Float Building/Church Building
I am not a “parade” person. I have been in several in my life, but I really don’t look forward to them. I tolerated the Webster Fourth of July Pa- rade last year, because it (a) didn’t inconvenience me like it did in 2019 (how do I get out of Holy Redeemer??) and (b) a parishioner invited me to a “watch” party. (Parades are tolerable with food and drink.) At Borgia, I often volunteered to forgo the parade and keep watch over the school grounds while everyone else was off parading.
When I became President, I had to be in the parade, but at least I got to ride in a convertible, so it was OK.
My distaste for parades comes from the fact that for many years, as a homeroom teacher, I had to rally the troops to work on a class float and then sacrifice an evening or two to supervise float building. It was painful. If I never have to deal with crepe paper again, I will be a happy man.
But what really got me upset was after the float was completed, there were several students who looked down in disdain at all the work that was done, work they did lift a finger to do. They would criticize, belittle and deride the hard work of others, even though they did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to help put the float together.
That snide, condescending and snooty scorn is not an appealing character trait. If you are not prepared to do the hard work and help out, then just keep your haughty and unasked for opinions to yourself, thank you ver ymuch.
I mention all this because in the next couple of weeks, all of you (from 8th graders on up) will be asked to help out building something. (Don’t worry, it is not a float!) As you may have al- ready heard last Tuesday, the Archdiocese has announced a process of Strategic Plan- ning, which will guide us through the next few decades. It is called ALL THINGS NEW. This is a big deal, a very, big deal. You will be building a new vision of church. A couple of thoughts and then a favor.
First, this process is a good thing, a very good thing. Many will paint this as the Archdiocese closing churches and schools, and (I am not going to sugar coat it) that may indeed happen. But it is so much more. The model of our Archdiocese was created in large part during the early decades of the last century. In many places, parishes were to serve a thriving and diverse immigrant population. So you had a German church, next to an Irish church, next to an Italian church, next to a Polish church. That model served us well in 1950, but it is no longer viable. We need
to envision a church in 2050 and beyond. The All Things New initiative will strive to build a church to serve the needs of a changing population. The goal is to make a stronger, better church community, to strengthen the Body of Christ in our area.
Second, as we have been told many times in the preliminary meetings about this, every- thing (yes, everything) is on the table. Do I know what this will mean for Holy Redeemer? I have some ideas, some thoughts and some opinions. I have some good guesses. But ultimately, no, I don’t know what this will mean for Holy Redeemer. (Remember last week when I wrote about openness…)
Third, this process with be daunting and de- manding. I joked with several people that I am getting too old for this stuff. It would have been nice doing this 10 years ago when I had more energy or 10 years from now when I would be semi- retired. Well, la-de-dah Fr. Kevin, you are called to it now, today. The next few months we will be collecting data (have you guessed what the favor is, yet?) and then analyzing that data with groups of parishioners. The Archbishop will take all of that data (he’s not doing this alone) and will come up with a first draft which will be presented to the priests and the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council on August 19 of this year. Then there will be listening sessions (a lot of listening sessions) in every parish. They will refine the plans and then, ta da, on the feast of Pentecost in 2023, they will announce the new structure of the Arch- diocese. Like I said, daunting and demanding. (not to mention, scary and exhilarating)
So here is my favor. First, please also pray for the success of the All Things New project. Prayer has to be at the core of this endeavor. Then, starting March 2, Ash Wednesday, a survey will be made available to all Catholics called the Disciple Maker Index. (The cool kids call it the DMI.) It will take 15 minutes of your time and it will help all of us plan for the future of our Archdiocese. Everyone, eighth grade on up, should take it. It is totally anonymous (it will acknowledge that you are from Holy Redeemer) and it is vital to the success of this project. There is also an additional survey for school families.
Both surveys will be open till April 4. The experts say that only 15 to 20% of practicing Catholics will actually take the survey, I would like Holy Redeemer to surge past that measly number.
Please participate in this. You don’t want to be THAT person who failed to get involved and then is critical of all of the decisions being made… as the parade goes by.
Father Kevin