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Using the US Catholic Bishops publication, "Go and Make Disciples," St. Thomas More's parish leaders developed a unique set of goals and objectives to carry out the parish mission to evangelize. The leaders chose three goals: Share our faith, invite all people, and foster Gospel values. Under each goal were a number of objectives culturally sensitive to the faithful of St. Thomas More.
Focus Objectives 2006-2007
Every year each commission chooses a specific objective and develops plans to carry out that objective with the ultimate goal of bringing the Good News of salvation and the Kingdom of God to all peoples near and far.
For the Fiscal Year 2006-2007, three commissions chose to focus on objectives from Goal 1. The Youth and Young Adults Ministry: Faith and Academic Formation Commission chose 1B: to focus on conversion and renewal of heart; the Social Concerns Commission chose 1C: to foster appreciation for God's work and an even deeper sense of prayer; and the Liturgy Commission chose 1F: to foster a renewed understanding for faith.
Goal 1: Share the Faith
1) Youth and Young Adults: The Youth and Young Adults Ministry: Faith and Academic Formation Commission provides religious, recreational and service programs for all the youth and young adults of the parish, and incorporate the youth in the parish community.
Objective 1B: To foster conversion and renewal in the heart of every believer, leading to a more active living of Catholic life.
We designed our programs, therefore, with our focus objective in mind. Thus, our retreats and gathering, prayer and workshop, involvement in ministries and missionary work supported our focus "to foster conversion and renewal of heart.
For instance, our Retreats and Gatherings such as talks about Christian life, the Mass, personal and group prayer, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, personal commitment to the Lord and mall group discussions about how to live for the Lord
We have several Prayer and Worship events, such as the:
We encourage our high school youth to become involved in various ministries such as:
Meanwhile we encourage our middle school students to become involved Crossfire which includes various ways to foster conversion and renewal of heart through:
In the spirit of our Mission to "Go and make disciples," we foster the missionary spirit among our youth and young adults through the following programs:
2) Social Concerns Commission: In the spirit of the Church's preferential option for the poor, the Social Concerns Commission calls parishioners to action and service to those most in need.
Objective 1C: To foster an appreciation of God's word and even deeper sense of prayer in the lives of all Catholics.
Thus, prayer was an important part of all our ministries:
The Social Commission also focused on recruiting new members for their ministries especially for those parishioners who were not yet involved
3) Liturgy Commission: The Liturgy Commission prepares the parish liturgies and coordinates the various liturgical ministries so that the STM parish community can encounter Jesus Christ through the Sacraments, especially the Mass, which is the "source and summit of the Christian life," as well as through prayer services, perpetual adoration and other forms of prayer.
Objective 1F: To foster a renewed understanding of faith among Catholics through the Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and Liturgy.
We sought to implement our goal in three areas: throughout the entire parish by writing a "Light on Liturgy" column in the bulletin to provide education about many different aspects of the liturgy. We also identified a theme from the readings for Advent and Lent which was read at the beginning of each Mass and set the tone for the environment, the music and the Life Teen Mass. Finally, the deacons read a brief introduction to the liturgical seasons on the First Sunday of each season.
For our liturgy ministers, we held a workshop entitled "Serving Where You Are Needed" for Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist and encouraged all liturgical ministers to read the Sunday readings before attending Mass.
Finally, several special activities which we held were church and sacristy tours for our preschool and religious education students, a Blessing of Animals near the Feast of St. Francis and ministering at funeral planning, when we often have the opportunity to discuss the Catholic Faith with those who have left the Church, inviting them to return to the practice of the Faith.
Goal 2: Invite all people
Two commissions chose objectives from Goal 2. The Facilities Support Commission chose 2B, to maintain well-equipped facilities; while the Parish Life Commission opted for 2D: to promote discipleship through effective communication.
1) Facilities Support Commission: The Facilities Support Commission provides support in the upkeep of existing facilities and maintaining and/or improving the grounds.
Objective 2B: To maintain well-equipped facilities which reflect the needs of the community, with emphasis on long-range planning.
This commission makes sure that we maintain well-groomed facilities; keep all walkways clear and safe; provide timely setups and takedowns of events; and monitor supplies to keep within budget. The staff strives to provide a comfortable place of worship that fosters the sacramental experience. Our friendly and pleasant attitudes inspire a sense of discipleship among parishioners.
2) Parish Life Commission: The Parish Life Commission provides prayer, support and guidance to enrich the spiritual life of the parish community.
Objective 2D: To invite our parish and community to discipleship by effective communications.
The Parish Life Commission communicated to its ministry leadership about all activities, new additions and/or changes in the commission. Every month, a ministry leader provided information to the chairperson, who then passed it on to each ministry leader in the commission.
In 2006-2007, the Parish Life Commission accomplished the following:
We also kept the parish informed of our ministry activities. For instance: We have added two new Parish Life Ministries: The Marriage Committee and the Living the Rosary Crusade. The following make up the Marriage Committee
Living Rosary Crusade members say a decade of the rosary each day for 20 months. There are currently 40+ members. We had one change in the Parish Life Commission, and that is, the Eucharistic Apostles Prayer group is now called "Intercessors.
Goal 3: Foster Gospel values
Meanwhile, the Parish School and the Office of Catechesis chose 3C: To foster a sense of service, promote social justice and to provide for the needs of the parish and the community at large.
1) STM Parish School: In the spirit of Catholic tradition, the Parish School: Faith and Academic Formation Commission prepares students to serve the Church and the community now and in the future.
Objective 3C: `To foster a sense of service, promote social justice, and to provide for the needs of the parish and community at large.
The STM Parish School promotes:
A) Sense of Service through the following:
B) Social Justice
C) Needs of Parish and Community at large: Leadership and volunteer opportunities through the following
The school also participated in
In recognition of its level of excellence, the STM Parish School received the 2006 Blue Ribbon Award
2) Office of Catechesis: The Office of Catechesis: Faith and Academic Formation Commission proclaims and teaches the Good New of Jesus Christ, and helps make a person's faith become living, conscious and active.
Objective 3C: To foster a sense of service, promote social justice, and to provide for the needs of the parish community and community at large.
A) Sense of Service among our children we have:
B) Social Justice:
C) Needs of the parish
The Family Life and Communications and Stewardship Commission chose 3D: To promote stewardship as a way of life.
1) Family Life Commission: The Family Life Commission provides recreational and social events to enhance the spiritual and social needs of parishioners.
Objective 3D: To promote Stewardship as a way of life.
For the Stewardship of Time, the Family Life Commission include prayer gatherings and Mass for all our ministries We also pray for all life.
Our volunteers give of their Time and Talent: at parish and archdiocesan Events, including the St. Patrick's Dance, October Fest, Fish and Steak Fries, Archbishop's Catholic Appeal and Clergy and Religious Appreciation Day. The Parish Events Committee also assisted at various events such as: the Ladies Auxiliary State Annual "Snow Ball, Free throw contest (K of C), Couples Bridge, Ladies and Men's Golf and Scrapbooking
The Family Life Commission embraced the Stewardship of Treasure through the following activities:
To nourish our Faith various committees and ministries invited speakers and held retreats and days of reflection for ministries. To promote vocations many of our volunteers sponsor seminarians and religious and participate in the Clergy and Religious Appreciation Day. We also promote preserving the earth by promoting and praying for Pro-Life events and donating in-kind used items for various causes
2) Communications and Stewardship Commission: The Communications and Stewardship Commission proclaims the Gospel, builds up community and calls the community to worship and service through the various instruments of communication. This commission also promotes stewardship as a way of life - making time for God, sharing our gifts and talents, nourishing our faith, giving of our treasure, promoting vocations and preserving the earth.
Objective 3D: To promote stewardship as a way of life, which means a life of thanksgiving for all of God's blessings, by making time for God, sharing of our gifts and talents, nourishing our faith, giving of our treasure promoting vocations and preserving the earth.
Last year we kicked of our Stewardship of Prayer with a Prayer Rally, featuring Sr. Esther Mary Nickel, R.S.M. giving a talk the different forms of prayer. We also distributed various aids to help parishioners pray. Every two months we distribute "Our Daily Visitor" and we give away leaflets on how to pray the rosary as well as thousands of rosaries, made by our 27 Rosary Makers,
For the Stewardship of Time and Talent, we have been blessed with nearly 3,000 individuals, or 8,500 volunteers involved in more than 300 ministries. Their volunteer hours are worth more than $4 million. Of these volunteers, at least 800 attended our Annual Volunteer Appreciation Day. The Youth Ministry is planning a special Appreciation Event for our young volunteers.
To help our parishioners nourish their faith, we started a special literature rack featuring different topics such as:
For the Stewardship of Treasure we are proud to report the following:
Last year we promoted vocations through the annual "Called by Name" program, receiving 171 nominations to the priesthood or religious life. For the record we currently have 3 seminarians studying for the priesthood. We donated more than $20,000 to St. John Vianney Seminary and supported seminarians from our parish. Our Clergy and Religious List has grown by two this year with the addition of Pope Benedict and Sr. Jeanette Cerney, OSF. We list all seminarians and novices in the bulletin weekly to encourage praying for them and their vocation.
In our effort to preserve the earth, we promote the 3 "R's", which are: Reuse, Reduce and Recycle; we added a second pick-up of re-cycle bins; and our Children and adults made commitments on Earth Day at Mass to preserve the earth
St. Thomas More continues its role as a mentor for parishes and diocese around the country and beyond. We sent more than 60 stewardship packages to parishes and dioceses. We also presented 12 workshops attended by nearly 1,000, 400 of them priests and bishops, during a first-time video conference presented by Father Andrew between Denver and Manila. We are happy to say that one of the fruits of our mentoring is the "League of Stewardship Parishes" in the Archdiocese of Denver. We are extremely happy about this because parishes that embrace stewardship have the resources to evangelize, just as we are able to do at St. Thomas More.
In conclusion, St. Thomas More, a community of believers in communion with the saints, strives to nurture the spiritual growth of all individuals, to become holy, through the sacred Scriptures and Tradition, prayer and workshop, wise and loving guidance, the faithful discerning of their God-given gifts and talents, and the courage to live and proclaim the Faith, with the ultimate goal of divine union with God now and forever.