Advent and Christmas are days of hope and reflection in the church, an opportunity for each of us to step back and look at the strengths, weaknesses and direction of our spiritual journey. As part of this reflection, we might consider what we want, need and can contribute as members of St. John the Evangelist Parish and the faith community of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston. While we strive as individuals to live closer and closer to God, we are not alone in our efforts. We depend on each other and on the church for the quality of our public worship and for a better understanding of who we are and how we can better fulfill God’s plan for us.
We live in challenging times. The pace of change throughout the church will accelerate in the next decade, at a rate that may be disturbing to some. Much of this change will result from the growing shortage of priests and religious women, the need for lay men and women to play a larger role in parish life, and the need for parishes to work together more collaboratively than in the past. We must believe that with these challenges the Holy Spirit is giving us the opportunity to renew and revitalize our pursuit of the essential goals of our Catholic faith.
A first step in preparing for the future is to review the good work we do at St. John’s, and to think not only about what else we might do, but how we might do things better. To this end, the Pastoral Planning Group invites you to share your thoughts on what the parish means to you, why you are a member, what for you is the most important aspect of being part of this faith community, what resources you think could be shared with other parishes, and any other thoughts you have on the future of St. John’s Parish.
You may contact the Planning Group at ppg@stjohnwellesley.org or by regular mail to the rectory, or leave a phone message at 617-969-0950 and a member of the Planning Group will call you back. In the early spring, we will organize a series of meetings, large and small, to share what has been heard and to gather further ideas about the future of the parish.
The Archdiocese of Boston is conducting a nationwide search for a new Director of Pastoral Planning. This person, together with a dedicated professional staff, will be responsible for designing the system to be used by individual parishes and groups of collaborating parishes in planning their future activities.
St. John’s Pastoral Planning Group members are: Rose Mary Donahue, Svea Fraser, Jerry Kehoe, Dan Kenslea, Mike Nilles and John Stewart
Recommended reading: From Maintenance to Mission: Evangelization and the Revitalization of the Parish (Paulist Press, 2005) The health of Catholic parishes is discussed in this wonderful book by Robert Rivers. Contact the Planning Group if you want to borrow this and other books on pastoral planning. See the parish website for further information.
