Easter message from Fr. Patrick announcing the new statements:
"Now all things have been filled with light, both heaven and earth and those beneath the earth; so let all creation sing Christ’s rising, by which it is established." –St. John of Damascus
On Easter Sunday, the Gospels we hear at Mass only mention the empty tomb. We do not encounter or hear from Jesus. At first glance, this is rather odd. The most important aspect of our faith is our faith in the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Yet, we do not encounter Him directly in the Gospel on the day we celebrate His resurrection.
The empty tomb changes everything. Our present and our future are completely redefined. Though initially scary and confusing, the empty tomb brings about a world of new joys, greater clarity, and deeper love and peace. This year, as we emerge from the fear, isolation, loss, and difficulty of the COVID pandemic, we are, like the Apostles and Mary Magdalene, facing our own empty tomb. The world has changed. We have changed. Most importantly, Jesus is alive! Not only that, but each of us can say with confidence: He loves me. He did this for me. He has a plan for me.
As a result, we have an opportunity to live out our faith, our vocations, our relationships, our parish life, everything in new and exciting ways. Even if we don’t change much, the empty tomb invites us to live a life with greater clarity and purpose. In this light, for the last seven months, our Parish Pastoral Council has been actively engaged in pastoral planning and looking toward the future of St. Paul’s.
Our Fall 2019 parish conversations led to the Fall 2020 parish survey. After reviewing the data from both, we had two extraordinary meetings in February and March to discuss the future of St. Paul’s. During these conversations, we focused on the importance of forming and empowering the laity, particularly our student parishioners, for the sake of their apostolate in the world, and the desire to be both a parish that prioritizes campus ministry and a parish that welcomes, invites, and forms everyone in our community into missionary disciples. Our Pastoral Council composed and unanimously approved a mission statement, vision statement, and tagline.
Our new mission statement states why we exist:
St. Paul Catholic Center serves as the Newman Center and Catholic parish for the Indiana University community. We bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, celebrate the Sacraments, foster spiritual formation, evangelize, and serve those in need.
Our new vision statement states what we will do and focus on for the next 3-5 years:
To be a parish focused on student ministry that welcomes, invites and forms all as we create a community of missionary disciples.
Our new tagline sums up our mission and vision:
Build Community. Encounter Christ. Spread the Gospel.
As we move into the final phase of our pastoral planning—developing the goals, objectives, and actions for implementing our new parish mission and vision—I pray we can walk forward as a united community with the same joyful openness of mind and heart of those who first encountered the empty tomb; trusting and believing Jesus is risen and that He will lead us.