Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Mission of our parish guides us to be a "gospel faith community baptized into the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ," whereby "we believe that our earth and all life is sacred, all people are gifted with God's grace, and called to build God's kingdom on earth."

As stewards of the mission of our parish, the pastoral council is responsible for ensuring we are faithful to this mission.  As the Book of Proverbs reminds us "the people without a vision will perish (Proverbs 29:18)".  The council has once again developed a strategic plan to provide us a practical vision to live out our mission, and focus our energies over the next three years.

In their book "Collaborative Ministry" Loughland Sofield, CT and Carroll Juliano, SHCJ define Collaboration as "the identification, release and union of the gifts of all baptized persons."  Our mission statement reminds us how we are indeed gifted with God's grace, and are now exhorted to use these gifts for the sake of God's kingdom, the ultimate mission of our Catholic Church.  This strategic plan invites each of us to share our gifts, to bring about the mission of our parish.

Our patron, Francis of Assisi, often exhorted his followers, "let us begin again for up until now we have done little or nothing."  The strategic plan exhorts us to "begin again."  It provides us with a viable way for us to grow in faith together that hearts renewed, we may have new hope for the future.

I am grateful to the pastoral council and the many parishioners, whose thoughtful reflections helped to shape these important initiatives of our parish.  May this strategic plan provide a vision for us to proclaim and celebrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who calls us to build God's kingdom on earth.

In the peace of Christ,

Fr. Mark G. Reamer, O.F.M.
Pastor

Click here to review St. Francis of Assisi's 2008 Strategic Initiatives.