BEACONS OF LIGHT CREATING THE PASTORAL PLAN

BY DOMINICK ALBANO

CREATING THE PASTORAL PLAN

As the pastoral planning initiative Beacons of Light moves forward, Catholic Telegraph writers are meeting with its leaders, including Father Jan Schmidt, to bring you the most up-to-date and accurate information on what is happening, describe how decisions will be made and provide clear descriptions of what to expect. This article series on Beacons of Light will appear in every issue of The Catholic Telegraph. Please visit beaconsaoc.org to sign up for the free monthly Beacons Update newsletter.

“If we are to be the Church as Christ intends, we must understand that ‘status quo’ can have no place in our vocabulary.” – Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, “Letter to the Faithful Concerning Beacons of Light”

This powerful quote from Archbishop Schnurr’s July letter concerning Beacons of Light has ringing implications for our archdiocese. It also gives great insight into why Beacons of Light is happening and why it is happening now.

The process of looking at where we are, where we have been and where we are going is not new to the Beacons of Light core team. It was the first step of the journey. In the fall of 2020, as the archdiocese prepared to celebrate its 200th anniversary, the Beacons of Light core team, under the leadership of Father Jan Schmidt, began reaching out to parishes and collecting data to understand the existing state of affairs in the parishes and parish schools of the archdiocese.

The team worked with PartnersEdge, an industryleading consultant in data analysis and diocesan planning. Together, they collaborated with parishes to develop an understanding of the whole diocese: its population, infrastructure, births, deaths, sacraments, finances, schools and much more. From this wealth of data, they created an extensive “Current Reality Report.” The team presented this information to archdiocesan leaders throughout the summer and has made the report available to the public on the Beacons of Light website (beaconsaoc.org).

With a better understanding of the current state of the archdiocese, the Beacons of Light core team began drafting the archdiocesan pastoral plan. An important step in this process included soliciting input from archdiocesan leaders, deans, pastors and even other dioceses who have undergone pastoral planning processes in recent years. Each new step in the process was scrutinized, feedback solicited and

adjustments made. The plan timeline was established and published on the Beacons of Light website.

The planning is not over. “Beacons of Light is a living, breathing process,” said Father Jan Schmidt. “A big part of this is being able to adjust the plan when necessary. We have a timeline and process in place, but we are able to change certain aspects of it at this point based on feedback.”

So what’s next? One of the most personal and impactful aspects of Beacons of Light will be released at the beginning of October: a draft of the grouping of parishes into about 60 Families of Parishes will be made available to the public for the first time. The draft will be available at beaconsaoc.org Oct. 1-20 for the faithful of the archdiocese to provide comments and feedback.

Just as our personal journey toward holiness is not over until we get to heaven, the Church’s mission is never “finished.” The Great Commission is ongoing and never completed. There will always be more souls to save, more friends and family to evangelize and new circumstances to assess and respond to. As Archbishop Schnurr so rightfully points out, the “status quo” isn’t acceptable. Our goal isn’t to maintain, but to move forward, striving for personal holiness in response to God’s mission for the Church.

Ensure you are part of Beacons of Light by subscribing to the free Beacons Update at beaconsaoc.org. View the timeline, be informed and get involved in the process by giving feedback.

BEACONS OF LIGHT Glossary

Family of Parishes: A grouping of parishes led by a common pastor and characterized by collaboration and shared resources. A parochial vicar (or multiple parochial vicars) or retired priest may also serve a Family of Parishes.

From Maintenance to Mission:

Focusing the attention, resources, and activity of parishes and parish schools on the mission given us by Jesus Christ: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Mt. 28:19-20). This will require Families of Parishes to find ways to minimize the amount of time, energy and money currently consumed by temporal demands.

Beacons of Light Guiding Principles:

Six principles that have been discerned by the Beacons of Light leaders and approved by Archbishop Schnurr that will be the foundation of the pastoral plan each Family of Parishes will develop for itself. These principals are Eucharist, Church, Leadership, Stewardship, Evangelization, and Love in Action.

Planning Parameters: The common expectations for all Families of Parishes. These will specify those items that all Families must or must not do as they come together.

Pastoral Planning Pathway: The process, based upon the Beacons of Be Heard. Stay Informed. Sign Up. Light Guiding Principles and consistent with the Planning Parameters, that Subscribe to the free monthly Beacons Update at: will bring together the leaders of all parishes within each Family to create a plan specific to that Family’s unique circumstances and opportunities. CatholicAOC.org/Beacons Discernment: The process of searching for a solution or making a decision that is in accord with God’s will through prayer and reflection. Prayerful discernment frees the mind and spirit from vested interests and distractions. Evangelization: Fulfilling Christ’s instruction to share the Good News and make disciples through our words and actions. “The evangelizing efforts of the baptized are not simply focused on those who have not heard of Christ. They are also directed toward our brothers and sisters who no longer join us around the Lord’s table. Furthermore, the baptized disciple of Christ is also continually evangelized through ongoing renewal of faith and living out that same faith.” (Living as Missionary Disciples, p. 6)

Missionary Disciples: Individuals who follow Jesus Christ in and through His Church, striving to share the Gospel message and draw others into a more intimate relationship with Jesus.

Family of God: A way of understanding the Church as the communion of all the faithful, united by virtue of their baptism and organized around the distinct characteristics of prayer, Eucharist and companionship.

Subsidiarity: A foundational principle of the Church’s social doctrine affirming that decisions should be made at the most proximate or local level to those whom they affect. “The teaching of the Church has elaborated the principle of subsidiarity, according to which ‘a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good.’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1883)

Canon Law: The laws (“canons”) which provide the norms for good order in the visible society of the Catholic Church. In addition to the laws contained in the Code of Canon Law, other laws issued by the Apostolic See and the laws particular to each diocese make up the entirety of the Church’s canon law.