Positive Effort to Support Parish Planning Process

To everyone involved in the ministry of lifelong formation,

This is a simple effort to pool our combined ministerial wisdom to express in a clear, uncomplicated format the Gospel based rationale for the parish planning process.

All of us understand that there are financial, personnel and demographic reasons for the
structural changes that will be required of us. However, we are first and foremost a
community of Faith stretching to make the mind and heart of Christ Jesus present in
our parishes and our neighborhoods. (At least it is our mission to continually foster this
awareness among ourselves and those we serve.)

To that end we begin this blog in an attempt to compose a summary of what the Bishop
in cooperation with the faithful hope to live out and make as our "renewed mindset" as we adjust to the structural changes to be announced.

Initially we envision a paragraph, perhaps with a few bullets. The central idea is to be able
to articulate positive, clear, liveable, gospel-based and faith driven principles
that become like a supportive mantra in the coming months as we navigate through new
experiences in coping with the restructuring.

We are all accustomed to the often slick, negative, popular culture way of processing public
events: There will be no shortage of comments circulating among our people about the
"need to pay off legal fees", "the Church won't antagonize parishes with wealthy donors",
or the very common and simple "I've lived here all my life and this the only Church I've known"

While we will want to be sensitive to feelings and aware of human frustration, perhaps we can
do much to maintain the discourse on a positive level and challenge each other to enter the
Paschal Mystery Process by being little by little open to letting Christ increase in us, while
we decrease our own often self interest.

So, this is a simple introduction to requesting all of your input in the formation of this
succinct, clear paragraph with bullets that expresses our Paschal Mystery conviction that
out of this surrender to change and new forms, we will more intently, more fully live and
reflect the mind and heart of Jesus in our homes, parishes and communities.

Please share your succinct suggestions for composing this summary of our Camden Diocese
Gospel Minset as we enter together this new phase of our Diocesan transformation into Christ.

It occurs to me that the Diocesan Vision Statement may be a good resource. However, the
wording needs to be expressed in everyday common usage.

Thanks very much. Looking forward to your valuable contributions