2022/04/03 Renew My Church REFLECTION

-Brian Christ, Member of Pastoral Council

Easter is always tied to the start of springtime. The date of Easter is set as the first Sunday following the first full moon after the first day of Spring. In fact, the word Lent itself is originally derived from the Old English word Læncte, meaning “lengthening,” because the days grow longer as Spring approaches. The Lenten practice of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving allow us to prepare for the re-birth that will happen at Easter. Just as Jesus spent 40 days in the desert in prayer, we spend the period of Lent in self-reflection and discernment, preparing to renew our Baptismal vows during Holy Week and begin anew on Easter.

Much like our personal Lenten journeys, the Archdiocese of Chicago is going through a process of reflection of its own. As the world around us becomes more secular, we see the impact in our parishes here in Chicago. Mass attendance is down 27% over the past 20 years. Only 17% of Catholic Millennials attend Mass weekly. Two in five children that are baptized are never confirmed.

The Archdiocese recognizes that we need to renew our church to reverse these trends. As Pope Francis exhorted us in Evangelli Gaudium, we must transform the church so that “the church's customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today's world rather than for her self-preservation.” In the shorthand that the Archdiocese uses, we must move from maintenance to mission.

The Archdiocese’s Renew My Church program gives each parish the opportunity to reflect on its current strengths and opportunities for improvement. Then, in collaboration with other nearby parishes, develop a plan for renewal and rebirth, with the goal of filling our parishes with missionary disciples. During this Lenten season, Saint Clement has partnered with Saint Alphonsus, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and the Oratory of Saint Bonaventure, to participate in this process.

Any period of self-reflection should be challenging. Jesus struggled during his 40 days in the desert. Many of us struggle with our own Lenten sacrifices. Likewise, this process was challenging for many parishes in the Archdiocese, and even a parish like ours at Saint Clement had to ask some difficult questions about whether our ministries were best suited for the challenges of today’s world.

The Renew My Church team from Saint Clement started with an examination of our strengths.  We are blessed to have a parish that is financially stable. Our seven weekend masses are well attended. We have a school recognized as a National Blue Ribbon school. We actively live out the gospel through our Clement Commits program and our outreach programs. As we begin this process, we are on a strong foundation.

Despite our strength, we have challenges that we need to tackle as a parish. We have an annual turnover rate of 30-40% as many of our young families move out of the neighborhood to the suburbs. We pride ourselves on being welcoming, but the results of our parish surveys show that many members or visitors do not always feel welcomed. And, like many parishes, we struggle to get many parishioners to “engage” in parish life, above and beyond just attending Sunday Mass.

We have already started the renewal process at Saint Clement. Our Lenten and ongoing programming --  the Lydia Institute Program, a men’s spirituality series, a weekly Bible Study, young adult volleyball, Alpha, Strengths for the Journey, and many other programs -- is designed to meet people wherever they are in their faith journey and bring them closer to Christianity.  We are seeing the fruits of our efforts – the Saint Clement parking lot is filled to capacity on many days of the week, not just Sunday mornings!

Over the next month, we will continue to meet with the other parishes in our group to determine our plan for moving forward. While we haven’t finalized our plan, we know that the only way to move forward with renewal and growth will be for every member of Saint Clement to become a missionary disciple. This means that each of us will be called to engage in parish life, with regular Mass attendance and active participation in our parish’s activities. It also means sharing our faith with those in the pews next to us and with others outside of the Saint Clement family. This will be intimidating, even for the most devout Catholic, but our goal is to create a community so strong and central to every member’s life that they can’t wait to share it with others. The only way we can make this goal a reality is if everyone participates.  

Over the next few weeks, you will hear more information about the Renew My Church program and our plans at Saint Clement. We are excited to share more about our vision with you! During Lent, I encourage you to reflect on how you can become a missionary disciple and be a part of our re-birth. Spring is nearly here!