St. Bart's Strategic Plan

Parish Mission:
To focus on Jesus in all things, discern His will and obey by His grace.

 

The Strategic Plan that follows is a product of the St. Bartholomew Catholic Church Pastoral Council, acting as a collaborative and deliberative body. We have tried our best, through prayer and discernment, to determine Jesus' plan for our parish and establish our collective roles in realizing that plan. We have grouped what we see as the important issues of our parish into four areas: (1) Praise and Worship, (2) Integration of the Parish Community, (3) Faith Formation, and (4) Community Outreach. The purpose of this plan is to establish an agreed-to three year vision for St. Bartholomew Catholic Church and to identify the actions necessary to enable this vision.

 

Praise and Worship

Three Year Vision. St. Bartholomew's praise and worship experience is recognized as one thing that sets our parish apart. Newcomers to our church have stated that they are impressed by the warmness of our ushers and our members, the role that our music ministry plays in the worship service, our openness to praise and worship, and the overriding sense that we are a community of faith. Over the next three years we cannot lose this expression of wonder at God's love in our lives. Nevertheless, we must also:

  1. Remain open to change and growth in our worship and emphasize the involvement of all members of our lay community in the Mass
  2. Better understand the Catholic Liturgy and its role in our worship
  3. Keep our music as a vital part of the participatory worship experience for our entire community.

We believe that our praise and worship practices should not be stagnant and, hence, identical three years from now. As a parish community we need to continually seek our common expressions of praise and worship to our Lord.

Actions. Three actions are selected:

  1. Explore a separate Liturgy of the Word for children within the Mass, as a way to get them more fully involved.
  2. Promote a better parish understanding of the Liturgy.
  3. Keep the music ministry vibrant, supportive of the Mass' praise and worship of the Lord, and a long-term blessing to the parish.

Integration of the Parish Community

Three Year Vision. We believe that St. Bartholomew Catholic Church cannot allow the division of the church into multiple factions, whether that division be between young and old, black and white, English- and Spanish-speaking, men and women, newcomers and longtime members, etc. Rather, it is our vision that there be a single, integrated community that provides a seamless reservoir of time, talent and financial resources for the accomplishment of the Lord's work.

The simple truth is that St. Bartholomew Catholic Church is a community comprised of diverse groups and these groups tend to be identified by their different ages, sexes, cultures, languages, etc. The differences themselves are not bad – indeed God’s creation fairly explodes in its diversity -- but if we allow ourselves to focus on these differences it can present a roadblock to forming the integrated community we believe that Jesus wants for His church. Working through these differences within the St. Bartholomew Catholic Church is thus an extremely important and long-term activity, but history suggests that this will not be a simple task.

In the past the emphasis has been on the spiritual development of our adult membership. We see that today, especially with the advent of the Hispanic ministries, that we are being called to also emphasize the social aspects of our parish life in order to build up the membership into an integrated community.

Actions. Six actions are selected.

  1. Explore a social outreach and a welcoming opportunity for newcomers.
  2. Look for, and promote, opportunities for youth involvement in the Liturgical Ministries.
  3. Emphasize participation in parish groups for singles, seniors, young married's, etc.
  4. Investigate initiating a ministry to the infirm.
  5. Look for, and promote, opportunities to more fully integrate the Hispanic community into the parish community.
  6. Look for, and promote, social gatherings and other activities to bring the entire parish community together.

 

Faith Formation

Three Year Vision. Faith is the foundation of our parish life. A measure of the strength of our faith is our participation in activities that faith produces. These include our:

  1. Participation in the Sacraments, especially the Mass, and other community prayer and worship.
  2. Stewardship, including our willingness towards financial tithing to the Lord's work.
  3. Desire to learn about our Catholic heritage through bible studies and Catholic teachings.
  4. Desire to share with others the Lord's influence in our lives, through personal contacts and small-share groups.
  5. Openness to the call of vocations.

We expect that over the next three years the St. Bartholomew Catholic Church faith community would experience an increase in these indicators as we strive to keep a full and healthy faith life. Another of the strengths of the parish has been the involvement of our members in the activities of the parish. Spiritual growth and involvement of the congregation has greater value than pure growth in numbers. Keeping the membership involved and committed to Jesus requires that the parish have multiple program opportunities. This, in turn, requires dedicated leaders in the faith community who are willing to donate time and talent to the Lord's work. We at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church have been extremely blessed by our past leaders. But looking forward, a new generation of leaders steeped in faith must be identified and trained.

Actions. Five actions are selected.

  1. Provide an annual parish-wide mission and/or an on-going faith-renewal program.
  2. Implement a formal parish-wide teaching on stewardship.
  3. Expand adult education, focusing both on the bible and our Catholic heritage/teachings.
  4. Follow the lead of the Diocese to promote the integration of our parish via "Whole- Community Catechesis".
  5. Take better advantage of Diocesan-sponsored and sister parish-sponsored faith formation programs.

Community Outreach

Three Year Vision. St. Bartholomew Catholic Church has long been involved in community social outreach activities but we believe that we are now being called, as a reflection of our faith, to a new level in these ministries. We need to reflect as a community on our social justice and social outreach responsibilities, reevaluate our social ministries and parish organizations designed to deliver these services, discern our future role, and respond accordingly. Our vision is that our parish becomes an important positive influence in our neighborhood and a presence in the ecumenical community.

Actions. Six actions are selected.

  1. Re-establish the Justice and Peace committee and its activities.
  2. Re-evaluate all existing parish organizations and, where appropriate, develop and implement plans to improve their effectiveness.
  3. Awaken the Parish understanding of our outreach responsibilities with parish-wide social justice and stewardship teachings.
  4. Expand parish social justice ministries.
  5. Develop and implement an outreach program for our extended neighborhood.
  6. Develop and implement an ecumenical outreach program.

Next Steps

In the coming year the St. Bartholomew Catholic Church Pastoral Council will address the actions identified herein by (1) prioritizing the actions and the schedule to be worked, (2) appointing small groups to research the issues and plan a course of action, (3) report as a committee back to the Pastoral Council to gain consensus, and (4) implement the actions. It is hoped by this approach we can realize the vision identified above and help bring St. Bartholomew Catholic Church to a fuller and more effective parish life.

Actions:

Praise and Worship

  1. Explore a separate Liturgy of the Word for children within the Mass, as a way to get them more fully involved (5)
  2. Promote a better parish understanding of the Liturgy (4).

Integration of the Parish Community

  1. Explore a social outreach and a welcoming opportunity for newcomers (8)
  2. Look for, and promote, opportunities to more fully integrate the Hispanic community into the parish community (4)
  3. Look for, and promote, opportunities for youth involvement in the liturgical ministries (3)

Faith Formation

  1. Expand adult education, focusing both on the bible and our Catholic heritage/teachings (8)
  2. Provide an annual parish-wide mission and/or an on-going faith-renewal program (5)
  3. Follow the lead of the Diocese to promote the integration of our parish via "whole- community catechesis" (3)

Community Outreach

  1. Awaken the parish understanding of our outreach responsibilities with parish-wide social justice and stewardship teachings (8)
  2. Re-evaluate all existing parish organizations and, where appropriate, develop and implement plans to improve their effectiveness (7)

(Ten council members were in attendance)

"And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!' " Romans 10:15