The words “Church” and “strategy” are not often used together. There are many reasons for this. The Church is a longstanding institution (2,000 plus years...no big deal). Sometimes, it’s hard to see how conventional wisdom could benefit an eternal institution. At the same time, the Church has had to adapt to countless cultural shifts throughout the past two millennia, and she survived by growing, reforming and maturing. Here in the Archdiocese of Denver, we believe that God has a plan and invites us to ask him about it, discern it and work toward it. For us, that plan consists of three mission anchors: Holy Priests, Equipped Leaders for Mission and Missional Curia. These anchors guide the Archdiocese’s work and include significant work that everyone is called to help advance.
Holy Priests
The Holy Priests anchor is the foundational mission anchor for the Archdiocese. The focus of this anchor is the ongoing growth in charity, or intimacy with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for our priests (and bishops, since they too are priests!). When people hear the title “Holy Priests,” they often think it includes everything that could have to do with priests. Many initiatives seek to help priests grow in organizational leadership, business practices, preaching and even evangelization, but they are outside the scope of this anchor. This anchor has nothing to do with anything other than removing obstacles and creating opportunities for our priests to continue growing in the most important relationship in their lives.
Why?
It may seem evident that priests play an integral role in the ministry of the Catholic Church in Northern Colorado, but it’s worth highlighting just how important they are. The Church refers to priests as the archbishop’s closest collaborators. Both bishops and priests have been entrusted with the sacred ministry of sanctifying the faithful by celebrating the sacraments, instructing the people by proclaiming the Word of God and governing so as to build up the Kingdom of God. On a completely human level, we can also observe – and data back this up – that nothing impacts a community more than the priest assigned to serve there. Whether you want to measure Mass attendance, giving, program participation or sacramental celebrations, in most cases, changing the priest changes the parish for better or worse.
How can you advance this anchor?
The most important way we can help our priests grow in holiness is straightforward: prayer and fasting. We can offer prayers for our priests in various ways, like remembering them in our petitions, offering Masses for them and praying rosaries or other devotions for them, to name but a few. Our prayers can take on even more power when our love for our priests moves us to fast for them. In the same way we include our priests in our prayers, we can also include them in our fasts. Whether we choose to abstain from meat on Fridays or fast from technology, music on our ride to work, or maybe a dessert here and there, our sacrifices bring significant blessings and grace to our priests.
If you want to gain some perspective in this area, I recommend speaking with the parents of a priest or seminarian. I have been deeply moved by meeting several priests’ parents, all of whom have shared the responsibility they feel to hold their sons in prayer for their protection, holiness and the fruit of their ministry. In the Archdiocese of Denver, we also have a unique ministry called the Spiritual Mothers, which actively prays and intercedes for priests.
Equipped Leaders for Mission
Unlike the Holy Priest anchor, this second mission anchor is equal opportunity and focuses on bishops, priests, deacons, and (my favorite group) the lay faithful. While this anchor does not discriminate ontologically (whether you are ordained or not), it is targeted. Here, we highlight a specific type of formation among the traditional four categories. Intellectual formation helps us understand our faith; spiritual formation helps us learn to pray and grow in relationship with God; human formation helps us grow in virtue; and pastoral/apostolic formation helps us do the work of ministry effectively. It is that last category that the equipped leaders for mission anchor focuses on.
Why?
A common theme of prayer among the Archbishop’s Mission Leadership Team and in the archdiocesan synod, Ephesians 4:11-12 explains that Jesus has given “the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry.” It is apparent how much the Holy Spirit has inspired and blessed us, especially in intellectual and spiritual formation. It would be a shame, though, if the treasures we have received through our study were not also used in the mission.
In this apostolic age, the Church needs leaders equipped to proclaim the Gospel and share their testimonies of God’s action in their lives. She needs leaders equipped to heal hearts and bones, people who lead others to forgiveness and help them integrate their lives according to God’s plan for them. It’s not enough to know the faith. The Church calls all of us to spread it. We know we need to equip people to do that.
How can you advance this anchor?
Remember that with the universal call to holiness is the universal call to mission! Each of us is called uniquely to participate in the mission of Jesus Christ. We are responsible for discovering who we are in Christ and living out the mission for which he created us. If you want to learn how to extend Jesus’ ministry to others better, keep an eye out for opportunities at your parish or through archdiocesan-sponsored events. The Office of Evangelization and Family Life Ministries is about to reach 1,000 people with their evangelization workshops; the B.A.S.I.C. program trains high school students to grow in ministry and leadership; an Encounter School of Ministry is launching in the Fall; and there will be various healing retreats coming up from the St. John Paul II Healing Center. Take advantage of these opportunities and step into the mission!
Missional Curia
Admittedly, this is the most “inside baseball” of the anchors, yet as a leader of it, I assure you that it is of great importance! The “Curia” are the people who help the archbishop govern the archdiocese. Most of the time, people just call us “the archdiocese” or “the chancery,” but we prefer “pastoral center” if we’re using English and not Latin. The Missional Curia anchor comprises the Pastoral Center’s efforts to reform its culture, structure and operating modes to best position itself to advance the above mission anchors. This may be the most exciting anchor because it carries the most risk. Let’s face it: diocesan curias (or offices) are not exactly known to be trendsetters (trust me, a canon lawyer is reading this somewhere saying out loud, “They are not supposed to be!”). But we’re in an apostolic age. The Pastoral Center can’t be the only part of our Church stuck in Christendom. So, in short, we’re renovating.
Why?
The Curia is an extension of the archbishop. He is responsible for governing the archdiocese to guide pastoral action, oversee administration and exercise judicial power. The problem is that there are almost 150 locations to manage and over 100 pastors shepherding parish communities. One man, however holy, brilliant, or both, cannot possibly do all that work himself. Hence, a group of clergy and lay individuals assist the archbishop
in these matters. A king has his court and a bishop his curia. Since we are an extension of him primarily in support of our pastors and parish communities, it is essential that our efforts reflect the mission we have received from Christ.
How can you advance this anchor?
Like the holy priests anchor, we can always use your prayers for this transition. However, concretely, I will soon celebrate my 10th work anniversary in October as a member of the archdiocesan curia, and I can say without hesitation that it continues to be a wonderful place to work. If you feel called to serve the Lord meaningfully, check out our openings at archden.org/careers. We could use your gifts, and I promise they will also be a blessing to you! Please take these mission anchors to prayer. Ask the Lord how you can help advance them. The truth is, we need you, and you matter to the mission of Jesus here in the Archdiocese of Denver.
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