What is the purpose of the Be Missionary Disciples planning effort?

The purpose of Be Missionary Disciples is to organize our parishes so we have a critical mass of people and resources to do the mission of the Church effectively, and to intentionally plan for how that mission will be carried out.

How will the parishes be organized?

Parishes are being organized into “pastorates,” one or more parishes with a single pastor and leadership team. The pastorate defines which parishes will be planning together for how to carry out the mission of the Church in their boundaries.

Who put together the design of pastorates?

The pastorate design evolved through many rounds of consultation that occurred between June 2016 and February 2017. A small group of pastors and archdiocesan staff developed the first model of pastorates from our existing parishes. That model then was shared with the priests who serve on the Presbyteral Council or are vicars forane (priests representing the different regions in the archdiocese); all the priests and pastoral life directors in the archdiocese; and representatives from all the parishes in the archdiocese. After each round of consultation, the design was revised to reflect the feedback that was received.

Are pastorates replacing parishes?

No, parishes will continue to be the primary expression of the local church. Pastorates are simply a way of helping them work together better through shared leadership and vision.

What kinds of planning will each pastorate be asked to undertake?

The pastorate will plan to renew and strengthen the faith of those already in our parishes, welcome back those who have become disengaged from their faith, and reach out to strangers to share the Gospel with them. It also will need to address how this can best be done in a way that will be sustainable for many years to come, which will include examining how the buildings and finances of the pastorate collectively can best serve the mission, and how our people can be brought together to do this as well.

Does this mean that parishes in a pastorate are going to have to merge? Is my church going to close?

The model does not assume that multiple parishes in a pastorate will merge. That is a decision that will have to be reached as the pastorate, once formed, goes through a thoughtful planning process that is mission-focused. The same goes for whether or not a church should remain open.

Will I still be able to go to the same Mass?

That will depend on the plan for the pastorate developed by the parishioners. The plan should identify a Mass schedule for the pastorate that responds to the needs of both long-time parishioners and newcomers or strangers, and which supports celebration of the Mass in sanctuaries that are comfortably full. For this reason, one of the parameters of the planning process is to limit the number of Masses each priest can say to three per weekend.

One of the goals of Be Missionary Disciples is to increase Sunday Mass attendance. This will include making sure the Masses we celebrate are done with care and proper planning, including great homilies, inspiring music, and other important liturgical elements that make people want to come to Mass. By limiting the number of Masses, it allows the priest and liturgical ministers to prepare for and celebrate those Masses with energy.

Will my pastor change?

Possibly, but not necessarily. There will always be a natural progression of change as pastors retire or are called to different ministries. In some cases, the gifts of a pastor may be needed elsewhere in the archdiocese, which could result in a change of pastor. In other cases, the current pastor may be the best one to continue leading the pastorate. Those decisions will be reached over the next several years and in consultation with the priests.

What happens to the staff in a multi-parish pastorate?

The pastor, guided by the pastorate plan and his assessment of the needs within the pastorate, will determine how he wants to organize his staff. This is no different than how current pastors with multi-parish assignments have approached the same matter. In many cases, they have brought the staff together for efficiency, though some staffs remain separate.

When are the pastorates going to be implemented (“activated”)?

The implementation of the pastorates will happen in phases over the next several years (see page B5). During each phase, smaller blocks of about 10 pastorates will be “activated” based on the readiness of or need for that pastorate to begin its strategic planning process. At that time, the pastor who will lead the pastorate will be named.

In this way, phasing will allow for natural transitions to occur as pastors retire, and will allow for the appropriate dedication of archdiocesan staff and resources to support the planning process. It also will allow for relationships and a spirit of discipleship to grow in the parishes between now and the time of activation.

What can parishes do in the meantime?

Parishes that are in later phases of pastorate implementation have lots of opportunities to begin laying the groundwork for the pastorate. A few suggestions can be found on page B12 and by visiting bitly.com/bemissionarydisciples.

Go to the Formation page of the Be Missionary Disciples website (bitly.com/bemissionarydisciples) to explore some great ideas for putting these “10 Things” into practice.

1. Go Back to the Basics

Pray every day and explore different prayer techniques that bring you closer to God.

2. Hit the Books

Read about missionary discipleship and mission-focused planning with books that have inspired others, such as “Rediscover Catholicism” by Matthew Kelly.

3. Go Surfing or Window Shopping

Browse websites of parishes and programs that are having a transformative effect on discipleship, such as amazingparish.org or divinerenovation.net. Visit others parishes to learn what they are doing well.

4. Tap into Local Expertise

Subscribe to and read the helpful blog posts on the Be Missionary Disciples website.

5. ‘Entertain Angels’

Invite a friend to Mass or a parish event. Use their feedback on the Sunday experience or the sense of welcome to work with others to prioritize the outsider.

6. Build Some Bridges

Get to know people in the other parishes in your pastorate, or even between pastorates – worship with them, serve with them and celebrate with them!

7. Get to Know People in your Pastorate

Seek out those in the pastorate boundaries who are marginalized, hurting or feel forgotten. Consider how you can minister to their needs.

8. Be Formed – or Re-formed

Participate in Bible studies, retreats, missions and other reflection opportunities to discern ways the Holy Spirit is leading you into deeper discipleship.

9. Find the Nearest Intersection

Intersect faith and culture by using your favorite social media apps to spread the Gospel.

10. Journal your Experience

Be intentional about growing in your faith. As you pray or reflect on Scripture readings, keep a journal of the ways in which God is speaking to you.

The pastorate planning process is meant to achieve certain objectives in all pastorates in the Archdiocese. However, each pastorate will approach this process from its unique situation, so the specific way in which the process will unfold is flexible and will take into account the varying conditions that exist. The specific process to be used will be agreed upon at an on-site visit shortly after the pastorate is activated.

Forming Missionary Disciples

See the “10 Things You Can Do Now” section for ways to grow in discipleship today

Pastorate Activation

Pastorates are activated in phases and blocks over the next several years

Pastorate Plan – Step 1: Orientation

• Ministry and outreach activities, demographics, parish data and existing strategic plans within the parish(es) are examined
• Initial opportunities/challenges for evangelization-based planning are identified

Pastorate Plan – Step 2: Goals and Measures

• Priority areas for evangelization-based planning are identified
• Goals are set within the priority areas, and ways to measure progress toward them are identified

Pastorate Plan – Step 3: Structures and Schedules

A strategy is developed for aligning pastorate organizational and physical structures and schedules to the goals, including: Liturgies, Ministries, Councils, Staffing and Facilities

Pastorate Plan – Step 4: Key Initiatives

• Key initiatives for achieving the goals are identified, along with how and when they will be implemented
• Steps for tracking progress and conducting an annual review of plan are laid out

What missionary discipleship looks like in a pastorate

When we focus on these goals … It produces these good fruits

Core Mission Priority: Liturgy

Goal: Vibrant Liturgy

• The Good News is proclaimed and understood
• Music is inspiring and participatory
• Homilies are a source of conversion, renewal and growth
• Parishioners are more fully engaged disciples

Core Mission Priority: Welcome

Goal: Belonging

• Outsiders are prioritized
• Disenfranchised and strangers are sought out and welcomed
• All feel they belong and value community life through groups, activities and events

Core Mission Priority: Encounter

Goal: Conversion

• New people are visible in community
• Sharing of faith is common and encouraged
• An encounter with Christ has been experienced

Core Mission Priority: Accompaniment

Goal: Spiritual Growth           

• Growing number of adults active in faith formation and engaged in service
• Ongoing conversion is experienced
• The domestic church is sustained and enriched
• Young people remain engaged in the parish

Core Mission Priority: Sending

Goal: Disciple-Making

• Spiritual friendships are formed
• Priestly and religious vocations are promoted and fostered
• Families are equipped and empowered as missionary disciples
• The vulnerable, grieving and neglected receive care
• The poor are prioritized and served

Core Mission Priority: Mission Support

Goal: Mission Support

• Financial support for the mission is predictable and stable
• Support for the mission occurs at many levels
• Priests and their staff members are healthy, happy and holy
• Mission-ready facilities are safe, welcoming, attractive, accessible and right-sized

1. Be Missionary Disciples is focused on conversion

• Personal conversion that compels us to look inward at our own faith life and the way in which our relationship with Christ is growing and being shared with others.
• Parish conversion that compels us to examine the way in which our parishes enable personal conversion through the formation of disciples and the embodiment of the mission to live and share the Gospel message of love and redemption.
• Archdiocesan conversion that compels us to be good stewards of the gifts God has given this local church by configuring our parishes to be vibrant and sustainable centers of evangelization.

2. It has a goal of creating a stable environment for conversion to occur

• Archbishop Lori’s pastoral letter, “A Light Brightly Visible,” outlined why pastoral planning must move forward in the archdiocese and what he hopes to achieve as a result. Growing and evolving social outreach and pastoral care needs, rising religious disaffiliation, shifting demographics and impending clergy retirements have created a “new normal” for the church that requires a different way of carrying out the mission.
• The pastorate design and Be Missionary Disciples planning process are meant to create the conditions that promote long-term stability and predictability, so that the essential work of disciple-making can be the focus.

3. The effort will be archdiocesan-wide

• Every parish in every pastorate in the archdiocese is being asked to engage in this process – some earlier, some later.
• Even those pastorates where the missionary impulse is strong are called, as Pope Francis encourages, “to make this missionary impulse ever more focused, generous and fruitful (through) a resolute process of discernment, purification, and reform” (Evangelii Gaudium, §30).
• A phased implementation of the pastorates will allow for pastor retirements to occur naturally, and for any new pastors to go through the planning process with their new pastorate from the beginning. It also will allow for adequate support for the pastorates from archdiocesan staff.
• In the meantime, later-phase pastorates can focus on disciple formation and relationship building, so that their planning is built on a firm foundation when it does begin.

4. Any changes will be gradual and discerned by the pastorate

• Many people want to know what will be different and when. They may have questions, such as:
  • Will my pastor change?
  • Is my church closing?
  • Will my Mass time change?
  • How will this affect the staff at my parish?
• Questions such as these will only be answered once the pastorate pastor is named and planning begins. It will be a process that is locally driven and the answer to these questions will come from the pastorate parishes and parishioners themselves. It is likely that some things will remain the same but that other things will, after due deliberation, be changed.