All Things New(sletter)

Dear Parishioners of St. Pius and St. Vincent,

This is a lengthy message but is an important communication for our pastorate, please hang in to the end!

Staying Grounded in Our Faith

In the midst of what may be difficult transitions, All Things New has invited every corner of the Archdiocese, to revitalize the way we are Church. Scripture reminds us of what was core to the earliest days of the Church: “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to prayers” (Acts 2:42). This common life of learning, growth in faith, Eucharistic celebration and prayer strengthen us to be the church for the sake of the world. Pope John Paul II described our role as church in his encyclical Christifidelis laici this way:

“ . . .In our times, the Church after Vatican II in a renewed outpouring of the Spirit of Pentecost has come to a more lively awareness of her missionary nature and has listened again to the voice of her Lord who sends her forth into the world as ‘the universal sacrament of salvation.’ You go too! . . . The call is addressed to everyone: lay people are personally called by the Lord, from whom they receive a mission on behalf of the Church and the world (#3). . . .Pius XII once stated: "The Faithful, more precisely the lay faithful, find themselves on the front lines of the Church's life; for the Church is the animating principle for human society. Therefore, they in particular, ought to have an ever-clearer consciousness not only of belonging to the Church, but of being the Church. . . (#9)

More recently Pope Francis has described our being and invitation as church in the words “Communion, Participation and Mission,” and these three ideas guide us as we move together through the many transformations of All Things New.

First, we know that we are always, already, in communion with God and with one another, and we can trust this truth, even rest in this truth, when we encounter the difficulties and frustrations that inevitably come with change. And we can allow this truth to deepen the care that we have for one another and all those we serve through our various ministries.

We are ALL called to participate in the processes of creating the pathways for our community to grow in faith, worship, formation, and even to grow in numbers; to be organized for ministry and stewardship; to identify and serve those most in need.

As Pope John Paul II said above, we have each been personally called and given a mission on behalf of the church and the world.

In all those ways, we become together an even clearer sign of the loving presence of God, a “sacrament” of Christ in the world!

Living our Faith in the Practicalities of our Transitions

So what does this look like practically in our two parishes?

Through our liturgy and prayer, we recognize, celebrate, and deepen our communion as two parishes that can increasingly experience themselves as one community connected to the wider community of the universal church.

We have taken a number of steps to invite and increase participation:

1. We established the role of lay Parish Life Coordinator to serve the organizational needs of both parishes in partnership with the Pastor. I was appointed interim PLC until a search for a full-time, permanent PLC could be conducted.

2. In both parishes we have conducted listening and visioning sessions to hear the voices of as many people as are able, and have created an email address mail@stvstl.org through which all St. Pius and St. Vincent parishioners can continue to offer input, ideas, visions for who and what we can be as church together.

3. At St. Vincent, the ATN Committee re-established Commissions to gather parish leaders to be another pathway to listen to parishioners and to be attentive to several key areas of ministry within the parish: Liturgy and Prayer; Justice and Service; Faith Formation; Communications and Community Life. After Pentecost, Commission members began to identify leaders from St. Pius who might have the time and energy to serve on these Commissions and so, gradually establish them as Commissions that can serve both parishes.

If you are interested in serving on those Commissions, please contact the interim Chairs:

Liturgy & Prayer - Celeste Mueller - celeste@stvstl.org

Faith Formation - Carolyn Hubler - stclaircac@gmail.com

Justice & Service - Sheila Burton - sheilasburton@gmail.com

Parish Community & Communications - Barb Tippett - tippett94@gmail.com

4. We established a Transition Team, including the interim chairs of the Commissions. The transition team’s first task was to conduct the visioning sessions mentioned above. Based on the data collected from both parishes, the transition team will propose important strategies for moving forward, which will include proposals for:

a. When to hold an assembly for all parishioners, and what the agenda should be

b. Where our parishes can consolidate programs and ministries, where they can collaborate, where they can be coordinated, and what should remain separate and unique to each parish

c. What process to use to identify leaders for Parish Council

d. Where we need professional staff members to serve the needs of both parishes

5. Staff members from St. Vincent and St. Pius have begun meeting to create a shared understanding of “how things are done here” in relation to office protocols, record keeping, connecting with the Archdiocesan services, etc.

6. Permanent Parish Life Coordinator: Fr. Rich and I invited two teams of parishioners and staff members from both parishes to interview candidates for the Parish Life Coordinator position. Some team members were recommended by Fr. Paul. These teams, which included parishioners who were not on either the Transition Team or the Commissions, gave us the opportunity to increase participation even further. For the stability of both parishes, it is important that we appoint a full-time Parish Life Coordinator as soon as possible, who will lead processes of discernment and decision-making that affect the life of both parishes.

All of these efforts are taking place simultaneously, which will still seem too fast for some, and yet too slow for others. These moving streams in our transition process provide multiple opportunities for us to get to know each other better, to offer trust to our fellow parishioners who are speaking or acting in the interest of all of us, and to set our intentions on ways that we can grow as a powerful and transforming presence of Christ in our world – living the mission that has been entrusted to us as members of Christ’s body.

Thank you for your prayers for our two parishes and the love and grace that you offer to each other every day.

With blessings for each of you,

Celeste Mueller

Interim Parish Life Coordinator