-
January 20, 2021
Over the past few months, the Interim Pastoral Council of Christ the Divine Shepherd Parish has been meeting in order to help chart a course for our parish in 2021. At our February meeting, we evaluated the values which will drive our priorities and actions in the new year. Looking at values in a variety of areas – Eucharist, Catechesis, Promotion of a Bold Faith, Evangelization, and Stewardship – we identified nine shared values for our community. Of these, pastoral council prioritized two for action in 2021:
- Make sufficient efforts to meet the needs of people who may feel excluded from parish life, especially due to divorce, single parenthood, or age.
- Make regular efforts to discover the skills and talents of CDS parishioners and invite our parish community to utilize their talents in the service of the people of our parish.
These two priorities provide great opportunities for outreach and evangelization! During this time of pandemic, many feel distanced from parish life. We want to commit to reaching out to anyone who feels “left behind”, due to a family situation, or the pandemic, or the changes in our parish, or any other reason! During this year, we’ll ask that we all challenge ourselves to participate in reaching out to those in our community – both individually and on behalf of the parish!
This outreach will require commitment not only from parish staff and volunteers, but from all of us! God has blessed us richly with a variety of talents and skills, and God asks us to share these talents for the benefit of all people in our community. This year, we’ll challenge you to identify the ways in which each of us can be of service to those in need!
As we begin this initiative, we’d like to reach out to you, and ask for your input. What is your reaction to these two priorities? How do you suggest we implement our priorities? What should our first steps be? To whom should we ensure we reach out? What needs do you think we must address? Please send your ideas and comments to [email protected], or mail us a letter to the parish offices (245 Azalea Dr, Monroeville PA 15146). Together, we can be the “light of the world” that Jesus calls us to be!