“We are vibrant Catholic Communities, unique and united, passionately committed to urban parish renewal.”
This ONE sentence took hours and HOURS to create! In retreat in Jan.2024, the Collaboration Steering Committee (CSC) wrestled with “Where do we want to be in 5,15,25 years?” “What is our IDEAL of what our joint presence on the Near West Side (NWS) can be?” After much soul searching, word-smithing and many revisions we came to rest and feel gratified with the Vision statement above.
Let me break it down phrase by phrase to show you why!
- “We are VIBRANT….” The Vision is to be a “WE” – fully alive, growing, active, Intergenerational.
- “Catholic“-WE are part of the Universal Catholic Church with all the connections, complications and communion that implies.
- “communities – INTENTIONALLY plural, we recognize that both campus communities have already been present for a LONG time. But we are developing a deeper relationship with each other that can strengthen and enrich us both.
- ”Unique and United…” This was straight from the Holy Spirit! We struggled for quite some time with – “How do we express that, as we join forces, we want to preserve each community’s unique history, personality and gifts as we create something new?” I went to the bathroom and when I came back, this phrase was on the board! Praise God!!!
- ”passionately committed to urban parish renewal…”. Each member of the CSC on retreat wanted to convey the love and dedication our parishes have for the NWS. We wanted to say “We are staying in the Name of Jesus Christ!”. “We will make this work whatever it takes for the people of the NWS!”. “This is too important to not succeed!” The passion for our Mission was and is alive and well!
And, as we continue to create our future, we want to be a light and resource for other urban parishes! We can share from our hard-earned experience! VISION takes imagination, creativity, hard work and wisdom , among other things! And we are both humbled and grateful for our Vision!
With God’s Grace, let’s make it happen!!!
