From our pastor, Father Neil Herlihy

The Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese of Atlanta will be introduced this weekend. It will be promoted and explained primarily through a short video featuring Archbishop Gregory. The Pastoral Plan will be a five year plan intent on fostering collaborative ministry. It will focus on four themes: knowing our faith, living our faith, spreading our faith, and the evolution of our parishes. It will also focus on the implementation of these four areas at the parish level.

In knowing our faith, there is the intention to emphasize the role of parents in faith formation, to prioritize adult catechesis, and to provide more opportunities to participate in parish life as a family. In living our faith, an outline provided by the Archbishop stated that the plan will strive to promote “…charity and service as the epitome of living out the faith, encourage a deeper personal prayer life, and build a stronger sense of unity within the parish.” In spreading the faith, the plan will strive to “…foster whole family programs to keep parishioners centered on the parish, and use new technology and social media to keep the Church up to date and present in the lives of Catholics.” In focusing on the evolution of parishes, the plan will strive to “…create a welcoming and nurturing environment for all cultures within the parish.”

As reported in the Georgia Bulletin, the Archbishop discussed drafts of the plan with various groups within the Archdiocese so that there would be “…no gap in support for this common vision of how the Church in the Archdiocese directs its energies and resources between 2015 and 2020.”

Archbishop Gregory recently stated, “As your Archbishop I commit to work with our priests, lay leadership, councils, and my chancery staff to support these initiatives.” He went on to state that “…we will communicate regularly in the Georgia Bulletin, on our website and through other media about how we are doing in response to these important focus areas. I commit to make an annual update on progress to our entire Archdiocese.”

The Archbishop said his prayer is that “…we can share the successes of individual parish and community efforts to expand them throughout our Archdiocese and beyond. I ask you to join me in praying for the success of our Pastoral Planning Process.”

The video explaining the Pastoral Plan is currently on the Parish website for your review and consideration. As this Plan unfolds, please support our Archbishop as he shepherds our local Church in the challenging endeavor of implementing this Plan.