PPC

WORK OF THE PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL (PPC): MISSION STATEMENT & THEMES

The mission statement for St. Paul’s Parish is  Love God, Live the Sacraments, Build His Kingdom.

Under each of these pillars of the mission statement are ten themes:

LOVE GOD
Eucharistic Celebration
With God
Stewardship

LIVE THE SACRAMENTS
Sacramental Preparation
Vocation
Liturgy

BUILD HIS KINGDOM
School
Visibility
Hospitality
Liturgy for Children

See “THEMES EXPLAINED” section below for additional details on each theme. 

SURVEY ON TOP PRIORITIES FOR 2020

At the end of November 2019, St. Paul’s Parish Pastoral Council conducted a survey asking parishioners to identify three top priorities based on 10 themes that flowed out of our parish mission statement: Love God, Live the Sacraments, Build His Kingdom.

A total of 181 people participated in the survey. The overall top priorities that parishioners identified are:

1) Eucharistic Celebration

2) School

3) A tie for third place — Sacramental Preparation and Liturgy for Children.

Some general comments also included suggestions about more activities for families, youth, and single people; better sharing of information on events and activities at the parish; and adding ways to better welcome people who are new to the parish.

What’s next? Next steps involve Parish Council working with different parish groups and
ministries, and parishioners to brainstorm and develop actions to help move these priorities
forward. If a theme was not identified as a top priority, it will not be forgotten. It is still
something that will be worked on over time as part of our parish mission.

Have an idea or want to participate more fully in the process? Please contact the Parish
Office and share your idea and/or contact information.

THEMES EXPLAINED

LOVE GOD

• Eucharistic Celebrations are celebrated with reverence where parishioners are fully engaged and participate in worshiping our God. Parishioners arrive punctually and stay until after the recessional hymn.
• With God means parishioners spend more time with God in Adoration and/or attend retreats or Bible Study programs. This also means an increase in the number of parishioners participating in the Sacraments, like Confession or even Daily Mass.
• Stewardship refers to the three ‘Ts’: Time (increase in people volunteering for events, activities, and ministries), Talent (increase in parishioners sharing their talents and gifts with the wider parish community to support the parish) and Treasure (a discernment on how parishioners can share their blessings and be generous in supporting the financial needs of parish operations).

LIVE THE SACRAMENTS

• Sacramental Preparations looks to have more people involved in supporting this important ministry of teaching and handing on our faith. Emphasize how to make this celebration more memorable to the children such as framed photo, certificates, or parish gifts, such as Bible, to help mark this milestone.
• Vocation means nurturing an environment that will help young people in their discernment of vocation, be it to the married or single life, or ordained/consecrated life as a priest, or religious brother or sister. Look for ways to share these vocations, be it through exposure to different spiritual movements, vocation fairs, or more of an integration of religious life into parish families. Catholic marriages are supported through parish-led marriage retreats, Natural Family Planning programs, openness to the gift of children, or Theology of the Body programs.
• Liturgy means educating or improving parishioners’ knowledge of church obligations regarding the Sacraments (for example the minimum prescribed frequency), celebrating significant Church feasts and Saint days, and improving parishioner experience when attending celebrations; such as liturgical music variety to enhance and promote a more joyful and prayerful participation, consistency in liturgical celebrations, appropriate altar decorations and/or Church artwork, etc.

BUILD HIS KINGDOM

• Schools are key to sharing the Catholic faith through children, providing the opportunity for parish life to enter into family life. This requires a strong unity between our Catholic schools and our parish, where schools promote or supplement the parish sacramental programs. High school students witness their faith profoundly to the community or those visiting their school.
• Visibility outside of our parish building is key to spark interest from non-parishioners. Consider expanding the outdoor Way of the Cross or creating other events that can be celebrated outdoors – such as Corpus Christi and/or Marian Mother’s Day procession. Consider more multi-cultural parish events. Also consider revamping and improving our parish website.
• Hospitality will aim to create a welcoming and friendly environment to help support parish attendance. This includes increasing visibility and roles of hospitality ministry, identifying new parishioners to make them feel welcome, ensuring hall is always open to promote unity with the main church, and creating social opportunities outside of or after Mass. Also, consider improvements on current facility to promote better hospitality such as baby change facility in the men’s washroom, or redesign of the entrance hall.
  Liturgy for the Children plays an important role in making children feel part of our parish, gives young people a foundation in our faith and helps to develop their relationship with God. This also helps encourage the entire family to attend Sunday Mass and participate more fully in our parish community and grow in faith and love and service of God.