Carrying On Our Mission!
My dear parishioners,
I am hopeful that by now, almost everyone in our parish would be able to say what our mission is if they were asked…our goal for 2018 was to make it visible, relevant, and memorable for all:
love God, love others, make disciples!
And so, our focus for 2019 was to bring clarity to our mission and what it means for all parishioners.
Through homilies and bulletin messages, we shared what we have learned about how we can be true followers of the mission Jesus gave to us, and
how we can be successful in living out that mission here at Holy Family.
There were many opportunities for parishioners to explore their faith, and the meaning of our mission, including:
- our first book club study of “Rebuilt – the Story of a Catholic Church” – helping us understand that everything we do as a parish needs to be grounded on our love for God, our love for others and making disciples;
- next STEPS – a parish-wide call for each person to consider what their “Next Step” in faith might be;
- a variety of programs exploring how to love God – Alpha, Praise & Worship & Emotionally Healthy Spirituality;
- emotionally Healthy Relationships – a course all about loving others as Jesus loves us;
- our mission also became a core part of our sacramental preparation, ministries, on-going image and messaging;
- and to further build the clarity of our mission, the Parish Leadership Team developed our Clarity Infographic which describes the essential
elements for all of us to focus on to live out our mission.
Our Sunday experience at Holy Family has continued to be intentionally enhanced so that it is a real celebration of our faith as a community when we gather here at church each week:
- we have added the Parking Lot ministry to support a welcome and safe entry;
- we have created a Gather Café as a warm and friendly environment for people to share faith stories and fellowship
- we have continued our Greeter team and added the Welcome Desk;
- and for our children, we now have the very exciting HFkids programs of Time Travellers and HFkids Small Groups which have brought a new
energy for faith to our youngest parishioners!
During last year, we continued to introduce new opportunities to gather in faith with our Young Adult Masses and our “Mass in the Park”, and we expandedourstaffwithaYoungAdultMinisterandvolunteerpositionsofVolunteerCoordinatorandSmallGroupCoordinator. Withourgrowingstaff and on-going dedication to prayerfully creating a variety of opportunities to invite and support parishioners in engaging more deeply in their faith, there has been a significant increase in the demand for appropriate meeting and gathering spaces here at Holy Family. We have entrusted the work of looking at options to build or renovate the additional space we so desperately need to a building committee who will continue to meet regularly and who will bring information forward soon.
As we look forward to all of the exciting things that God will bring our way in 2020, we know that we will be very grounded intentionally in our mission, reliant on God’s inspiration, and present to the people who are part of Holy Family parish. We are so very grateful for all the parishioners of Holy Family,yourpresenceandgiftsoftime,talentandtreasure. WewillfurtherexploreanddeepenourunderstandingofhowwecanBEthechurch,by BEINGdisciplesandthengoingouttoMAKEdisciples. Ourhopeandprayerisforthelivesofeachandeveryoneofyoutobetouchedinsomewayby God this year so that you experience the joy, peace and love of faith in your hearts!
On behalf of Fr. Ravi, the Parish Leadership Team and staff, we are thankful for all of you, your continued financial support and we are blessed that you are part of Holy Family.
Rev. Fr. László Nagy, Pastor
