Parish Council Reorganization

.St. Mary’s Parish Pastoral Council was reorganized in October, 2016 to conform to the Diocesan Guidelines described in One in Mission. The Council continues to be a service organization but now the emphasis is on the spiritual welfare and growth of the Parish. The responsibilities of the Council are • to advise the pastor on the needs of the parish • to communicate with parishioners • to create a mission statement for the parish (completed) • and to articulate a vision for the future of the parish (work in progress) A Mission Statement has been formulated with the input of parishioners.  The Council has written a constitution and by-laws according to the Diocesan Guidelines.. With the leadership and support of Msgr. Scheaffer the Council is now adopting a program from RENEW International, called Be My Witness: Formation for the New Evangelization as a tool to discern and implement a Pastoral Vision for St. Mary’s. Both the Diocesan Guidelines and the Be My Witness program are inspired by Pope Francis’ Joy of the Gospel. Be My Witness Program St. Mary’s is beginning a two-year process called Be My Witness, a Christ-centered, Spirit-led formation program for the new evangelization. In its first phase we will look at our Parish through the lens of evangelization to see what we are doing well in the areas of Sunday Worship, Welcoming, Belonging, Witness and Mission. Together as a Parish, using Be My Witness as a tool, we will strengthen and grow our Parish. More information can be found at www.bemywitness.org.  During Phase 1 of Be My Witness the Council is part of the leadership team.  At the end of Phase 1 the Council continues the plan to implement the Parish Vision.  Updates on the work of the Council and Be My Witness will be in the bulletin, website and Facebook. Constitution and By-laws Parish Pastoral Council Membership Be My Witness Team 1 Leaders.

St. Mary’s  Church

14833 Kutztown Road Kutztown, Pa 19530 Ph: 610-683-7443