What really is a mission statement? Why have one? How does it help us? First of all, a mission statement tells you what a particular organization, community, institution, or parish is all about. Building on the past, our mission presents a direction for all to yearn toward and to design ways in which St. Patrick Parish can strive to become in the future what our particular mission is. It is the vision toward which we are always reaching; it is a vision which calls for God's grace in each one of us and in all of us together. For we are a community of believers, drawn together here, in this particular moment in time, in this particular place geographically, to carry on the work of Jesus in proclaiming the Good News to all. Each one of us proclaims that Good News by who we are and what we do!
"Mapping the past, directing the present, and reaching for the future" is a way of describing what a mission statement does. But a mission statement not only holds out a vision; it also offers some broad stroke directions for how to reach that vision. We believe that it is one way in which God's Spirit is speaking to us today, pointing out how we are to be people nurtured by the Word of God and the Eucharist. Our mission urges us to be a welcoming community, to continue our Catholic traditions, and to strengthen the spiritual life of each person in our parish. In caring about how best to serve those in need, we are enabled to become conscious daily of giving witness to the Good News, and we take time to reach out to include others in this faith community.
All of us stand on the shoulders of those who have laid the groundwork to enrich this parish community, we act in the present to make the Word of God come alive, and we respond to the directions of our mission to make the future better for all God's people. In other words, the mission statement is our guide in mapping the past, directing the present, and reaching for the future centered in the gift and graces of God's unconditional love.
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