How wonderful it is to be your pastor here at Sacred Heart of Jesus. For fifteen consecutive years we have worked together and changed leadership on our Pastoral Planning Team (PPT) and passed the baton onto younger members of the community. They take a seat at the table where decisions are made and move us forward into many areas that have brought us into the twenty-first century. Technology is something I have never understood, but we have many creative parishioners that do understand it and assist us in moving our communications forward and assists us in reaching more people that I could ever imagine.
It doesn’t stop at technology. At our past few monthly meetings we have been looking at how we can make efforts to reach out to those members of our community who are registered yet inactive. At Coffee And…for several weeks in a row members of the PPT have approached me and shared their desire to grow our parish and reach out to the inactive. There is a desire to make a concentrated effort to invite, welcome, visit and encourage others to walk together in support of each other as a community of faith.
Sometimes we lose our focus and turn inward; when we know clearly God is calling us to look outward. I am asking all members of our community to join in prayer for our parish as we prepare all of us to be welcoming and inviting to those who are absent from our community.
Here is the prayer we can share together as we prepare for this new endeavor:
Heavenly Father, we come to You in the name of Jesus to ask for Your guidance and clear direction in the choices that we have to make concerning Sacred Heart Parish. It is our desire that Your will be done at Sacred Heart and that we will not miss Your best purpose for us. You ask us to “Become and Make disciples; Welcoming all to follow Jesus Christ.” Help us to focus outwardly on your mission for us as found in the gospels.
Send the wisdom of your Holy Spirit into all the members of our Pastoral Planning Team and Parish Life Teams, that we may work together to invite and welcome those who are inactive, those who have turned away, those who feel unwelcome, those who feel no need to journey together as a community of faith; those whom we are quick to judge.
Send your wisdom to our parish ministries that we may all share the same vision, energy and enthusiasm for our parish mission. That Mission and Out Reach, Message Shapers, Operations and Weekend Experience may realize that we are all on this journey together as a people of faith, seeking to be faithful disciples of your Son and inviting others to join us in making our community the place you say it ought to be.
May we live godly in Christ Jesus, walk in a manner that is worthy of Him and live in spirit and truth – with our eyes focused on Christ and guided by Your Holy Spirit – we ask in Jesus name, Amen!
Fr. Bill