Saint Elizabeth Roman Catholic Church

Insert to the Parish Bulletin for Sunday, January 21, 2018

2017-2021 PASTORAL PLAN

Our 2017-2021 Saint Elizabeth Pastoral Plan is now complete! The Pastoral Plan serves as a guide to our spiritual growth as disciples and members of the Body of Christ and was developed upon the foundation of our previous pastoral plans. The new plan reflects where we are and where we are called to go as a parish community. The 2017-2021 Pastoral Plan includes a new vision, an updated mission, a set of core parish values for living as faithful disciples and a set of six pastoral goals and objectives.

OUR VISION

We are called by Jesus Christ to grow as a community of disciples, deepen our faith and be grateful stewards of God's gifts.

Our Vision expresses an image of the ideal that our parish community seeks to exemplify through our faithful living out of the pastoral plan. We are called to make this Vision the cornerstone of our thinking, prayer, attitudes and behaviors in our daily living. Take a few minutes to reflect upon three key aspects of Our Vision:

How are we a community? How are we to be His disciples? How are we to be stewards of God's gifts?

OUR MISSION

Our Mission (found on the front cover of the parish bulletin, inside front cover of the hymnal and on the parish website) expresses why Saint Elizabeth Church exists; it reminds us of our personal and communal identity in Christ and our shared responsibility to give witness to Christ for those around us and for the world at large.

Our Mission articulates the intentions and actions needed to bring Our Vision to life in the everyday circumstances of our families, neighborhoods, schools and work places. Our Mission is rooted in the fundamental affirmation of our identity as followers of Jesus Christ.

'to nourish and grow a holy, faithful and vibrant Catholic community...everyday, one person at a time.

As part of your Lenten journey this year, please join your fellow parishioners for:

For more information, please visit the parish website at: www.srelizabethparish.org,

May God continue to guide and sustain all of us on our spiritual journey at Saint Elizabeth Church!

PRAYERFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THE SICK AND DECEASED

For your information, since the spring of 2013, the following practices have been in place for the prayerful remembrance of sick and deceased parishioners, family members and friends:

General Intercessions at Weekend Mass:

      When the parish ministry center is notified, the names of sick parishioners, their family members, friends or co-workers are announced individually within the General Intercessions at weekend Mass for two weeks, after which these individuals are remembered in a more general way within the General Intercessions by the use of the phrase: "and all those whose names are listed in this week's parish bulletin."

      When the parish ministry center is notified, the names of deceased parishioners, their family members, friends or co-workers are announced individually within the General Intercessions at weekend Mass for two weeks.

Prayer Corner in the Parish Bulletin:

      When the parish ministry center is notified, the names of sick parishioners, their family members, friends or co-workers are listed individually in the weekly parish bulletin for one month, after which it falls upon the requesting parishioner to contact the parish ministry center again to have the individual ' s name included in the parish bulletin for another month. The names of deceased parishioners and the immediate family members of parishioners are announced in the weekly parish bulletin for one week; for this purpose "immediate family members" include a spouse, child, parent, direct in-law, grandparent and an individual sharing the same household as the parishioner making the request.

Note: It is helpful for those making a request for prayers to notify the parish ministry center when the sick person recovers or passes away, so that the prayerful remembrance might be adjusted in a timely manner.

Pastoral Care for the Sick and the Bereaved:

      When the parish ministry center is notified that a parishioner is sick or hospitalized, the sick person's name and contact information is forwarded to the Pastoral Care Team for follow-up visitation, Holy Communion and/or other supportive services.

      When a parishioner has died, a Mass card is sent to the family, designating the deceased for a specific Mass Intention on the closest available date to the first anniversary of the individual ' s death; if the individual 's funeral services are being arranged through the parish, the deceased's name and contact information is forwarded to the Bereavement Ministry Team for their assistance with funeral preparations,

      When the parish ministry center is informed that an immediate family member of a parishioner has died, a Mass card is sent to the parishioner, including the deceased by name in the next available Parish Memorial Mass on the first Saturday of each month; normally a maximum of 12 individuals are included at each Memorial Mass.

      A list of deceased parishioners and the immediate family members of parishioners is maintained at the parish ministry center and shared with the Bereavement Ministry Team, so that the families of the deceased are included in the various events sponsored by the Bereavement Ministry Team throughout the year.