Dear Parish Family,

  Where are we going? Every journey that we set out on in life has, among other things, a destination, the place where our journey is taking us. Maybe the destination is to the store to pick up some bread, or to the restaurant to grab dinner, or to a family member or friend’s house to visit. Our destinations may vary, but rarely do we set out on a journey without having at least some idea of where we are hoping to go.

  Here at St. Vincent de Paul, we are on a journey, a journey of faith & life. But where are we hoping to go on that journey together? This is the question that our Parish Pastoral Council and I have been thinking about and reflecting on for the past months. We started the discussion at our meeting in May, then things got sidetracked with my dad’s passing, and at our August meeting, we finalized what we are calling, “Vision 2023: Spreading the Light of the Gospel in Word & Deed.” I wanted to share that vision with you today so that we could all have an idea of where we are hoping to go.

  We are calling it “Vision 2023” because we hope that it paints a picture of where we hope to be and the growth that we hope to see happen when we arrive at the year 2023. The vision centers around 3 key ideas...being welcoming, growing in faith, and building up the outreach efforts of our parish. It’s a vision that we are all working on together, we all, each and every member of our parish family has a key and an essential role in bringing this vision to fruition. In each of the 3 “central ideas” we have also developed some action steps that we believe will help us to move towards making our overall vision a reality. You will be hearing more about those as the year goes on.

  In a few weeks, in the beginning of October, I plan in my homily at Mass to share more specifically about this vision with you. I invite you to keep our “Vision 2023: Spreading the Gospel in Word & Deed” in the front of your mind & heart & consider how you might respond to the invitation to help us make that vision a reality as we are welcoming, as we grow in faith, and as we share diversity.