2022/03/13 Renew My Church REFLECTION

-Judy LeDuc, Evangelization Committee Member

A Different Type of Renewal

A Look Back and a Plan for the Future

In the late 70’s, early 80’s Saint Clement was considered the parish “on thin ice”. We were the first in the Diocese to have “altar girls,” supported the Aids Pastoral Network and held a prayer service at the parish. We formed a pastoral council that developed lay leadership and we even had women reflect on the Gospel at Mass. Our community focused on social justice and we had life size cardboard cut outs of Romero and Dorothy Day looming in the sanctuary. We cofounded and staffed the Lincoln Park Community Shelter (now Lincoln Park Community Services) with neighboring churches. Parish resources supported our Sister Parish in El Salvador and we sent parishioners on missions to serve those who were marginalized.

At the same time, we held fast to our deep Catholic traditions: we fostered sacramental preparations, prepared prayerful liturgies, provided formation for adults and children, and tried to keep the parish as the center of our community’s life. We were a “faithful people”.

Most realize that our world has become more secular, and the Church has begun to understand that she can no longer rely on that “grandfather clause” which states that if you were born into a strong, “religious” Catholic family, you will remain Catholic. The truth is that people are leaving organized religion. And everyone is trying to figure out the “why” and how to bring people back into “the fold”.

The decline in parish registration, attendance at Mass, and the shortage of priests across the Diocese, have provided an opportunity to rethink “who we are” as a people of God, and what we are called to do. We need to take a step back, be still, pray, and listen.

Renew My Church, as Father Matt stated, is not just about merging and closing parishes but a commitment to first understand that we have been called to a “renewed encounter with Jesus Christ”. We begin with a conversion heart. And then there is the recognition that we as individuals and as a parish must become Disciples -- Missionary disciples. Where are we on that journey of spreading the Gospel? We as a parish community are blessed with many gifts -- some yet to be discovered. And while we are grateful, the call is to humility and greater outreach. All of this will challenge our Catholic identity.

In some ways, our Saint Clement community has begun this renewal as people have been invited to participate in groups where questions of faith are explored. More opportunities have been created for parish engagement and intentional formation of community as well as unity. We continue to explore ways to be welcoming to those who come to the parish. But our call is also to move beyond ourselves to provide hospitality and to be a beacon of hope for the poor and those who are marginalized. The real question is “How do we welcome the stranger” or reach out to those who have decided to walked away from Jesus? It is with intentionality that we become that Disciple!

A year ago, Saint Clement formed an Evangelization Team, to explore how we as a parish might help others encounter Christ and live out the Gospel. Creating a culture of evangelization through hospitality and welcoming, listening, developing relationships, forming missionary disciples, can be an overwhelming task. We are beginning this journey and with prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can get there!

When I think of what calls me to Christ, I am reminded of the prayer of Pedro Arrupe, S.J. (Fr. Whalen, S.J.):

“Nothing is more practical than
finding God, than
falling in Love
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read, whom you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in Love, stay in love,
and it will decide everything”

This is just the beginning of changing our Catholic culture. Renew my Church is a challenge and a blessing. It is a time for all of us to ask, “What is the Spirit calling me to be, to become, so that I can be Christ for others?”