North American Martyrs PARISH PASTORAL PLAN 2016
Dear Parishioners, June 20, 2016 Much has changed since developing our first Parish Pastoral Plan three years ago. Many of our staff have changed including: Elizabeth Trexler replacing Denise Lucas as Pastoral Associate, Chris Manderino replacing Lauren Gates as part-time youth minister, Jessica Munscher replacing Diane Fleet as NAM School Principal, Paul White replacing Adam Fehrenbach as Parish Music Minister and Danielle Cole serving as our current part-time School Advancement Director succeeding: Annette Waldron, Janet Repasi and Jennifer Speranza. This does not include the fact that Deacon Rick Tucek and Fr. Steve Chervenak are no longer serving our parish as well as many changes with our school teachers since the last Parish Pastoral Plan. In addition, there have been many changes on the diocesan level. The Diocese of Pittsburgh has initiated its On Mission program due to the decrease in the number of Catholics in the diocese as well as the decrease in the number of priests. Currently there are about 225 active diocesan priests. In the next ten years we will be losing 100 of them due to retirement. Certainly, the shape of the Diocese of Pittsburgh has changed and Bishop Zubik is being pro-active in leading the On Mission process through prayer, consultation, collaboration and compassion to lead us to new models of ministry for 2018 and beyond. It reminds me of what Cardinal Wuerl said when he was Bishop of Pittsburgh back in the early 90 s during the first phase of Envisioning New Ministry in the diocese. He said, We have to tailor our clothes to fit our body. Thus began a process of closing certain churches and merging others. We will be undergoing something similar in the diocese in the years ahead and we need to remain prayerful and cooperative with God s grace as this process unfolds. At this point, I have served you as pastor for the last six and one half years and I hope to serve you many more years as we go through the changes together. I enjoy serving Monroeville and Pitcairn. My Staff, Pastoral Council, Finance Council and School Advisory Council have all been working diligently to work as a team to provide you the proper leadership necessary as a parish of two churches and a school. In particular, the Pastoral Council along with Elizabeth Trexler, have helped to form the long-term objectives of our parish over the next three years. I am proud of our plan which is grouped around the goals of: Evangelization, Catechesis and Stewardship/Formation. Please read these so that you are aware of our objectives for the next three years. Please pray for the success of our efforts. Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build. (Psalm 127:1) Finally, thanks to the many volunteers who offer their services so freely and generously in service to our parish and to our God. We couldn t offer the services and programs that we do without the help of a lot of people s assistance. Thank you so much! Let s continue to build the Kingdom of God in Monroeville and Pitcairn by loving God and one another with all of our hearts. This is in the manner of Jesus Christ, who loved us first so that we could model His love to one another. God bless you! In Christ s Service, Rev. Joseph G. Luisi Pastor
North American Martyrs Parish Pastoral Plan A key element of the planning process was Bishop Zubik's Pastoral Letter, The Church Alive, published for the Diocese of Pittsburgh in June 2008. In this letter, he listed five essential qualities of parish life which the planning team decided would be a good starting point to benchmark the goals and objectives that were selected for this plan. A. The five essential qualities of Parish life, as listed in the bishop s letter were: 1. Eucharist The convergence point of all the vital elements of Parish life, the source and summit of the parish's expression of its life in Christ as the Body of Christ. 2. Evangelization The element which encompasses any way in which the parish continues to spread the good news of Jesus and to bring others to God. 3. Catechesis The element which teaches, explains, and informs parishioners of all ages in the Scriptures and Tradition of the Church. 4. Formation The element which promotes a lived faith which is bold, courageous and effective. 5. Stewardship The element which encompasses prayer of thanksgiving for the many gifts of God and the sharing of those gifts through acts service. B. The Long Term Goals for our parish are: 1. Evangelization: The goal for our parish is to provide all individuals served by our parish the opportunity to develop a closer relationship with Christ. We believed it was important to strengthen our efforts to reach out and embrace not only those who have left the church, but those who are active and practicing Catholics. 2. Catechesis: The goal for our parish is to establish a comprehensive religious faith formation program with specific emphasis on young adults (teens) and adults. While we have an excellent religious education program in place for our children, we need to do a better job by providing effective religious formation opportunities for our adult parishioners. 3. Stewardship I Formation: The goal for our parish is to develop and initially implement a core social ministry model. We have several active ministries in the parish effectively serving some of the corporal and spiritual needs of needy and deserving parishioners and individuals in the communities in which we reside. We believe that a core social model can leverage the resources available in our parish and our communities and significantly increase the level of services available and the number of needy and deserving individuals that are served.
C. The Long Term Objectives for our parish are: 1. Evangelization a. Initiate a door to door census in at least one or two of our eight neighborhoods during the Spring/Summer of 2016 by using teams of two adults trained by Fr. Joe. This training will be based upon successful models in other parishes for door to door census campaigns. The purpose of the census will be for collecting accurate data of those living in that household, for providing an opportunity to share the Good News of the gospel with them and assessing their need for assistance. b. Conduct a hospitality/greeter workshop in the fall/winter 2016/2017 for both churches to recruit new members and to refresh/retain current ministers of hospitality and greeters. c. Offer opportunities for parishioners to become intentional disciples either through another cycle of ChristLife which involves three sessions of seven weeks each or a different model of spiritual enrichment to engage our parishioners for further spiritual growth. Elizabeth Trexler has developed an assessment survey which has been distributed widely in the parish, the results of which will determine our next steps. d. Continue to offer The New Evangelization for the New Millennium Conference on November 5, 2016 to inspire our parishioners to become better disciples of Christ so that they, in turn, will be better able to evangelize others. 2. Catechesis a. Collaborate with St. Bernadette Parish to conduct an all day World Marriage Day Conference in the winter of 2016/2017 to help married couples to remain faithful to their marriage vows and to assist them to be better equipped to handle the stresses of marriage. b. Investigate other venues by which the separated and divorced members of our parish could be helped by having guest speakers come and form small groups for discussion. c. Continue to offer faith formation opportunities to our parishioners like the annual parish mission in the Fall, the Keeping God s Name Holy Seminar in DeLuca Hall on Tuesday, June 14, the ongoing Little Rock Bible Study that occurs throughout the year and the ongoing Prayer Meetings that occur on the first and third Mondays of the month at St. Michael Hall.
3. Stewardship/Formation a. In the next two years, witness the completion of two construction projects: 1) the addition of the new school entrance and new administrative offices and 2) the creation of a Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel. The first of these projects will be funded with Church Alive Campaign Funds while the second is being funded by a private donor. b. Planning and implementation of a yearly service week for youth in grades 9 through 12. In the summer of 2016 the plan is for the group to go to Catholic Heart Workcamp in Chicago, IL., if there are enough youth willing to participate. This will not only be a way to engage our youth in giving back to others but will provide a strong bonding experience that will add new members to our youth group. c. Forming of our Pastoral Associate during her two month missionary outreach in Central Asia in June and July 2016 by her representing our parish and sharing her experiences with children, teens and adults upon her return. d. Forming our Director of Religious Education and our Principal into more effective leaders by sponsoring them in Tending the Talents, a diocesan wide initiative designed to empower lay leaders to lead more effectively. e. Formation of a Youth Choir, including teen singers and musicians from our parish who will be directed by our Parish Music Minister to sing monthly this summer, hopefully beginning on Pentecost Sunday, May 15, 2016. f. Participate in the On Mission for the Church Alive process of prayer and consultation with our parish representatives, district representatives and church leaders as we arrive at a firmer grasp on what we have to offer as a parish/school and to learn how we can best fit in with the new models that the diocesan officials will be envisioning.
North American Martyrs Parish Pastoral Plan North American Martyrs Parish Pastoral Plan Vision To be a parish community that cultivates expectant Faith, fervent Hope and unconditional love following the example of Jesus Christ. Mission North American Martyrs is a vibrant parish, built on multi generational and cultural traditions blended through the grace of the Holy Spirit. Reflecting the unconditional mercy of Jesus Christ, we as a faith community sharing God's love with all people, enthusiastically reach out to embrace everyone, especially the poor, broken, suffering and lost. We draw our strength through prayer, listening to and acting upon God's Word and celebrating the Eucharist, to foster a closer relationship with Christ as humble and faithful members of His Universal Church. Core Values Unity we are mindful that we are a merged parish, built on multigenerational and cultural traditions, wanting to bring together those who live in Monroeville, Pitcairn and the surrounding areas to join us in worship. Compassion we seek to reach out to embrace everyone, especially the poor, broken, suffering and lost. Enthusiasm we hope to make a real difference in people's lives by being invitational and purposeful instead of just going through the motions. Faithfulness we hope to be faithful to God's Word, faithful to the Eucharist and faithful to prayer so that we can be faithful to Jesus' commandment to "Love one another as I have loved you."