In the last three years, the Church of Saint Mark has been working to discern how God is calling us to live and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ given the renewal and transformation the parish has experienced in the last 10+ years, without abandoning our identity and the legacy of the generations that have helped to make this parish what it is today.
In 2019, four working groups were formed to make strategic recommendations regarding major questions related to the closing of the school. In 2020, a leadership committee was formed to evaluate and revise our Parish Mission Statement and Core Values. That same year, a parishioner survey and the Disciple Maker Index were administered, providing invaluable information about the make-up and needs of our community and its members. Finally, in late 2021, a task force of clergy and lay leaders was formed to use the fruits of the foregoing initiatives to identify strategic objectives for ministry at St. Mark’s. After consultation with the Parish Pastoral Council, those objectives were approved by our pastor in the spring of 2022.
In general, these objectives seek to address identified gaps in our ministry offerings, provide our parishioners with more opportunities for going deeper in their relationship with the Lord and with one another, and improve the leadership structure that is at the service of our parish ministries.
The future of St. Mark’s is in the Lord’s hands alone, and these goals are not intended to close the door on any further inspirations and guidance from his Holy Spirit. They are instead the fruit of prayer and an act of faith, that the work that God began in our parish more than one hundred years ago will continue. Ours is only to seek and cooperate with his perfect will. Pray that the Lord of the Harvest will send many laborers to bring forth abundant fruit from his mission field at the Church of Saint Mark.
Plan of Implementation
Stage 1 (2022-2023)
Hire Director of Mission (complete!)
Initiate potluck/formation event “Supper at Emmaus” on first Thursdays before Emmaus Holy Hour (underway!)
Develop MercyWorks ministry: an executive team tasked with identifying opportunities to perform works of mercy within parish and community and helping the whole parish to “serve those in need with ardent charity.”
“Map” the various small groups already present at the parish and increase their visibility.
Goals to completed in 2023-2025
Note: The timeline of some of these goals will be guided by the Archbishop’s Synodal Pastoral Letter to be released on the feast of Christ the King (November 20). We will provide an updated timeline as we discern the coordination between parish and archdiocesan initiatives for formation and evangelization.
Form a leadership team and develop a plan for the ministry to fathers.
Form a leadership team and develop a plan for the ministry to college students.
Facilitating the formation of new small groups as needs are identified.
Explore feasibility of opening a Level 2 section in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
Provide leadership training for ministry leaders.
Provide training in lay evangelization for parishioners.
Assess progress/implementation of strategic plan and initiate the development of new objectives.