St. Bede Parish is a Roman Catholic faith community located in Point Breeze with members from the East End neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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1 St. Bede Mission Statement St. Bede Parish is a Roman Catholic faith community located in Point Breeze with members from the East End neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Rooted in our Baptism and centered in the Eucharist, we share responsibility for the mission of our parish and the universal Church. Blessed by our legacy of faithfulness and commitment, we reach out to include the diverse population of our dynamic city neighborhood. We seek to deepen our faith in all stages of our lives, to bear witness to Christ s teachings in the secular world, and to serve the needs of others. Unity-Inclusion-Outreach-Integration As our Church is one in faith, in worship, and in the sacraments, and unified by the bond of charity, so must our Parish be. Unity is a key characteristic of a vibrant parish. Achieving unity requires that we both strengthen the bonds and sense of community within our parish as well as reach out to all who seek Christ in their lives and who wish to participate in the life of our parish. Differences among us constitute our richness as the Body of Christ and should never be permitted to stand as barriers to our unity. All are to be welcomed to join in our journey of faith and service to others. Work in this area will focus on removing barriers that separate us from each other and from members of our broader community. Initial goal areas include communication, identification of the unique talents of each parishioner, and fostering interpersonal relationships within the parish. It is anticipated that through these efforts we will become both a stronger, more vibrant community internally, and will improve our capacity to reach outside our parish and share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Goal #1: To improve communication within the parish by developing a model communication program aimed at all groups (inside and outside) using various media. Objective 1: Provide accurate, current information regarding parish liturgies and sacraments, programs, and activities via the parish web site. Objective 2: Identify and pilot at least one alternative to communicating with parishioners who prefer information via non-electronic means.

2 Goal #2: To improve communication within the parish by providing parishioners with opportunities to share information and concerns with parish leadership. Objective 1: Invite parishioners to talk back to Pastoral Council via a suggestion box in the vestibule and via readily available Council members and/or phone numbers Goal #3: To use every opportunity to welcome all to our parish community. Objective 1: Plan and implement a welcoming program for new parishioners that includes a personal contact as a source of information, invitation, and introduction, and online and print information about the parish. Objective 2: Strengthen the parish usher program. Objective 3: Plan and implement at least four Social Sundays in the course of one year, after each weekend Mass Spiritual Development and Adult Faith Programs It is a key area of endeavor for our community to nurture the Christian faithful of the St. Bede community in the development of each person s unique relationship with our loving God. We do this through the devout and active celebration of the Eucharist, as well as the joyful celebration of other sacraments, liturgies, and age-appropriate devotional practices. We also endeavor to broaden opportunities for adult religious education by exploring the truths of the Bible and Catechism of the Catholic Church. In these endeavors we avail ourselves of an assortment of modes of study and prayer appropriate for our diverse community with the anticipation that programming in this area will become an integral part of our parish life. Goal # 1: To communicate effectively currently available liturgical services and encourage participation. Objective 1: Provide current information regarding available services in the Bulletin, on the web site, and via and other media as appropriate. Goal #2: To form a small group adult study program that meets regularly for fellowship, study and prayer.

3 Objective 1: Identify and establish a core planning group in the Spring and Summer of 2010 to develop the concept of a new adult small group program that seeks to be inclusive and implement the program on a pilot basis in October of Objective 2: Support and encourage existing programs, such as Teams of Our Lady for married couples, as well as new programs, such as the current effort to establish a men s group. Goal #3: To establish a lecture series on catechetical and theological topics. Objective: Identify and establish a core planning group by the Fall of 2010 that will choose speakers/topics, using the survey results for guidance, and implement a program on a pilot basis for Advent 2010 and Lent Goal #4: To provide educational and spiritual development materials on the website. Objective 1: Web committee will establish a way for parishioners to suggest potential websites which could be linked to the parish web site to provide spiritual resources (i.e. suggestion box). Opportunities to Serve A key area of endeavor for our parish is to provide opportunities for members of St. Bede to use their efforts and talents to serve those in need, both inside and outside our parish community Goal #1: To identify and communicate to parishioners opportunities to serve others. Objective 1: Survey Parish Pastoral Council members by July 1, 2010 to identify possible individuals willing to coordinate service opportunities. Objective 2: Identify a Parish Pastoral Council member by September 1, 2010 to act in an advisory/support capacity to Coordinators throughout the process. Objective 3: Engage two Coordinators by September 1, Objective 4: The two Coordinators along with the Council liaison choose five initial programs to serve others by October 1, The programs should vary in

4 time commitment of both the parish and the individual contributors and encompass needs both inside and outside the parish, with volunteer opportunities for all ages. Objective 5: Coordinators communicate the initial five opportunities to the parish, utilizing new communication vehicles (website, etc.) by November 1, Goal #2: To identify and engage individuals with a desire to serve. Objective 1: Coordinators compile a list of individuals willing to serve for each opportunity/program. Objective 2: Coordinators identify and engage two individuals (Project Leaders) for each opportunity/program by December 1, Goal #3: To coordinate chosen opportunities with individuals willing to serve and to support their efforts. Objective 1: Project Leaders contact those persons willing to serve and invite them to participate. Objective 2: Project Leaders roll out each program by January 1, Objective 3: Project Leaders communicate the details of the programs to the parish utilizing new communication vehicles. Youth Engagement and Retention Young people are God s most precious gift to our parish. We recognize that they live in a turbulent age whose many distractions may draw them away from our parish and our faith. So, in love, we wish to enrich their lives with the fullness of Catholic faith and encourage their active involvement in parish life. The parish should take part in forming them in their faith and providing examples of Christian living. As they participate in the many opportunities for growth as members of St. Bede Parish, they will also mature as Catholics. Ultimately, they will become gifts to future generations as they extend Christ s mission to all those they encounter. From the ideas generated by the parish survey and the assemblies, the Pastoral Council has identified two major themes relating to youth involvement and retention. The first is the need for increased hands-on involvement by adults in the faith formation of young people. We believe that to the extent that they see Christian love in adults, they will be drawn to that love and seek to emulate it.

5 The second theme is inclusion and unity among our young people. We believe that unity is as vital among the young as it is among adults: it builds up the Body of Christ and gives strength to His members. By enhancing adult participation in youth activities and by efforts aimed at increasing participation across the broad spectrum of young people, we hope to foster their self-identification as members of St. Bede and of the Catholic Church. We must acknowledge that St. Bede already has several vibrant youth ministries. The Council does not seek to supplant any of these successful, ongoing activities, but rather to complement them with additional efforts. Because of the inherent complexities of the task, the goals and objectives listed below are aimed primarily at further discernment. However, we anticipate that this work will involve opportunities to engage in sports and recreational activities, to do service work and to engage in faith formation activities. Goal #1: To discern what kinds of specific programs will engage the support of youth of the parish. the Objective 1: Form a working group in the Fall of 2010 to discuss the high school experience of being a St. Bede parishioner. Objective 2: Develop a plan from the above discussion that addresses the issues of youth faith formation, service work and recreation programs by the Summer of Goal #2: To increase parental/adult involvement in youth programs. Objective 1: Constitute the above-mentioned working group of both teens and parents/adults. Objective 2: Charge the working group with exploring approaches to engaging parental/adult involvement in youth programs and developing objectives based on their findings. Goal # 3: To foster in our young people a strong sense of identification with St. Bede Parish by encouraging the participation of all of the young people of the parish. Objective 1: To ensure that the young people and adults involved in the first two goals are representative of all groups associated with the parish, including non- St. Bede School families and non-catholics associated with the parish.