For the past several weeks, our Parish Mission has focused on the Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America. We were blessed to have the largest contingent from any church in our Diocese attend this essential and enlivening conference, whose focus was to set the direction of the US Catholic Church firmly on the path of Our Holy Father. It was inspired by Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis’ mission statement for the Church: to renew and share our faith to the world through our actions to serve all those in need. The Convocation formed leaders who are now equipped and re-energized to share the Gospel as missionary disciples, while offering fresh insights informed by new research, communications strategies, and successful models. Stay tuned for this conference’s influence on every facet of St. John, which affirmed our direction, including our CAO and CYO Programs, the Life Center, and our direct missionary focus.
I (JP) have provided my specific experience of the conference, including meeting with church leaders from around the country that were astounded by our efforts and our Parish Family. Every single one of you are responsible for the tremendous growth and engagement that matches our Mission Statement: To Know, To Love, and To Serve God in His Church and Our Community. Thank you for your support, encouragement, hard work, dedication, and prayers as we renew everything from the parking lots to the programs of St. John.
There were other members of our Parish Family that shared the experience of joining in the Convocation and have their unique perspectives on the conference and its impact on the future of St. John and the Catholic Church in America. Father John attended, and next week he will provide his full pastoral care contemplations as well as his assessment of our vision and progress as a Parish Family. Rick Beebe, the President of our Pastoral Stewardship Council, also attended the Convocation:
The Convocation of Catholic Leaders confirmed that our efforts as the Pastoral Stewardship Council (PSC) and Parish as a whole are on the right track, but the “track” is a difficult path. The PSC’s mission is: To create awareness of God’s gifts of time, talent and treasure and to encourage their use to the best of one’s ability for the good of the Parish. However, our focus goes well beyond providing support and guidance to our 40+ ministries. We are tasked with uncovering and filling cracks in our Parish to provide an engaged and inviting environment for families and singles, for all ages and all nationalities. No person left behind… Unfortunately, over the past few decades, the Catholic Church has experienced a rise in a group called “Nones” (those who do not identify with a religious group). These “Nones” can be individuals who have never given the Church a chance or “fallen away Catholics” who have left the Church due to life changing events (divorce, widowed, disgruntled, left home for college and never returned to the Church etc.). As a result, I gained the most insight from attending both breakout sessions titled “The Rise of the “Nones” and Understanding Inactive and Disconnected Catholics.”
I would like to share some thought provoking and alarming quotes provided by the panel members of each breakout session.
- In 1991, 3% of the US population declared no religious affiliation, today that number is up to 25%.
- 50% of millennials baptized Catholic no longer identify as Catholics.
- For every person welcomed into the Catholic Church, 6.45 leave it.
- Young adults perceive the Church as distant and exclusive (judgmental). The presence of the “Nones” is the most pressing issue in the Church today.
So… what do we do? The primary objective is to be more engaged, more inviting and ask more of our young people. The Pulte Family Life Center will embody those three tasks. As individuals and the Parish we should be reaching out to these “Nones”, showing an accepting, compassionate engagement on social and political issues without any judgmental or hypocritical rhetoric. We should be willing listeners and not always have a definitive answer. Parents should continue to be encouraged and equipped in their work of cultivating faith in their children, as faith passed to children from parents remains the strongest predictor of faith in adulthood. Bishop Robert Barron said it best, “In evangelization, it is often best to show people the beauty of Catholicism first and not how to act or what to believe.” I agree.
Wayne and Sue Hamilton, parishioners of St. John for over 25 years, attended the Convocation as part of their efforts as members of the Christian Family Movement:
The U.S. Bishops at this Convocation called all people of faith to choose to confirm their Christianity every day, to develop a support system with other individuals and families and to take on the challenge of Christian witness and service. We are called to develop an adult spirituality and to live our lives intentionally.
But for this transformation to happen in our parish community we must offer support for anyone who wants to keep the faith and strengthen it, in the midst of a society that has become indifferent — even hostile — to Christian values. We are certainly moving in the right direction here at SJECC. We have already developed an awareness of the importance of welcoming all who come, have a high quality, established religious education program, and many social and social justice activity opportunities.
Our parish Adult Faith Formation programs over that last two years have offered many opportunities for all of us to update ourselves on our Catholic beliefs, the Bible, Vatican II documents, prayer and meditation, the saints and church history.
The next step would be to organize small groups, inviting parishioners to improve their life by taking control of the things that matter at home and in the everyday world. Evangelization begins by nurturing friendships. It’s not just about confronting bad behavior, violent entertainment or the evils of materialism. It’s also about a choice to make God’s love a reality in everyday situations and relationships. We could have family groups, grandparent groups, men’s groups, women’s groups, mom’s groups, any type of discipleship group.
Natalie Campbell, our Director of Religious Education, attended and was asked by Bishop Dewane to provide her thoughts, especially when it comes to Faith Formation reaching out to peripheries, a key theme of the Convocation:
As overwhelming as a task as it may be, we were reminded that we can affect change in those closest to us, perhaps our families, our neighbors and our parish ministries. As we live the Joy of the Gospel and exude that joy, the attraction of our Christian witness has the power to draw others to want to know Jesus. In that way, people will want the to have a piece of that joy and happiness! That challenge begins one person at a time with a sincere look inward. That challenge begins with me.
I began to wonder, how can I best bring the joy of the Gospel to those on the margins? Many convocation leaders expressed the need for us as missionary disciples to reach out to the poor, the lonely, those that struggle to communicate in English, those that perhaps don’t feel welcome in our own communities. It seems that along with the work within the church, the message of the Gospel must also be taken outside of the church and into the fields or wherever those on the margins reside. Such actions will require leaders, like myself to intentionally create a plan to reach out and meet people where they are at.
There is great work to be done as we go forward. At my home parish of Saint John the Evangelist, conversations and planning are well underway to take some of the best messages we heard at the convocation and weave them into our parish ministries and mission. As a parish that relies so heavily on a team approach, lots of collaboration will continue with our pastor, Fr. John Ludden, our associate priests, and staff leaders. As Director of Religious Education communicating our mission will begin in collaboration with the approximately 45 Catechists that are the heart of our Faith Formation program where we serve close to 500 children.