by Janice Mulligan

“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you… plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.” (Jeremiah 29:12)

Jeremiah’s words communicate a truth that underlay the Parish Discernment Process, namely that God has a plan for each of the 110 parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville. As Archbishop Kurtz stated in his pastoral letter Your Parish: The Body of Christ Alive in Our Midst, “Indeed, parish life is at the heart of where and how we grow as the Body of Christ.” Thriving, vibrant parishes encourage the missionary discipleship needed for a thriving, vibrant Church.

As a core team chair at St. Augustine (Louisville) in the first wave, I experienced and heard initial questions about how the process would unfold. Was this strategic planning? How was it different? We already had a strategic plan and had recently updated it. Interestingly, the concept of discernment was not a stumbling block for a lot of parishioners because we apply the process in selecting parish leadership. This familiarity with discernment allowed many to set aside any reluctance. More importantly, the community collectively praying the Discernment Prayer and the entire parish being invited to participate in the initial phase, the listening session, helped us to embrace the process. Right off the bat, these prayerful and inclusive actions encouraged all of us to see this process as something new, with the question “What is God’s hope for our parish?” at the heart.

After prayerfully listening to God’s hope for our parish, the listening session offered parishioners an opportunity to voice that hope. With over 80 in attendance, parishioners at the listening session shared what we celebrated in the areas of family life, education and lifelong formation, and service and outreach, creating a buzz of positive energy from all present.  Beginning in this way provided rich soil to plant the seeds of God’s hope.

Through the lens of the listening session, the core team had the challenge of spotting common themes, determining 2-3 priorities, identifying programs/activities to adopt or strengthen, and outlining resources that would be helpful. While the general ideas arose from the listening session, the difficulty was often in finding the ‘right’ words to express those ideas. We had to remind ourselves that we were responding to God’s call in the present and not for all time.

As a core team chair I witnessed parishioners completing the discernment process with faith that God’s plan was for their “welfare,” with hope for parish growth and with love for service that reflected our Catholic faith. Production of the final document was rewarding as we turn to the next steps – implementation. As parishes take these next steps, we usher in our “future of hope” and live out the call to be missionary disciples.

Janice Mulligan is the Associate Director of African American Catholic Ministries in the Office of Multicultural Ministry for the Archdiocese of Louisville.