By: Kaitlin Larson
The Parish Transformation Committee has completed all 10 weeks of meetings!
Thank you to everyone for their time, talents, and contributions to the committee over the past weeks! We are proud of our accomplishments and teamwork to put together solid action plans moving forward.
The steering committee members are meeting December 9th to talk about our next steps more in depth and prepare to share our plans with the Bishop in January. Upcoming information and opportunities to become involved will be shared with parishioners in the coming weeks. In January, the committee will also share our completed Mission Narrative and action plans.
During our meeting, each member was able to share his or her experience and reflect on the process during our final meeting. General themes and feelings about the process included feeling more committed, enjoyed getting to know members of the parish and it also built up great relationships with one another. We have a better understanding of what is happening within the parish and are hopeful about the future.
There was a realization of alignment between IC and SJ and how much of one community we really are. Transformation members have enjoyed being able to continue working with the IC and SJ Parishes as well as with school members, parents, and co-principals. There is a sense of accomplishment amongst the group, however there is still a lot to do as far as carrying out our action plans, involving parishioners, and continuing with the momentum we have worked to build over the past 10 weeks. We would also like to continue the involvement with the school.
Each subcommittee has worked hard to develop an action plan. The themes of the action plans include continuing to build a community, encouraging participation by all ICSJ community members including parishioners of all ages, students and staff members of the school. We want to work on reaching out to our teen and young adult community specifically.
It is important to keep identifying ourselves as one Parish community and have a holistic identity. Financially, we are looking at ways to create operating efficiencies and designing ways to increase financial stewardship and also continue to address the debt. Ultimately we want to continue to build the foundation for a sustainable and enduring future that supports both current and future parishioners.
If you are looking for ways to become more involved or want to take a leadership role moving forward, please reach out to a member of the steering committee or Fr. Larry. Our action plans heavily rely on parishioner involvement in a variety of ways. Thank you for your support.