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Note From Our Pastor, Fr. Peter
B. Mangum
Parish
Pastoral Plan
Dear Parishioners:
Nearly
200 Cathedral pastors and staff, representing more than 80
Cathedrals across the U.S. and Canada, participated in the Cathedral
Ministry Conference in Seattle.
Three keynote speakers and a number of workshops gave us
a extraordinary opportunity not only for us to reflect on the
unique place a Cathedral has in the life of the diocese and of a
city but also for us to compare notes and to exchange
reflections on our experiences in our Cathedrals.
(How providential the timing of this conference for me,
the newest of all pastors of U.S. Cathedrals, as our Parish
Pastoral Council is developing our five-year Pastoral Plan,
which I will write more about next week.)
We
were reminded that all Cathedrals are works in progress,
“unfinished symphonies” (to quote the host pastor of the
conference {cf: What
Sense Do Cathedrals Make? Father
Michael G. Ryan}).
As the God they are meant to honor, Cathedrals defy
easy definition and they never run out of possibilities.
Place of worship, icon of the heavenly city, prophetic pulpit,
center for the sacred arts and for social services, crossroads
for conversation and ecumenism… a Cathedral is all these and
more. There is a
greatness to be discovered in a Cathedral and a world of
opportunities to be explored... We are poised to rediscover the
greatness of our Cathedral Parish!
In
size, age, location, and impact, each Cathedral has different
strengths & weaknesses…
no two Cathedrals are alike, and yet each
Cathedral is more than just another parish with its
unique place in a local Church.
The most common title of the person in charge of the
Cathedral is ‘pastor’ not ‘rector’ as most
Cathedral churches in the US are also parishes, as is our case
at St. John’s. I
was not surprised to find out that I am one of the youngest
Cathedral pastors of the 176 Cathedrals in our country.
Given the fact that the Cathedral is the mother church
of the diocese, a Cathedral in a certain sense belongs to
all the people of the diocese. Insofar as the others of this diocese feel at home at St.
John Berchmans, we are living up to that ideal.
Graceful and exemplary liturgy along with a high
standard of liturgical music is expected from a Cathedral.
As
Cathedral pastors we discussed the challenges of pastoring a
Cathedral community, issues pertaining to parish and diocesan
entities, staffing, schools and the local mission of the
Cathedral community. We all want to preach the Gospel with strength, celebrate the
Mass and Sacraments with power, and evangelize with a visible
effect on the cities we serve.
We want to foster devotions, extend ministries, welcome
visitors, and create beautiful houses of worship.
We recognize the need to make our bishop at home in his
Cathedral, the place from which he teaches, governs, and
sanctifies not only our parishioners, but all the Catholic
people of our diocese.
I also learned that all Cathedral pastors worry about the
same things – budgets, personnel management, our own spiritual
lives, complaints, maintenance, and how to make sure the
volunteers know they are appreciated, etc.
I
was present at the three keynote addresses and at workshops at
the designated times. The
ones I got the most out of:
“Because That’s the Way We’ve Always Done It.”
This talk dealt with the common excuse for why we can't
try something new. And
yet we were reminded that the tradition of our Church the past
2000 years shows us to be often very innovative, embracing new
ideas and technologies to advance mission of the Church.
What must Cathedrals do to reclaim our tradition of
innovation in our very technological world, getting the
Gospel message relevant?
Bishop
Trautman, recently re-elected to serve as the chair of the
Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy, spoke about how a Cathedral
and its parishioners are to model liturgy for the
diocese. (I will
discuss the common postures and gestures at Cathedrals and
churches throughout the country soon!)
Some
of the Workshops:
Embracing the Vulnerable: Pastoral Care in a
Cathedral Parish (Ways
to respond sensitively and creatively to the unique demands made
on a Cathedral… welcoming
the homeless and mentally ill, to providing pastoral care to the
unchurched, to attending effectively to the needs of a large,
geographically dispersed parish family: the embrace of a
Cathedral is wide!)
Nurturing Liturgical Ministers
who need occasional church updating and regular spiritual
nourishment.
Marriage Policies at Cathedrals
Beyond the Bulletin: Creative Approaches
to Getting the Word Out (Cathedral
churches are uniquely situated to spread the good news in ways
that sometimes get overlooked—music, websites, hospitality,
and creative responses to world events.
Sacred Time: The Beauty of the Paschal Triduum
Getting Kids to Sing: Building a Youth Music Program
(Ways to deepen children’s participation in the liturgy
through music.)
Making & Keeping Cathedral Donors
(A Cathedral has unique opportunities to connect with a
wide variety of donors.)
Ministry of the Arts
(Cathedrals can play an important part in the cultural
life of cities and communities…
the value for supporting and developing concerts and the
arts in Cathedrals.)
May
God’s
choicest blessings come upon you, your loved ones and this
Cathedral family of faith!
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