Parish Council Reorganization
St. Mary’s Church
14833 Kutztown Road
Kutztown, PA 19530
Ph: 610-683-7443
.St. Mary’s Parish Pastoral Council was reorganized in October, 2016 to conform to the Diocesan
Guidelines described in One in Mission. The Council continues to be a service organization but now the
emphasis is on the spiritual welfare and growth of the Parish.
The responsibilities of the Council are
•
to advise the pastor on the needs of the parish
•
to communicate with parishioners
•
to create a mission statement for the parish (completed)
•
and to articulate a vision for the future of the parish (work in progress)
A Mission Statement has been formulated with the input of parishioners. The Council has written a
constitution and by-laws according to the Diocesan Guidelines..
With the leadership and support of Msgr. Scheaffer the Council is now adopting a program from RENEW
International, called Be My Witness: Formation for the New Evangelization as a tool to discern and
implement a Pastoral Vision for St. Mary’s. Both the Diocesan Guidelines and the Be My Witness
program are inspired by Pope Francis’ Joy of the Gospel.
Be My Witness Program
St. Mary’s is beginning a two-year process called Be My Witness, a Christ-centered, Spirit-led formation
program for the new evangelization. In its first phase we will look at our Parish through the lens of
evangelization to see what we are doing well in the areas of Sunday Worship, Welcoming, Belonging,
Witness and Mission. Together as a Parish, using Be My Witness as a tool, we will strengthen and grow
our Parish. More information can be found at www.bemywitness.org.
During Phase 1 of Be My Witness the Council is part of the leadership team. At the end of Phase 1 the
Council continues the plan to implement the Parish Vision. Updates on the work of the Council and Be
My Witness will be in the bulletin, website and Facebook.
Constitution and By-laws
Parish Pastoral Council Membership
Be My Witness Team 1 Leaders.