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Introduction
A Catholic parish is a busy place. There are many activities and even more needs, hopes, and dreams behind the busyness. A couple considers joining the Church community for the sake of their young children. An elderly widow hopes she can find a bit of food and companionship. A young adult comes to Mass and looks around for friends and acquaintances. It is not easy for the pastor and staff to address all these needs at once.
Planning for the future can be even more challenging, but it is important to realize that every parish has an unfolding approach to meeting people's needs. The direction a parish takes and the course it sets are directly related to this approach and to how the leadership and people of the parish experience themselves as a community of small communities. A pastoral plan is built upon the hopes and dreams people have for the present and future of parish life. Reexamining the parish's approach or direction is of vital importance to this present and future.
We can gain many insights from watching the way Jesus addressed the needs of those who came to him. Jesus combined an ability to build a small faith community among his followers with a persistent proclamation of God’s reign and unending compassion. He nurtured and empowered the apostles to spread the Good News (Matthew 28:19). He sent the seventy out to heal the sick and to proclaim God's reign (Luke 10:1–20). His master plan for the life of the community involved its mission and its formation. For Jesus, community and mission were two landmarks used to chart a course for the fledgling Church.
Although we can rely on these same two landmarks, as we navigate the territory of parish life, the 21st century offers us many more pastoral tools. We have more than Charles Lindbergh's trusty compass on his small plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, as he became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Instead, among other pastoral tools, we have a worldwide Web search engine filled with computerized maps and pastoral itineraries that can respond to the needs of individuals, families, households, and groupings of all sorts of people both active and inactive in the parish.
What the couple wants for their children, what a widow needs; and how the Parish Council views the needs of the community―these are important complementary components in choosing a direction. The desire to answer these needs can stimulate and challenge us to acquire new skills in charting the course for vibrant parish life in the 21st century.
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