12.20.06 - On the outskirts of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, close to the Pennsylvania-Maryland border lies a parish where faith is anything but peripheral. With over 5,500 parishioners, Sacred Heart is a growing parish and with the help of CLI and parish graduates of the Catholic Hero’s Journey, the larger community is learning the blessings that come from being “Part of the Heart.”
The parish’s first cohort of families completed their year-long Catholic Hero’s Journey in November. The second cohort began in June and families are already being recruited for a third cohort to begin this spring.
For Janice Autieri, a graduate from the first cohort who, along with husband Rich, has been instrumental in recruiting families to participate, the opportunity to participate in the Catholic Hero’s Journey came “just in time.” According to Autieri, “As a result of the Catholic Hero’s Journey, I believe all of us are better stewards. As a group we are identifying and focusing on Sacred Heart issues with the understanding that our input will impact favorably on our parish life - spiritually, socially, intellectually - and more!”
Fellow parishioner Justin Watkins agrees. “I felt a responsibility to become a more involved parishioner, not to simply come and take what my parish was giving, but to give back as well. CLI brought out in us the skill sets to begin to implement the pastoral plan for our parish and get things done.”
As part of the program, participants are invited to assess their community and identify an opportunity to work together to make a sizable impact on their families, workplaces, communities and Church. For participants from Sacred Heart, their project was all in the name. Participants in the first cohort developed “Part of the Heart,” a outreach program to all parishioners at Sacred Heart. According to Watkins, “Our project, ‘Part of the Heart’ is an attempt to extend the sense of community we experienced through the Catholic Hero’s Journey. Promoting that culture of community is critical to every parish’s survival.
Kevin Quigley, another graduate from the parish’s first cohort, believes the project will play a major role in uniting a lot of the wonderful ministries that Sacred Heart Parish already has and increasing their effectiveness. “Our project is to help our new pastor facilitate his vision of every parishioner being a ‘part of the heart.’ I believe that many of the current ministries have a role to play but their energies need to be focused together, not as individual groups.” And according to Quigley, the project is already yielding results. “We have seen an improvement in communication already - which is extremely exciting.”
Sacred Heart is one of three parishes to have a cohort of parishioners complete the year-long process. St. Martin de Porres Parish completed the Catholic Hero’s Journey in September and St. Katharine of Siena Parish in Wayne, PA, finished alongside of Sacred Heart in November. Five other parishes are at various stages of the Catholic Hero’s Journey.
Parishioners from Sacred Heart admit the benefit is not only to the parish. “I’ve learned a lot about myself and the other members of the group - some of whom I’ve known for years,” says Quigley. “The journey has prepared us for many tasks that lie ahead, and will help us deal with the challenges we don’t yet know.”
|
