St. Agnes and St. William of York have shared a pastor since 2010. They have come together over the past 13 years, sharing staff and leadership. Responding to Archbishop Lori’s Light Brightly Visible pastoral letter, they formed a planning team and developed an evangelization-based plan for their pastorate, starting in 2020. The plan calls […]
Drawing inspiration from Psalm 119, the Planning Team from St. Ann Hagerstown reflected on their confidence and reliance on the light of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct their efforts to fulfill their mission of being a “Welcoming Catholic Community that loves God, Forms Disciples, Serves Others and Changes Lives.” The Team stressed the […]
The Planning team at Holy Family, Randallstown were part of the 2018 cohort of parishes. They worked on their plan through the pandemic and have now updated and released their new evangelization-based plan. The team wants to focus their resources on accomplishing the God-given mission of the parish. The parish looks to reach out to […]
The Planning team at St. Joseph, Odenton were part of the 2018 cohort of parishes. They completed their plan just prior to the pandemic and have now updated and released their new evangelization-based plan. The plan builds on the four well-established pillars of the parish; To Build, To Believe, To belong and to Bear Witness. […]
The Planning team at St. Alphonsus Rodriguez revised their 2018 Pastoral Plan to lead their parishioners to make missionary disciples in the Jesuit tradition. Their motto of “Know the Gift, Live the Gratitude” permeates their plan based on the six Core Mission Priorities as outlined by Archbishop Lori in his pastoral letter, Light Brightly Visible […]
For the past two years, a group of about 15 parishioners and parish staff have been meeting to discuss specific ways that their “Partnership in Mission” building blocks of Vibrant Liturgy and Sacraments, Membership, Spiritual Maturity, Ministry, and Mission can be put into action at St. John the Evangelist parish in Long Green Valley. Their […]
St. John the Evangelist parish in Columbia began their planning efforts in November of 2019. The planning team wanted to build on the diversity of their parishioners and community by welcoming all, by serving the underserved, and by being a beacon of hope that fights injustice. They launched their plan with a revival this past […]
I spend a lot of time helping to form volunteers and ministers in parishes and schools. We have spent time in prayer and reflection, time learning about our rich faith, time redefining our priorities, and time learning how to do the ministry to which we have been called. However, as I reflect on encountering these […]
This week’s “Parish Table Talk”: Pastoral Staff Day; Welcome to our New Lay Ecclesial Ministers; God and the Olympics; plus this Thursday’s blog post.
I had the privilege of leading a couple of parish retreats this summer. The participants were parish volunteers from all different kinds of ministries. They gave themselves a gift of time with our Lord, and I was truly evangelized by their faith and their presence.
World Youth Day Pilgrimage Special Edition, plus this Thursday’s blog post.
Corresponds to questions 9, 10, 11, and 12 of the survey In the classic 1967 movie, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, a liberal couple’s values are challenged when their daughter comes home with her African-American fiance. It’s true, this wouldn’t shock us today. In fact, we couldn’t be more grateful for the great gift of diversity we […]