29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

I often ponder my job description.  My job, more specifically my vocation, is rather unique and special but then again, I think we all share in it.  Our vocation is to get to know Jesus, Son of God.  We are to follow him and do what he did; to be his disciples.  Our job is to invite others to journey with us.  We follow Jesus into eternal life.  In other words, our job is to get to heaven.  Sounds understandable enough.

We use words like relationship, discipleship, and mission because that is what we are all about as Christians.  How does that “sync” with parish life?  It’s easy to lose focus and likewise easy to lose our way.  As members of the parishes of the Catholic Community of Waukesha (CCWauk), our mission needs to be foremost in our minds.  I would like to spend this year reminding us of our mission.

We put our mission into practice under the various parish ministry titles as “Prayer and Worship,” “Christian Formation,” “Hispanic Ministry,” “Human Concerns,” “Communication,” “Stewardship,” and of course, “Administration.”  As pastor, my “Sacrament” is “Holy Orders.”  My vocation is to keep focus and order in the ministries.  I take that very seriously. 

I plan to work with each of the ministries in planning their “Commission” meetings this year.  With Covid-19 upon us that could be a challenge but we could make this task easier with “zoom” meetings.  I’m starting with Prayer and Worship. 

Bob Gallagher, Director of Prayer and Worship, and I will find a convenient day for a commission meeting that will include not only commission members from Pastoral Council, but also those involved in any and all liturgical ministries.  The meeting will begin with a formation (educational) component.  The education piece will focus on the purpose of the Prayer and Worship Commission and how it stems from the life of Jesus himself.  This meeting will include a “best practices” component on “Welcoming and Hospitality” in Liturgy followed by a “commission” discussion on how this might look in the CCWauk Parishes.  The evening will conclude with a “break out” discussion where individual parish liturgical members will discuss how they might want to implement these ideas in their specific church.  The evening ends in prayer. 

I will work this year with each commission to develop an evening with prayer, formation, best practices and a time for practical application to each church. That will include those active in that ministry and any others who would like to be part.  Current members should plan to invite friends and new members to be part of the CCWauk mission.  

I am excited about this new venture.  Commission nights will offer some good “continuing education,” a focus on mission and deepen opportunities for parishioner involvement. It will take all of us working together to make this work.  “Springs of Hope” continue to show forth!.

In His Peace,

Fr. Pat Heppe
Pastor