Share the Dream Main Webpage

Share the Dream Update #1 ; Update #2 ; Update #3

Update #4: Implementation Plans :

Following the Share the Dream Assemblies of March 20-22, 2009, six sub-committees composed of a crosssection of parishioners gathered to prayerfully consider the hundreds of suggestions/ideas which were raised.

Each sub-committee processed the information and proposed a plan for implementing their recommendations. Click on each sub-committee listed below for details:

Adult Catechesis
Family Faith Formation
Liturgy, Worship & Prayer
Service
Spiritual Growth – Retreats/SCCs
Youth & Young Adults

Update #3: What we heard over the Assembly weekend
(Update #1) (Update #2)

Two weeks ago, over 200 people gathered for our Share the Dream Parish Assembly. During the course of the weekend, we joined our hearts and minds as we discussed ideas and themes under the umbrella of our six major topics that served as our framework for envisioning the future of Presentation. There were many areas that overlapped each other, but overall, we heard the desire for more education and catechesis, more varied service opportunities, the need for more space for all of our ministries to meet, and the desire for community building events and programs.

First and foremost, in the area of Liturgy, Worship and Prayer, we heard a great desire for more reverence in our liturgies and for our worship space, as well as the need for more moments of silent reflection during Mass. You also stressed that you are seeking to understand the parts of the Mass and the meaning of the Mass, and would like some sort of a Teaching Mass. And we heard you express a desire for stronger homilies and Prayers of the Faithful that are more varied and diverse in scope.

In the area of Adult Catechesis you expressed a desire to deepen your understanding and knowledge of the Catholic Faith in order to deepen your relationship with God. You said that you wanted more programming in the areas of Bible study, interfaith and ecumenical programs, and as a variety of sessions to help you understand why we do what we do in our Catholic Faith traditions. You also called for more Catholic teaching on contemporary social issues and interfaith programs, and expressed a desire for high caliber speakers who are noted in their fields of study.

In the area of Family Faith Formation you said that we need to strengthen our Family- based model, and we need to engage the whole parish in this process of life-long learning faith formation. We heard you say that we need to re-assess and strengthen our junior high program, as well as create age-specific peer groups within the Family faith program. You also said you wanted Small Christian Communities for families as well as   better resources to support you as you strive to teach your children about our Catholic Christian faith at home.

In the area of Spiritual Growth, you stated that we need to better promote our wonderful Cornerstone retreats since they serve as a rite of initiation for so many of our parishioners, and we also need to invite more people to this experience. You expressed a need to revive the Cursillo program and begin new retreat programs, stemming from SCC’s and other ministries. You also said that you want to hear more dynamic speakers and have access to more materials to enrich your spiritual lives.

In the area of Service, you told us there was a need for more opportunities to serve and ways to get involved for parishioners of all ages. You said you wanted a support group for parents of children with special needs, a hotline for teens, and a desire to include and engage our young people in Christian service. We heard that there is a need to increase our food pantry operations, and a need to identify the needs of the homebound and our services for the elderly. We also heard the need for more education and awareness on a variety of social justice issues.

In the area of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, you again said that we need to look at the junior high program, as well as strengthen our ministry to and with Young Adults of all ages. We heard the call for more mentoring and service opportunities and a need to strengthen our Confirmation program. You also said that there is a need for programs that address the church’s response to the many difficult decisions and issues that our young people face in today’s complicated world.

Overall, we heard many affirmations of our programs and ministries here at Presentation, as well as a call to strengthen the core of who we are, while we look into new areas of ministry. Our six committees will continue to work in order to implement the ideas that you shared with us, and you will receive timely updates on the website and in the bulletin.

St. Catherine of Siena once said “If you are what you should be, you will set the world on fire.” The best of who we are certainly came to the surface on this great weekend of dialogue and sharing, and now we can dream and plan for our future as we step into this next phase of Share the Dream. May the Holy Spirit be with us and guide us as we seek to set our souls and the world ablaze!

Fellow Parishioners,

Last week’s bulletin contained an update on the Share the Dream Call to Discover sessions held last fall. As mentioned previously the Share the Dream committee will continue on a weekly basis to provide further updates leading up to the Parish Assembly scheduled for March 20 – 22, 2009.

This week’s update is concerned with two areas, Administration and Communications, that will not be discussed specifically at the Parish assembly in March but warranted further attention. Next week we will provide detailed information about the Assembly itself and in subsequent weeks we will provide a write-up on each of six topic areas that are targeted for the Assembly.

Progress Report

 In addition to generating the six main topics for discussion at the upcoming Assembly, the Call to Discover sessions also surfaced some specific suggestions for practical improvements here at Presentation. They generally fall under the categories of administration and communications.

In the Administration area, many people mentioned the need to upgrade the bathrooms and to have more meeting space. In consultation with the Finance Council, Fr. Bob has decided to draw down on the parish’s savings to renovate the bathrooms. They will be looking into the costs of doing that in the near future. The Finance Council will also be examining the space issues, but any substantive plans to rework the office and meeting areas at the parish center will most likely be farther in the future given the current recession.

It goes without saying that we are all facing serious economic difficulties. Many members of the community, including parishioners, are experiencing financial distress. For that reason, the Finance Council will carefully review any plans that will incur a significant cost and advise the parish leadership when we can afford to implement them.

A Communications Team is being assembled to take a look at the internal and external communications of the parish and possible ways to improve them, particularly in the area of increasing covering of parish activities in the external media.

In the weeks ahead we will provide additional information on the progress in the areas of Administration and Communications as well as details on the six categories that will be addressed at the Share the Dream Assemblies on March 20-22. If you have suggestions regarding the six assembly categories please attend one or more sessions; come share your dream.

 Share the Dream Update #1 (in 2/1/09 bulletin) : (Update #2) (Update #3)

The purpose of the Share the Dream Call to Discover sessions held last fall was to identify broad topics for discussion at the March 20-22 Parish Assembly. Nearly 300 parishioners attended those sessions and over 450 specific topics were identified. As mentioned in Fr Bob’s bulletin column in December the Share the Dream committee has grouped those topics into the following six categories for discussion at the Parish Assembly:

* Service
* Liturgy, Worship & Prayer
* Engaging our Youth, Young Adults and Young Families
* Family Faith Formation
* Spiritual Growth - Retreats and SCCs
* Adult Catechesis and Spiritual Nourishment

We would like to stress that these six topic areas are not to be viewed as stand-alone, independent areas. We will work to ensure that any specific suggestions generated at the Assembly will be given serious consideration to ensure maximum integration as we move forward with our implementation plans.
In addition to these six main topic areas, a number of specific suggestions, albeit fewer in number, were captured under two other topic areas – Administration (Facilities, Budgets, etc) and Communications. Instead of including these areas as additional Assembly topics, we have decided to immediately begin addressing the comments/suggestions we heard at the Call to Discover sessions. We will provide a more detailed update on these two topic areas to the parish in the near future. 

In the time leading up to the March 20-22 Assembly we will also provide more detailed information on the six main topics for the Assembly to assist all parishioners in their preparation. The purpose of the Assembly will be to have parishioners share their specific hopes and dreams (Share Your Dream) about better responding to the parish’s needs in these specific areas.

We thank you for your support and ask for your continued prayers as we discern God’s plan for our parish in the future.