Dear Friends,
How about a parish field trip?
Mary Queen of Heaven has been chosen by the Diocese of Joliet to lead prayer and provide music for its Diocesan Ministry Convocation this year. The convocation is an annual event that gathers together more than 300 ministry leaders of the diocese - clergy and lay - for a day of reflection on their life in the church. This year's convocation will be the first of a series of diocesan events celebrating the 40th anniversary of Vatican II. The keynote talk will be on Gaudiem et Spes, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church.
For several reasons, I have asked (and have been granted!) permission to invite to this event all the members of our parish. First of all, I thought that it would be wonderful to be able to support our Music Director, Molly Lindberg, and our choir as they step out into a more public role as ministers of music for our church. Secondly, our parish has the distinction of being the first in our diocese to have in place a new model of ministry with a Pastoral Life Coordinator. Your public presence can help others to see that in spite of challenges that come with this transition, we are a strong community of faith that is alive and growing. Third, and perhaps most important of all, as your pastoral leader, I want to encourage you in believing that we all serve in ministry for our Lord as Catholic Christians - whether as lay or ordained ecclesial ministers, members of religious communities, or as lay people living out our various vocations in our families and in the world. All of us are called by virtue of our baptism to participate in the priesthood of Christ and to proclaim the gospel message of love and justice and peace in word and in deed.
Besides becoming full members of the church through the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation), everyone should have the opportunity for ongoing formation. To a degree, this happens with our continuing participation in the sacramental life of the church, especially hearing and reflecting on the Word of God and sharing together the celebration of the Eucharist at weekly Mass. Other opportunities that some parishioners already take advantage of include training sessions and days of reflection for liturgical ministers and those involved in Religious Education or RCIA. We also have some small faith communities in our parish that intentionally set aside time for prayer, reflection on scripture, and faith sharing. Coming up in January, we will be starting up organized Bible study groups that will meet at various times of day and evening at the parish and make use of a quality program designed to stimulate deeper learning of the Bible and its application to our lives.
In the months and years to come, I want to encourage all of our parishioners to consider additional opportunities for ongoing formation. We will begin to provide more programs for adult education and spiritual development right here at our parish, and will also publicize opportunities outside of our parish that would be of benefit. This year's Diocesan Ministry Convocation is just such an opportunity!
I invite you to join with us on November 9. I will be arranging a bus from the parish so that we can all go together. You will find a registration form in today's bulletin. Since we have special permission to attend as a parish, I am asking that completed registration forms be turned in to the parish office (not to the diocese), so that we can submit one list of people attending from Mary Queen of Heaven. There is a $20 registration fee for everyone except for choir members. Please submit the $20 with your registration form (or indicate on the form if you are a choir member.) Please also indicate on the registration form if you wish to ride along on the bus. I would like to have all registrations in by Oct. 26, so that we know what size bus we will need. Even though that still gives us one month to get final registrations in, I wanted to get this message to you now so that you can plan ahead. Many people, I know, will need to request the day off from work.
I hope that many parishioners will come to thus year's Diocesan Ministry Convocation. Besides providing a good opportunity for ongoing formation in ministry, I think it will be a fun field trip, a joyful day together that is out-of-the-ordinary. I am convinced that whenever we are intentional about growing in our lives with God and with one another, that there is more love and truth that is revealed to us. Let us all take advantage of this opportunity!