GUEST COLUMNISTS
Baxter’s friends won’t allow him to enjoy his vacation in peace. They are hounding or making other sounds and gestures toward him to give them a chance. Since he is on an hiatus from his literary production, they want to fill the gap. Baxter, being the affable and easy-going fellow he is, has agreed. So for the next few weeks, while Baxter basks in the sun and lays about the pool, some of his friends will put their “two cents worth” of wisdom to the pennies worth of Baxter’s thought. Hopefully, our thoughts about God, ourselves as God’s people, and the practicality of the parish will grow. Enjoy these other voices from the pew. We need to listen to each other as we try to find our way to God in this crazy world.
SURPRISE VISITS HELP US GROW
It was May of 2007. My daughter was out on the front lawn when all of a sudden, a small, orange kitten popped out from behind a bush and mewed, “Hello”. The little cat looked emaciated. You could count every rib and see every bone up her spine.
“Can we keep it?” my daughter asked. “We have two cats,” I responded. “I’m not interested in having a third.” Over the next few weeks, the orange tabby would visit us several times a day. She would climb up on my wife’s lap and position herself so that each paw would wrap around my wife’s neck, and she would sleep there for what seemed to be hours.
A few weeks passed, and we were getting ready to leave for vacation. My children asked the obvious question. “What are we going to do about Pumpkin?” Even though she still lived under a nearby garage, she now had a name and was putting on weight because of the dish of food and water that was left for her daily. “If she is around when we get home, we’ll take her to the vet to be spayed, get all of her needed shots, and get her filthy ears cleaned,” I bargained. We went on vacation, not knowing if the future would include Pumpkin, but worrying about her from afar.
I tell you the story about Pumpkin because it reminds me of the role of Pastoral Council in our parish. As Pastoral Council members, we don’t know what the future holds for our parish. Nevertheless, our role is to come together and help Monsignor Statnick strategically plan, using the seven essential elements of parish life as a guide. Those elements are: Evangelization, Worship, Word, Community, Service, Stewardship, and Leadership. All of these elements work together in parish life, each nurturing and supporting the other. As with any strategic plan, an idea or objective is brought to the council. The council then prays about the idea. We begin a discussion and discernment process and eventually come to a consensus. We are not a governing body, so no votes are taken on any issue.
To give you an example, last fall, we asked parishioners to complete a survey. That survey had a number of questions related to the seven essential elements. Based on the results of that survey, we determined that the parish needs a committee of people who are interested in helping to facilitate programs and activities that not only bring our parishioners together, but connects us in service to our entire community. Our goal is to provide service and activities to reach those who do not attend Mass or those who are looking for a place to worship. It’s just one part of what we do, but an important part of helping to insure the future and sustainability of our parish. However, we always look for our best ideas, support, and involvement to come from you. Feel free to offer them to any member of our Pastoral Council listed in the bulletin.
Pumpkin’s future is secure. As I write this, she is sprawled out in front of an air conditioning vent allowing the cool breeze to blow on her belly. At her veterinarian checkup last month, we learned that Pumpkin is a pound overweight. We switched her to ‘weight control’ cat food. She and her feline sister, Pauper, have outsmarted us. They each eat twice as much food.
Cliff Gorski
Pastoral Council
