ENVISIONING THE FUTURE OF ABVM
Our work with the Catholic Leadership Institute
“Our Lady listens attentively to what God wants, ponders what she doesn’t fully understand, and asks about what she doesn’t know. Then she gives herself completely to doing God’s will: Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word.”
St. Josemaria Escriva’s reflection about Our Lady is a thoughtful reminder of how each of us should respond to God’s calling in our own lives. Listen, deliberate, discern, act. What a wonderful example that Mary sets for us during the moment of our parish’s patronage - The Annunciation.
This template should be applied as a model for our personal lives as well as a model for the life of our parish community. What does our parish need? Where is God calling us? How does the purpose of our parish differ in today’s world from its founding in 1927? Where do we see it going in the near and distant future?
Father Loomis volunteered Annunciation BVM to be one of very few parishes across the country to participate in a program led by the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI) to help create a “Parish Priority Plan” for the future of Annunciation BVM. This program, known as Next Generation Parish, gives a guided framework as to how we can answer all the questions proposed above and creates a plan for our parish moving into the future. The plan prioritizes our specific needs, while following the example of our mother, Mary.
Listen. In order to answer these questions, we first needed to listen to the needs of the parish. Last spring, our parish was given the opportunity to participate in the Disciple Maker Index Survey from CLI. This survey asked questions about spiritual beliefs, teachings of the church, effectiveness of parish support, support of our parish’s leadership, and the Sunday experience.
Equipped with the results from this survey, as well as other data sources on demographics and key insights about the community we serve, including our neighboring parishes, Father Loomis called on a team of parishioners for the “Envisioning Team” to move forward through the Next Generation Parish process. That team consists of Father Loomis, Andrew Amrhein, Mary Barry, Dan Boyle, Jericha Dethlefs, Jim Hoffman, Jenna Rastatter, and Jeff Sherry. The parish planning process was led by our CLI facilitator, Scott Staelgrave.
Deliberate. The Envisioning Team began to decipher the survey results, each member bringing forward their own experience in the parish from the perspective of the demographic they represent. Over the span of six months, the team created a plan for the parish to rediscover our baptismal dignity and live out our mission as disciples with clarity and direction, in a way that will serve the needs of our parishioners and community at large. This process began with asking, “What is our purpose?”. Father Loomis prayerfully wrote the following:
“The purpose of Annunciation Blessed Virgin Mary Parish is to give local expression to the Universal Church wherein the faithful discover and deepen their baptismal identity by encountering Christ through liturgy, the sacraments, faith formation and fellowship, and prepare to respond to Christ’s call to evangelize for the salvation of souls.”
Discern. With the Parish Priority Plan created, the work of the envisioning team is complete. Now the formation of a new team is underway; the Implementation Team. This team will need to be much larger than the Envisioning Team and will be responsible for taking on each of the goals created in the plan to better serve our parish and the community and to live out our purpose. This is where your own discernment comes in. Do you have time and talent that you are willing to share with the parish to help see these goals through? Are you willing to be a guide for other parishioners and for future generations of our parish in your participation in implementation? These are questions that I invite you to discern for yourself. If you are approached by Father or a member of the Envisioning Team, or if you are feeling called to participate in the future of our parish, we would love your help putting the plan into action.
Act. The final step of Mary’s model for us is her willful acceptance to God’s plan for her life- her fiat- “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word.” Mary chose to act, and in that moment consented to all of the blessings that God had in store for her. Our parish can do the same and who better to emulate than the mother of Christ? The framework is laid out, the goals are set, our purpose is stated, our vision is clear… but it means nothing without action. It is our duty to respond to the calling that God has given our parish.
In the Spring of 2022, our parish participated in a survey from The Catholic Leadership Institute known as “The Disciple Maker Index”. Parishioners were invited to answer questions pertaining to spiritual beliefs, teachings of the Church, effectiveness of parish support, support of our parish’s leadership, and the Sunday experience. The results of this survey and other data sources on demographics and key insights about the community we serve were used by the Envisioning Team to create the Parish Priority Plan being implemented to direct the future of Annunciation BVM.
This survey delivered key insights into the strengths of our parish, including the following:
Our parish has a very strong belief in key Catholic teachings, with a high percentage of parishioners believing in the true presence of the Eucharist and that scripture is the word of God.
Our parish is faithful and prayerful, with a high percentage of weekly Mass attendants and parishioners that spend time in daily individual prayer using Catholic devotions.
The majority of respondents agree that the parish does a good job of communicating information, opportunities, and events.
The survey also shed light on the opportunities for growth within our parish, such as:
Teaching parishioners how to share their personal stories of Jesus’s hand in their lives, as well as their friendship and relationship with Jesus.
Creating opportunities to share these personal stories through the formation of ministries that will support evangelization and outreach to the community, new parishioners, and inactive Catholics.
Providing support for our parishioners during their time of need by leveraging existing and newly formed ministries.
Narrowly focusing on these strengths and weaknesses, the Envisioning Team created a Vision Statement for Annunciation BVM that, along with the Purpose Statement shared in the previous article, became a guiding force in creating the Parish Priority Plan.
“In three to five years, we envision a community that is fully engaged individually and collectively in experiencing and modeling the joy of a life centered in Christ. Through worship, faith formation, community, and service, we live and give voice to our faith in all important areas of life without exception. Our pews and ministries are overflowing as we speak out clearly, gently, and transparently to openly evangelize our Catholic faith: to love one another, sacrifice, and forgive. With Jesus on our side, and working together, we will make this vision a reality.”
Equipped with our parish’s Spring 2022 Disciple Maker Index (DMI) Survey results from the Catholic Leadership Institute, as well as other data sources on demographics and key insights about the community we serve, the Envisioning Team was tasked with deciphering what Annunciation BVM’s priorities should be going forward. To come to this conclusion, the team first needed to determine our parish’s values from the information given. They are as follows:
Prayer -The deepening of our relationship with Jesus Christ personally and in community through liturgy, devotions, and meditation.
We will engage in and encourage prayer through:
The regular celebration of the Liturgy
The opportunity for Adoration and meditation in front of the Blessed Sacrament
Devotionals congruent with the liturgical calendar
Intentional times of personal prayer each day
Fidelity- Commitment to the full revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ found in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition as interpreted by the Magisterium.
We will continue to act in obedience to legitimate ecclesial authority.
We will vet all sources and speakers for adherence to Church Teaching.
We will assist each other in living our Baptismal calls.
Evangelism- Carrying the Good News of the Gospel to those who have yet to meaningfully encounter the Person of Jesus Christ.
We will strive to embrace ongoing formation in our faith and education to prepare for carrying the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others.
We will employ the “Reach More” program from Evangelical Catholic to train parishioners to become confident and competent evangelizers.
Fellowship- Friendly association with fellow parishioners anchored in our common Baptismal identity as the Body of Christ.
We will promote an inviting atmosphere to increase the engagement of parishioners.
We will create opportunities for parishioners to gather through social events.
We will personally invite those who show interest in a ministry to become involved.
Stewardship- Acceptance and responsibility for our parish and its mission through the gifts of our time, talent, and treasure.
We will promote responsible, but sacrificial, financial giving.
We will promote the wise use of our financial resources both personally and as a community.
We will make an annual commitment of service to the community each year based on our discerned talents and availability.
These values were used as the framework for the three year goals that are set in the completed Parish Priority Plan.
After deciding on what they perceived the “values” of Annunciation BVM to be, the Envisioning Team used their own experience, input from the Disciple Maker Index Survey, and observations from the parish to determine three main priorities and to create goals in association with those priorities. The goals are what the Implementation Team will be focusing on over the next three years. Please pray for this team as they work diligently to invest in the future of Annunciation BVM.
#1: Evangelization
- Facilitating an encounter with Jesus Christ so as to deepen our baptismal identity and prepare disciples to carry the message as a response to Christ’s commission to the Church and to the decline of faith in our culture.
Goal 1: We plan to equip at least 25 parishioners by June 2026 to be missionary disciples capable of encountering others, giving testimony, helping someone build a relationship with Jesus, and equipping others to share their experience.
Goal 2: Engage at least 12 youth in grades 6 – 12 annually to encounter Christ through shared fellowship in Parish or Diocesan-based activities.
Goal 3: By October 2024, we will increase Mass attendance from 400 to 450 during the October count.
#2: Stewardship
- Acceptance and responsibility for our parish and its mission through the gifts of our time, talent, and treasure. Recognizing that our time, talent, and treasure comes from God, our faith charges us to share generously and responsibly these gifts for the Kingdom of God. The parish needs to assist parishioners in understanding the theology of gift.
Goal 1: Increase the number of parishioners involved in at least one parish and/or diocesan ministry by 100 people by June 2026.
Goal 2: Increase parish giving by $1,000 per week by December 2024.
#3: Fellowship
- Friendly association with fellow parishioners anchored in our common Baptismal identity as the Body of Christ. Recognizing that the first gift Jesus gave the apostles was each other, we believe that holiness and mission are not to be pursued alone.
Goal 1: Establish a ministry dedicated to supporting parishioners experiencing major life events by June 2026.
Goal 2: By June 2024, create a ministry to welcome new members to the parish in a way that draws them into the purpose and vision of the parish and invites them to form new relationships in the parish so that at least 50% of new parishioners remain connected one year after they first registered.
GOING FORWARD
Now that the Parish Priority Plan has been created, a new team has been assembled to continue the work of implementing the plan… the “Implementation Team”. Click here to learn more about this team, the Implementation process, and how you could become involved in helping us to become a Next Generation Parish!
We are so grateful to the Envisioning Team and all of their hard work in creating the Parish Priority Plan. When you see them in Mass, please say hello, thank them, and pray for them. Envisioning Team Members: Father Loomis, Andrew Amrhein, Mary Barry, Dan Boyle, Jericha Dethlefs, Jim Hoffman, Jenna Rastatter, and Jeff Sherry. The parish planning process was led by our CLI facilitator, Scott Staelgrave.