Our Vision Statement: The Body of Christ – Becoming Disciples

08-18-2019Weekly ReflectionFr. Chad King

It occurred to me, that while we have a Mission Statement (which the Staff and Pastoral Council formulated a few years ago and is still current) we did not have a Vision Statement. Some of you might be wondering what the difference is between the two statements. In my mind, a Vision Statement is a brief phrase that is easily memorized and advertised to give focus, identity, and purpose in order to unify an organization. Whereas a Mission Statement helps give context to how that organization is working toward accomplishing the Vision. Thus, a few weeks ago, the current Pastoral Council and Parish Staff met and came up with our Vision Statement: The Body of Christ – Becoming Disciples, which you will see advertised in all our future communications. We will continue to work to accomplish that vision as a parish by striving to be a welcoming community proclaiming the love of God and fostering a life-long personal relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church through Scripture, Sacraments, and service (that has been our Mission Statement). So, in the next few bulletin articles, I will begin to unpack what our Vision Statement means and looks like in our lives.

Most other parishes are named after a saint, but for us, with a parish name like Corpus Christi (which is Latin for The Body of Christ) we already have a built-in identity. Additionally, that identity has a beautiful and challenging double-meaning. Commonly, the Body of Christ refers to the those baptized believers who make up the Church. More profoundly, it also refers to the Sacrament of the Eucharist which we are called to participate in every Sunday (and every day if possible).

We first become members of the Body of Christ – the Church – through our baptism when we become adopted children of God. We are born into the family of God and become sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, with Jesus Christ as our Brother, in the love of the Holy Spirit. The family of God has always existed. We, by His Grace and loving invitation, through our baptism, become members of that family. What that means as a parish is that we strive to be a family of families. We are thousands of different families who come from different homes, but we are called as Catholics to come together into the home, the dwelling place, of God on earth. For us, it is the Church of Corpus Christi, where we come in love to worship the One True God in Mass every Sunday.

When you come to Mass, do you think about coming together as one family to worship God? To be frank, many people have the attitude of just fulfilling their Sunday obligation. Yet, in every Mass, whether we think about it or not, we come together as brothers and sisters in love and worship of our God and Father. We do not worship by ourselves but collectively (while the origin of the word “Mass” comes from the Latin missa for dismissal, we can also think of it as a collected “mass” of family members). But, how many of us think about that when we come to Mass? How many of us look out for and have concern for our brothers and sisters around us in Mass? For example, would you notice if someone around you was wondering what page of the Missalette we were on or the number of the song we were singing?

Likewise, many of you come to the same Mass and, for the most part sit in the same pews, and so perhaps you sit behind, next to, or in front of, the same people most every Sunday. How many of us know the names of our brothers and sisters whom we sit around? That is the purpose of our name-tag Sundays – they are opportunities for you to at least get to know the names of those around you. So, feel free to silently acknowledge someone’s presence with a smile or wave. We don’t want the Church, especially when people are prayerfully preparing for Mass, to be the place and environment for people to catch-up or chit-chat with their “family members.” That is why we have the Coffee & Donuts hospitality during the cooler months. Yet, how many just go about doing your own thing after Mass? Why not stay and foster a little community and see how your brothers and sisters are doing? Obviously, I know that this is more difficult when it is so hot out, which is why we don’t have the Coffee & Donuts hospitality in the summer, nevertheless, it fills me with joy when I still see people talking and catching up with each other after Mass.

Additionally, we started the Parish Game Nights to foster a stronger sense of community. They are a chance for parishioners to come enjoy some time together in a casual, fun atmosphere – after all, what families don’t like to play games together?!

As you can see, there are many opportunities for us to grow closer as a community. Therefore, to be a family of families, we all need to have an intentional attitude when it comes to forming and enriching our community. I know it is easier for those who are more naturally out-going, but we all should go out of our comfort zones to take time to meet and get to know each other a little bit more. After all, I know we would make a new guest feel welcome when they come into our own home, so shouldn’t we do as much for our own brothers and sisters in Christ?! Thank you for your consideration and efforts. Next week, I will continue my reflection on the first part of our Vision Statement: The Body of Christ.