Greetings from the Pastoral Council!
We are pleased to share details from our October meeting, especially because much of our conversation was focused on YOU. The rich feedback you shared through the Parish Survey has given us so much energy and focus on how we can continue to grow this wonderful community.
One of the significant survey messages is that our parish’s greatest strength is also its greatest opportunity: turning welcome into belonging.
This means continuing to find ways to help people not only feel welcomed but also become connected to others, discover meaningful ways to participate, share their voices, and take on leadership roles within our community.
We used this as an opportunity to reflect on our own journey from welcoming to participation to belonging, sharing the following reflections with one another:
- What was your first experience feeling welcome at Saint Patrick Saint Anthony?
- Describe your first meaningful experience participating in our community?
- When was the first time you felt you “belonged” here?
It was powerful to realize that for many of us, that feeling of welcome or belonging was directly attributed to someone else in our community opening the door for us to feel that way, and how important it is that we pay that forward for other members of our community to create a greater sense of belonging.
We invite each of you to consider those questions for yourself and perhaps share your responses with other members of the community…including members of the Pastoral Council…we would love to hear your stories!
We know that everyone is in a different stage of the journey from welcome to belonging, and we are looking forward to exploring how the thoughts you shared in the survey will help guide us in this opportunity to grow.
So what’s next on the survey?
Working groups have been formed to dive deeper into key topics; stay tuned for a more detailed summary of results and action steps after the Christmas season.
Other topics discussed in the meeting included:
- Improving our parish worship experience:
The church’s sound system will be upgraded in January to provide clearer, more balanced sound throughout the church. The project cost will be incorporated in the upcoming Parish Appeal.
- Continuing our commitment to welcome and inclusion:
The Council reflected on the October 17th program, Reflecting God’s Grace: Supporting LGBTQ Youth and Families, hosted by our parish. The daylong program explored research on supporting LGBTQ youth alongside Catholic teaching. Council members who attended appreciated the opportunity to deepen their understanding and engage in meaningful conversation.
A central message of the program was the importance of loving, supporting, and advocating for our children and families. The discussion also reminded us that our commitment to being a welcoming parish is an ongoing journey. Council members expressed a desire to make our message of “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors” more visible in parish life, including through our liturgies and ongoing educational opportunities.
- Creating more connections
We are pleased to announce our digital suggestion box! This link will be accessible through online bulletins and parish-wide emails: Pastoral Council Drop Box
A reminder for all of you who are new or looking to get more involved in our community! Our Welcome Brunch is on Sunday, November 15 after the 10:00 Mass. Please join us!
Finally, we are looking forward to getting to know more of you, but we realize that you may not know who we are! Please know that we are in the process of getting name tags so that you can more easily recognize Council members.
As we move forward, we invite all parishioners to continue sharing their gifts, ideas, and faith as together we strive to make our parish a place where everyone can find not only a warm welcome, but a true sense of belonging.
