We aim to be a church, that people who don’t like church, like
We are responding to Pope Francis and Bishop da Cunha’s call to Rebuild the Church in Faith and Hope by building on the healthy foundation of our parishioners and past Pastors. We have partnered with Rebuilt Parish, a movement in the Church that has inspired many parishes to grow. We grow wider by creating a culture that welcomes outsiders and makes Mass accessible to them. We encourage our parishioners to grow deeper as disciples of Jesus by providing a clear discipleship path. At the center of these efforts to grow deeper and wider is the weekend Mass experience.
Welcome Outsiders: Build a culture which strives to serve those who have 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 of the pews and serve.
Create an Exceptional Mass Experience. Everything comes together at Mass. A great Mass experience takes people deeper in their faith and brings them back to your parish next week. A great weekend experience is built around hymns, homilies and hospitality. Mass is meant to be the bedrock of everything we do as a Parish. Shape a Clear Discipleship Path. We will encourage 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 (Invest and Invite).
OUR VISION
St. Mary’s is a parish that is welcoming, lives and shares faith, loves and serves others.
OUR MISSION
To lead people in a transformative encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist and grow in discipleship by imitating his sacrificial love.
S.T.E.P.S OF DISCIPLESHIP
S.T.E.P.S OF DISCIPLESHIP
We encourage 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 (Invest and Invite).
OUR PURPOSE
WORSHIP
We believe in Orthodox Christianity, as taught by the Roman Catholic Church. The Eucharistic celebration is the source and summit of our faith, which we seek to live and serve with the whole of our lives in vibrant and creative ways; in other words, we strive for a “dynamic Orthodoxy.” Excellence in our worship honors God.
We believe that our Baptism makes us one family in which we learn to love one another as Christ loved us. We strive to build a church culture through Small Groups where people are open and authentic, especially about their need to grow and change. Our community does life together.
We believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God. Our preaching and messages aim to break open the relevance of the Bible for our daily lives. Changing and growing into the likeness of Christ is not just greater knowledge of our faith, but doing what God’s Word says. Discipleship ultimately means life-change.
We believe that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. We heed God’s command to share his name with the world. We look for the opportunity to invite disconnected Catholics to join us. As a church we want insiders to reach outsiders. Our church exists for growth.
We believe that the Holy Spirit has prepared works for us to do that will advance the kingdom of Christ. We recognize God’s call on our church to serve both within our parish and also beyond: in our city, our country, and in the world. In the service of the Lord we are challenged to always do more. We accept that challenge.