Here we are a week before Christmas and winter will finally, officially be here on Wednesday, December 21, at 5:44 a.m. I hope that you use this last week of Advent to keep preparing the way for the Christ Child.
The readings remind us that, “they shall name Him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” We continually look for signs that God is present. Sometimes we think that He is only present when things are going well, like when test results come back negative, or we get a new job, or we find the house we always wanted. Certainly, God is in these moments, but the real test of our faith is when we can see God in the drudgery and challenges of life. It is then that He calls on us to trust Him and realize that our greatest gift is that He stands with us and lives in us. Faithfulness is more important than our successes.
During this week, when thousands will enter our church building, we are making available the results of our
Long-Range Pastoral Plan. (LRPP) Hardcopies will be in the narthex, and we will publish this on our website. Check out
www.sainthubert.org.
In 2013, our pastoral staff decided to create a LRPP to determine the future needs of the parish. A parish-wide survey was instituted to gather input from our community. We needed to establish a new Parish Pastoral Council to oversee the development of the plan.
After the PPC was established, their task was to oversee the development of the plan. They performed a detailed study of the data collected, listened to the input of the people and assessed the spiritual needs of the people of
St. Hubert Parish.
It was not enough to just study the survey and data. Hundreds of comments were collected. The PPC needed to educate themselves about the teachings of the Catholic Church, especially Vatican II and our parish policies, and to pray together as a new ministry. They attended workshops, presentations by staff members and some ministries. They had reading material and discussions so that they could frame all the information into a cohesive whole for the parish. Through this process and prayerful discernment, the LRPP was created.
My hope is that our Mission Statement, along with the LRPP, will form a framework by which the Pastor, staff, and ministers can lead the people of St. Hubert toward a life of discipleship along their walk with Christ. The LRPP is a living document which will be evaluated often to ensure it continues to meet the changing needs of our parish.
I can assure you that every major decision I had to make during the last 3 years included the information from the data in the LRPP. This was true of our staff and PPC. It was especially true in choosing a new Music Director which we hope to have at the beginning of the New Year. Many of the simple questions and comments were addressed 2 years ago, and they are on the website.
As we created the plan we focused on the areas of Music and Liturgy, Christian Formation, and Communication and Technology. You will see objectives and goals in each of these areas. More will be said about all this in the weeks to come.
For now, let us enjoy this Advent/Christmas Season. God is preparing our hearts for the Christ Child.