes us less welcoming than we want to be. This is a particular challenge for us, a hurdle, so to speak, to get over- no pun intended.
So as you can see, through these various lenses presented to us, a vision of who we are as well as who we would like to become was identified. It is all part of the transformation process. As we continue to formulate our mission, we will begin to look at the building blocks needed to do this. Stay tuned for more to come.
We concluded the evening with a prayer for a blessing upon our parish transformation and I offered a final thought borrowed from the great wisdom of the late Pope John XXIII, the vision keeper for the Second Vatican Council. In this 50th anniversary year of the Council and the rebirth of the Church, I ask us all to reflect on his words: "Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do."
Blessed Pope John XXIII, pray for us.
Fr. Mike Solazzo
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From Bulletin April 15, 2012 - MEETING ON APRIL 9
Dear Friends,
Last week we began the first of our meetings for the Parish Transformation Program. We were asked to examine three aspects of Mission: Mission at the Heart of Parish Life; Mission as a Pearl of Great Price; Mission as New Wine in New Wineskins. Here is a summary of the conversations from the evening.
At the Heart of Parish Life - How is the mission and ministry of Jesus reflected in my life? Some responses were: the values and faith education passed on to our children, parish involvement, being good examples of the faith, working for peace and justice, using Jesus as our role model, letting young people know we want them here, being a place of hospitality and welcome. What difference does our parish make in the neighborhood? We reflected on are we doing enough and do we make a difference? Would it matter if St. Tarcissus wasn't here? What makes someone choose our parish?
As a Pearl of Great Price, we were asked What do I value most about my parish? - solid, consistent priests, diverse music ministry, welcoming environment, school and religious education, St. Vincent de Paul outreach, scouting programs, liturgy, proud alumni and multiple generations who stay in neighborhood. Some reflections: it's important not to get stuck in old ways of doing things, can be difficult to break-in to a stable parish, many ministries can make it difficult to see the unity of the parish, can lead to fragmentation. Can all the pearls be seen?
As New Wine in New Wineskins, we were asked: What do I judge to be an "untouchable" assumption about my parish? What ought to change? - Our belief that we must be all things to all people. Perhaps to partner with other parishes around us to accomplish similar goals. What are the obstacles to change in our parish? What are the unspoken fears? Getting more people to become involved, new blood, new vision to create change. Who are the creative and imaginative individuals in our community that can help us freely brainstorm? we all know at least one person we can invite to become involved- why don't we? What are we willing to sacrifice to have new wineskins? To become more fiscally responsible, to look at our finances and our giving patterns differently, to be more mission driven with our budget, to cultivate a spirit of volunteerism. Does your reflecting stir up any dreams about parish that you have had for a long time? Just the need to actively engage people to become more involved by personal invitation.
So that is a brief summary of our first night of Parish Transformation. Anyone is free to join us for subsequent nights, every Monday evening at 7 pm in the Auditorium. I think we are off to a great start!
Fr. Mike Solazzo
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