Tonight at the Parish Pastoral Council, we had two representatives from the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center. They explained St. Mary's demographics, which we are to use in formulating a plan to best meet the spiritual needs of the parish in the future, specifically 2014.
ExecutiveInsite devised a really interesting picture of the parish. It integrated a data tables and graphs with narration. It included twelve trends:
Population
Racial/Ethnic
Age
Children
Marital Status
Educational Levels
Occupations
Household Types
Charitable Giving Practices
Religious Practices
On the whole, St. Mary's is average or above. We're doing all right. To maintain and increase will be our goal. Our next meeting, hopefully will be to come up with some concrete, valid, ideas. But presently, we think that just being joyful, excited about our Faith, and practicing what we preach is the best policy.
In fact, our conclusion reminded me of something the Venerable, Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, O.P. said: "A holy cheerfulness, gentleness, and readiness in speaking, a modest and reserved manner, confidence in the Lord, and zeal for the salvation of others are irresistible attractions that almost always draw the bystanders around one who, with frank simplicity, is defending the cause of Catholic doctrines."
IOW, don't hide your light under the basket.
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