Town Hall Meeting

If you missed our Town Hall Meeting about the future of our parish, listen to the recording!

Dear parishioners,

Over the past few weeks of Lent, I have met in ten small house gatherings with a cross-section of almost 200 of our members to discuss future planning for our parish. The basic question is: What do we need in order for Holy Family to flourish going forward?

We didn't start the discussion from scratch. There was already a significant amount of thought and planning that went on surrounding this question starting fifteen years ago. We always have to weigh "needs vs. wants" and consider what might be possible, but the general consensus in these house gatherings was an enthusiastic desire to revisit a facilities expansion that had been derailed by the Great Recession a decade ago.

In order to allow a fuller conversation about this question with the entire parish, I invite everyone to a “town hall” style meeting on Sunday, March 25th, at 1pm. It is Palm Sunday and I hate to distract us from the great importance of Holy Week but there are certain time constraints we are facing for making a decision. Perhaps the graces of Holy Week may help us decide wisely! If nothing else, see attendance at this meeting as one last Lenten penance! I'm also hoping that families on Spring Break are planning to be back by then to start Holy Week with us.

There will be coffee and donuts following the 11am Mass, so feel free to come down to Fr. Moorman Hall and snack before the meeting. Or maybe the 1pm start time gives you a chance to grab a quick lunch somewhere or drop the kids at home and return. It is my hope that parishioners who go to the Saturday evening and Sunday 9am Masses will also make an effort to come to this meeting.

This meeting will allow us to reflect on our current situation, examine the challenges we face for the future, brainstorm about opportunities for rising above those challenges, and answer any questions. Any plans that develop need to be the fruit of parishioners' consensus and willingness to sacrifice rather than some grand scheme that I or anyone else puts forward.

Thanks for your willingness to engage in this discussion with me!

Come Holy Spirit, enlighten our minds and hearts!

God bless you!

Fr. Joseph 


Prayer for Guidance from the Holy Spirit:

Come Holy Spirit! 

Enlighten our minds and hearts as we seek Your wisdom to guide our efforts for the future of our parish.

Make us grateful for the sacrifices of those who came before us and whose legacy of faith we have inherited.

Inspire us with ways to strengthen our future as a witness of the Gospel in the Twin Cities and Your instrument for the formation of the next generation of Christians.

May the Holy Family of Nazareth be our model and may we always live united in charity with Jesus at the center of our lives.
AMEN.