Near the end of August, your Pastoral council met for a morning of discussion and planning. One of the first things we reflected on was our “brand”; what are the most outstanding characteristics as a parish and how might we be known or seen by others outside the parish?
The first thing mentioned was all the activities we have, especially in service to the community. We have the Franciscan Outreach; we participate in SOS, we have numerous Christmas outreach programs; we participate annually in Rebuilding Together in fixing up a local home; our Knights raise funds for many charitable projects; we have a St. Vincent de Paul group, just to name a few. We have the Franciscan spirit. We are multicultural and diverse. We serve the business community, especially through our noon Mass. Though we are small and aging, we do a lot! Our slogan could very well be “A small parish with a big heart!” When we dream about the future, we hope to become a little larger in membership and have a few more young people.
There are some areas where we can grow. Though we are a welcoming community, some newer members have said they found it hard to break into the well-established groups. When they volunteered, they did not receive any further feedback. We need to correct that! Many of our efforts find they have the same volunteers involved.
We think we need to “raise our visibility”; we need to get the word out about all the good things happening here. A more prominent sign near 10 Mile and Code Road might be helpful. We need to have a presence on all forms of Social Media. How can we reach out and welcome back those Catholics who have left the Church?
We brainstormed about some possible activities: a movie or game night, especially for families; a parish night at a sports event; providing events for seniors and youth; events that appeal to families. We thought a presentation about the various Medicare Advantage programs would be helpful (stay tuned!)
We do have a big heart, and we have a lot going on! We have many generous parishioners. We need and will welcome all who might be willing to help us go from good to better! If you might be able to implement any of these ideas (or others that you might have), let us know!
Fr. Jeff