ST
MATTHEW THE APOSTLE CATHOLIC CHURCH
VISION STATEMENT
STRENGTHS
We, the members of
We are led by a group of very dedicated, active,
devoted workers, who are backed by the elders who offer a rich experience of
living their Catholic faith. We have worked diligently to thrive in the midst
of poverty. We also provide resources to the needy of the area through our
Chapter of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. We regularly host outside groups
who wish to grow in their understanding of our living situation and to do what
they can to help alleviate poverty.
Perhaps our greatest treasure lies in our children and
youth. We provide religious formation through a Children’s Liturgy of the Word
on Sundays, host and support De La Salle Middle School, and provide a variety
of programs for the children of the parish and of the neighborhood.
CHALLENGES
As a parish, we realize that we face a number of
significant challenges in meeting our stewardship obligations. We are small,
and hence are limited in our resources, both personal and financial. We are
situated in the Ville Neighborhood of North St. Louis City, surrounded by
poverty, unemployment, discouragement, oppression, violence and crime. There
are many children in our neighborhood with little supervision or focus, many of
whom are not well-served by the public educational system. In all of this, one
of our challenges is to do our part in confronting the unjust social, economic
and educational disparity that exists in the
As adult members of this Parish Community, we realize
that we still have room to grow in our understanding and practice of our
Catholic Faith. We have spiritual and educational resources available through
the presence of Jesuits in the parish, which we have not yet fully tapped. Our
challenge is to realize that we can still grow as adults, and to be willing to
invest the time and energy needed for that growth.
St. Matthew’s has a rich heritage of independence,
with a variety of groups striving mightily on their own to meet their goals and
to keep the parish alive. In our efforts to become financially self-sustaining,
we have hosted many fundraising events that have strained our limited human
resources while failing to meet our financial goals. At this time in our
history, our challenge is to move beyond independence to authentic
interdependence, where we respect those who exercise leadership, both laity and
clergy. This means that all members of the parish are challenged to take a true
and profound ownership together of the parish and its needs and resources. It
also demands of us an increased level of communication within the parish and
its organizations as well as with the other churches and institutions in the
neighborhood. It could well mean sacrificing some traditional events and
activities so that we can have the energy to make our larger efforts more
effective with greater parishioner participation. We also want to be open to
greater cooperation in the neighborhood as we deal with the issues we share
with other congregations in the neighborhood.
THE CALL
As we reflect on this reality in the fall of 2008, we
see ourselves as called to glorify God and to grow as a community of faith both
in word and in deed. We acknowledge that we are called to be a stewardship
parish, serving God by the way we spend our time, our talent and our treasure.
The foremost call is to deepen our spirituality. Our
principal focus is our Eucharist, where we gather to celebrate the central
Mystery of our salvation. This celebration must be supported by personal prayer
in the life of each parishioner, which in turn is enhanced through retreats,
the Spiritual Exercises, Bible study and other similar endeavors. We renew our
commitment to do what we need to do to grow in our understanding and practice
of our Catholic faith and its traditions.
We understand that as the adult members of St. Matthew
Parish, we are called to reach out to one another as parishioners and to those
in our families and in our neighborhood in many ways. Our deepening
spirituality, if it is authentic, will manifest itself in action, and will also
be strengthened by the actions we take.
o
We reach out to
our families and friends by supporting their presence with us at
o
We see ourselves
as called to reach out to our neighborhood by inviting those with no church
home to join us for worship. This includes the families of those involved in
our youth events (Back to School, Halloween, etc.) as well as the families of
the students at De La Salle.
o
We also have an
opportunity for evangelization as we deal with those who receive assistance from
us, either through the St. Vincent De Paul Society or through the Thanksgiving
and Christmas Baskets. We also need to continue to personally welcome all
visitors at Mass, and to augment this welcome by developing information packets
to present to all our visitors.
o
We see a further
opportunity by following up with all those who have indicated an interest in
the Catholic faith through the efforts of the Society of Our Lady of Peace in
this neighborhood.
o
We reach out to
our parish youth through our Sunday Liturgy of the Word for children, in which
we are called to involve all the children of our families each Sunday.
o
We reach out to
parish youth and neighborhood youth through our Youth Ministry programs, which
we are called to support with all aspects of stewardship.
o
We also reach out
to the youth of our parish and our neighborhood through the De La Salle Middle
School. We see ourselves called to develop a strong and mutually supportive
relationship with this important apostolic outreach from our Catholic Community.
o
And finally, in
our outreach we are uniquely positioned to provide opportunities to those from
other parts of our metropolitan area, and beyond, to join us in our mission to
serve those in greater need, and to bridge the profound societal disparities
and divisions by inviting those on the other side of the divide to join with us
in this effort. We see ourselves as called to publicize this opportunity
throughout the
In
the area of parish financial sustainability, we see ourselves as called to the
following:
o
We are
responsible for the support of our parish by individual financial contributions
according to our means.
o
As a Parish
Community, we are called to combine our time and talent by supporting a select number major fund raisers. We ask that every
parishioner and organization faithfully and prayerfully consider a commitment
of time, talent and/or treasure to support at least one of these fund raising
events.
o
We are also called
to do a better job of coordinating these fund raising efforts, and of showing
our appreciation for those who volunteer their time and talents. All need to
realize that they are welcome to participate, and that there is a significant
place for each person in these efforts.
In
all of this, we see ourselves called to renew our ownership of our faith, and
of our faith community. Each of us individually and all of us together are
called to fulfill Jesus’ command to “Go, make disciples of all nations.”
October
5, 2008