As a parish community, we have the opportunity to support one another on our faith journey; we travel as individuals, to be sure, but we also journey collectively. The Evangelization and Catechesis Commission members rise to the challenge of providing support and offering input regarding faith formation opportunities and processes for the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish community.

Members are appointed in the spring and meet the third Tuesday of the month (except June and July) at 7 p.m. It is part of our mission to "live and share" the Good News of Jesus Christ.

All parishioners are invited to discern serving as a parish leader. The Parish Pastoral Council will help you prayerfully discern where to best use your God-given talents, and will provide training for effective servant leadership.

For more information, contact the Staff Liaison: Donna Wenstrup

 

 

Evangelization and Catechesis Vision of a Catholic IHM Parishioner

 

Our Evangelization and Catechesis Commission attempted to articulate a vision of some basic spiritual qualities for a mature Catholic parishioner. We identified 5 areas and ranked them in the order we thought might be easiest to hardest, to create this 5-year plan:

 

1^st Year (2018-19) – Following the Greatest Commandments, we strive to love God above all things and love others for love of God. We live out a personal relationship with Jesus through setting aside time for daily prayer whenever possible and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit within.

2^nd Year (2019-20) - We intentionally seek to grow in holiness through frequenting the Sacraments as vehicles of God’s grace. As Baptized, Confirmed Catholics, we commit to attending Mass and Reconciliation on a regular basis and seek other Sacraments as appropriate.

3^rd Year (2020-21) – For Catholics, we put our faith into action. We freely choose to obey God’s Commandments and the Church as an extension of Jesus. We choose to serve the Church by being involved in parish ministry and/or to serve the needs of the poor and vulnerable as ambassadors of Christ. 

4^th Year (2021-22) – As part of the Body of Christ, we participate in Church Community together. We worship together and make ourselves present to each other, offering our gifts and appreciating and benefitting from the gifts of others. We engage in life-long learning and seek meaningful conversations in small faith-sharing groups, Bible Studies or other Faith Formation activities together.

5^th Year (2022-23) – The mission of the Church is to evangelize (to bring the Good News of salvation in Jesus so the Holy Spirit can bring about conversion, making disciples who make more disciples). We intentionally look outward, building relationships with others, loving them, sharing our faith with them, and looking for appropriate times to invite them into relationship with Jesus and His Church.

 

At IHM, our Parish Mission Statement is “We are a welcoming Catholic Community, centered in the Eucharist, striving to live and share the Good News and grow in discipleship with the Lord.” Our task is then, how do we make disciples who are welcoming, centered on the Eucharistic, living the Good News, sharing the Good News, and growing in discipleship?

Our E&C Commission has a strong desire to offer the right opportunities that will allow our parishioners to support one another in our individual paths toward a deeper Catholic faith.  Let's help each other to grow in these five areas, ultimately becoming truly dynamic disciples of Christ!