When I first arrived at Resurrection Parish, nearly 5 years ago, I met with the Parish Pastoral Council. I wanted to get to know the parish better. I asked them what they saw as the strengths of the parish, and what were things that they thought the parish could work on to improve. The music program was applauded, as I have come to know it deserves. Good staff. Friendly people.

The Pastoral Council, however, said that the parish seemed to be in a rut. That there was a subtle malaise. It was not just the declining Mass attendance, which is sadly effecting parishes across the country, but it just seemed that there was not as much energy in the parish. They mentioned that a few years earlier, they had started to read the book Rebuilt, which relates the account of the Church of the Nativity near Baltimore, and its nearly 20 year effort to revitalized the parish. The members of the Council said that while they had read the book, they never really did much with it.

So it was decided that we would start working on “Rebuilding” Resurrection Parish. We re-read Rebuilt, and read some of the sequels to it, e.g., Tools for Rebuilding, and The Rebuilt Field Guide. When the Rebuilt Parish Association started, we joined and now we have access to many resources. It was important for us to keep in mind that we are Resurrection Parish, not Nativity. Some of things that they do there might not work here. For starters, we have two worship sites, and not just one. The “process” is what is important, and not following the specific steps they did. The Rebuilt Process is centered on three strategic anchors.

First, a focus on “growing wider.” This involves building a culture which strives to serve those who never come to church (un-churched) and those who have not been to church in a long time (de-churched). That begins with hospitality and calling upon parishioners already coming to get out of the pews and serve. Some of the first things we have been doing in this area is just trying to make the churches more attractive and inviting. It means removing clutter, putting hymnal racks at Holy Name so books don’t just pile up at the end of the pews. Not selling things before Mass, so a newcomer doesn’t think we are just about money. The main goal for this anchor this year is to establish a Greeter Ministry, where people will open the doors for people when they arrive at Mass, and just say things like “Welcome,” “Glad to have you join us.”

The second strategic anchor focuses on “growing deeper.” This involves encouraging Parishioners to go deeper in their faith by providing the ministries and systems to do so. The Rebuilt path for this is utilizing the S.T.E.P.S. of Discipleship:

• SERVE in ministry

• TITHE, give financially

• ENGAGE in Small Groups

• PRACTICE, prayer and the sacraments

• SHARE your faith by investing and inviting

This year, we are focusing on the “E”, engaging in Small Groups. We started our first Small Group – meeting Mondays at 7 PM in the Parish Office – for Lent. They watch a brief video that develops the Message preached on Sunday, and they have discussion questions to help apply the message to their lives. Small Groups are where the “Big Church gets small and personal.” Our goal is to have at least two Small Groups by the end of the year.

Last strategic anchor creating an exceptional weekend Mass experience. Everything comes together at Mass. A great Mass experience takes people deeper in their faith and brings them back to our parish next week. A great weekend experience includes:

• Stirring worship music

• Energy and fellowship driven by servant ministers

• Homilies which speak into people’s lives

• Great children’s programs

• Everything done with excellence

I think we already have a good music program, but that does not mean we cannot improve. I know that Rosemary, our music director, would gladly welcome new singers and musicians for the Adult Choir, the Children’s Choir, and the Folk Group. A focus for this year, has been really fine tuning and promoting the Message Series Preaching. That is going to be the foundation of much of what we do in the parish (more on that next week). A great Mass is the bedrock of everything a Rebuilt parish does.

The Pastoral Council, deacons and I are excited about this pastoral plan for our parish. We hope that you will also get excited about it. If you want to get involved, and I pray that many of you will, please just talk to me or one of the deacons or call the office. The future of Resurrection Parish can be very bright, but it depends on all of us.