Pastoral Council

Plan for the Future 2021 - 2024 Document

May 16, 2021
As you have heard in previous communications, one of the purposes of the Pastoral Council was to review and update the mission of Blessed Sacrament Parish. The Council was provided direction to evolve our mission keeping the following ideal in mind:

• It should evolve from the existing parish mission.
• Make sure it is clear, concise, and memorable; everyone in the parish should be able to easily recall it.
• It must describe what our purpose is and who we are.

To that end, the Pastor’s Advisory Council with Father Brian’s approval is excited to debut our new Blessed Sacrament Mission Statement.

“SUSTAINED BY THE EUCHARIST, WE WELCOME ALL TO WORSHIP, SERVE AND PROCLAIM.”

The Pastor’s Advisory Council will be using this mission to test the strategies and objectives being developed for our Parish Plan focus areas which include: Worship and Liturgy, Faith Formation, Engagement, and Parish Life, Stewardship of Resources, Parish Operations, and Communications.  

Parish Plan Focus Areas

April 18, 2021

The Blessed Sacrament Pastoral Council (PC) was formed in October 2020 as a consultative body to the Pastor. The purpose of the council is to examine best practices and build upon the traditions established at Blessed Sacrament.  PC's primary goals are to examine and focus on our mission statement and to develop a multi-year parish plan. The plan will be built on the specific focus areas of Liturgy and Worship, Faith Formation, Engagement and Parish Life, Stewardship of Resources, and Parish Operations and Communications. The PC is a diverse group of 10 parishioners with varied skills whose average parish membership at Blessed Sacrament is 11 years, ranging from 1-27. Here is a summary of each member to help you know a little more about them.

Parish Life & Planning for the Future in the Midst of COVID

It is now necessary to look more closely at the communion and participation of the lay faithful in parish life. In this regard all lay men and women are called to give greater attention to a particularly meaningful, stirring and incisive passage from the Council: ‘Their activity within Church communities is so necessary that without it the apostolate of the Pastors is generally unable to achieve its full effectiveness.’ …. Ministries and charisms, being diverse and complementary, are all necessary for the Church to grow, each in its own way (n27). – Pope St. John Paul II Christifideles Laici
 

One of the keys to our future is the formation of a new consultative body called the Pastor’s Advisory Council. 

You may recall in the Spring of 2019, when Msgr. Prus was the Temporary Administrator of Blessed Sacrament Church, one of his final acts was to disband the parish council established under our previous pastor, Father Rick, in order to allow his successor to begin anew. Unfortunately, within a few months, COVID-19 roared in and our plans were put on hold as we adapted to new ways of doing things.

The purpose of our new council is to examine best practices and build on the rich traditions established at Blessed Sacrament. I’ve invited a diverse group of parishioners to help us get started. We’re currently reading Great Catholic Parishes (Ave Maria Press) and will hold a workshop on November 21st under the leadership of Deb Caldwell (pro bono) to kick off our work. Deb has consulted extensively with schools, churches and other nonprofits as to their planning for the future, as well as serving on the Board of Trustees for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Metuchen.

One of the council’s goals is to examine and focus our mission statement and to develop a multi-year parish plan. Be assured that during this process, your input will be sought.

Further communication will be forth coming regarding those opportunities, and updates will be communicated via our website and Flocknote.

I am excited about this new entity for the parish and hope you will pray for success in our efforts. Please stay safe and may God watch over you and protect you and your families. Fr. Brian

 “Lay leadership is fundamental to the success of a vibrant parish”

The Pastoral Council (“PC”) met on Saturday, November 21st, for several hours. We started out discussing the spiritual practices that keep us grounded. Then we discussed a variety of aspects of parish life. One topic was our experience as parishioners. The other was the Sunday experience for those attending in person. Additionally, we worked on a revision of our parish mission statement.

The council acknowledged that COVID had a significant impact on parish life (liturgical, educational, financial, and spiritual). We can find hope in the development and distribution of several vaccines as we look forward to 2021. All of us have reason to feel confident that we are entering a new phase in the pandemic.

We concluded the day with the assignment of subgroups. The subgroups will be co-chaired by two members of the committee. The following subgroups are:

• Parish Operations
• Communications
• Engagement/Parish Life
• Faith Formation
• Liturgy and Worship
• Stewardship of Resources

In the new year, two PC representatives will meet with current parish organizations and explain the council’s purpose as well as provide an opportunity to answer questions.

I find it thought-provoking to contemplate what will Post-COVID 19 be for us as a parish community. Think how parish life has changed over the past nine months. Parishioners have grown fond of the live streaming of Mass. Will the Children’s Faith Formation Program be a hybrid?

With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, time will tell.

Fr. Brian