During the recent pastoral planning process, our parish was in Planning Area 6. When the final models were revealed, many parishioners felt relieved to see that St. Gerard Majella Parish remained as a stand-alone parish. The temptation is to believe that SGM could now “check out” of the “All Things New” process. The reality, however, is that while structural change may be less dramatic in our area, our parish cannot afford to simply move forward with “business as usual.” Something must change.
Our parish has the opportunity to remain a vibrant and viable community. It did not become this way accidentally. The work of Evangelization, discipleship of Christ, collaboration with other parishes, and responsible use of our temporal and clergy resources helped create this path. It will continue to be a necessity in the future. The challenge of All Things New is a call to closer discipleship of Jesus Christ in our Church, parish, and community. This Pastoral Plan for St Gerard Majella is a first step in assessing our blessings.
Be sure to check out our Pastoral Vision.
