FAMILIES OF PARISHES

Over the last several months, there have been meetings regarding the formation of the Families of Parishes. Our family is comprised of the downtown parishes which include: St. Anthony, Blessed Sacrament, St. Joseph Cathedral, St. Louis, St. Michael, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Our pastors of our Family of Parishes met on December 12, 2022 and determined the timeline for forming our family. The activation of Our Family began on February 15, 2023. The process to complete this activation will take six months. On August 15, 2023, the downtown Family of Parishes will come into existence.

In the last couple of months there have been simple “meet and greet” gatherings for the parish staffs and parish councils so that we may introduce ourselves to one another. The meet and greet of financial councils is scheduled to take place on March 15th after the 6:30 p.m. Lenten Penance Service at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. After these initial meetings, committees will form with members of each parish to discuss the larger issues in activating the Parish Family. When that time comes, anyone interested should contact the parish office.

On February 13th, the Parish Councils of Our Family of Parishes met to introduce ourselves to one another. It was a very fruitful meeting. Everyone shared their reasons for belonging to their particular church and why they were drawn to that church rather than another.

The things that seem to be common to all the parishes in our Family is that everyone is very proud of their parish. They find a sense of community and faith that nourishes them spiritually. Most have been long standing members of the Churches to which they belong and have a long history with the church to which they belong.

Everyone recognizes there will be challenges as we go forward, but everyone seems to be willing to work together in forming our Family of Parishes.

Please continue to pray for the success of this new venture, and for those having to make decisions connected to the Formation of the Families of Parishes in the Diocese.

More information can be obtained by visiting the website www.roadtorenewal.org