Effecting these goals will lead our young people to a firm foundation for discovering their vocation in God’s plan.
To meet these challenges, the synod recommends the following goals and strategies:
Goal 1. Seek to become an informed Catholic who can apply the teachings of the Church to daily life.
Strategies:
- Seek to learn more about the Word of God, the ways of God, the Church and its mission in the world
- Participate in programs of spiritual growth and religious education that are offered
- Become sufficiently knowledgeable to pass on to your children and others the basic teaching and practices of the Catholic faith
Goal 2. Provide opportunities for the ongoing faith formation of adults.
Strategies:
- Set up a regular program of adult education including Bible, liturgy, moral and social teaching, Christian parenting, and sacramental preparation
- Provide a variety of prayer, retreat and spiritual growth opportunities
- Invite adults to serve as mentors who pass the faith on to others
- Ensure there are ministries, activities, and social events, which engage young adults (ages 18 – 35)
Goal 3. Expand ministry to youth (ages 12 – 18) so that their spiritual formation and religious education needs are met.
Strategies:
- Provide for the services of a qualified youth minister
- Involve youth extensively in liturgy, parish activity, and volunteer service so they know they belong and are needed
- Provide retreats for youth
Goal 4. Provide quality religious formation for elementary and secondary students who are in parish-based religious education.
Strategies:
- Set expectations of students and parents in religious education classes and sacramental preparation
- Involve parents as integral to the parish-based religious education program so they may assume their responsibility of being the primary religious educators of their children
Goal 5. Set general directions and expectations for key educational areas of Church life.
Strategies:
- Develop guidelines and resources to assist parishes in developing adult education, formation of catechists and teachers of religion in Catholic schools, formation and education of children and youth, and sacramental preparation
- Strengthen The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults formation throughout the diocese
- Provide the basic religious education curriculum for those in Catholic schools and for those in parish-based religious education
- Address the educational and resource challenges presented by the cultural diversity within the diocese
Goal 6. Develop a Lay Ministry Training Program/School.
Strategies:
- All enrolled will take a foundational course in ecclesiology. Elective courses will include but not be limited to: Bible, Liturgy, Sacraments, Church History, Spirituality, Social Justice, Prayer and Ministry Training
- Coordinate the diaconate training program with the Lay Ministry Training Program/School so as to take advantage of its resources
Goal 7. Ensure that priests and deacons have sufficient opportunities for ongoing formation and preparation for ministry.
Strategies:
- Provide training for laity so that the various administrative tasks in the parish which do not require a priest can be done by others
- Establish regular sabbatical time for priestly renewal and revitalization
- Provide for priestly mentoring for seminarians, newly ordained priests, and deacons
Goal 8. Work toward making quality Catholic school education more affordable and available to those who desire it.
Strategies:
- Promote the spiritual development of children and youth in the religious environment of the Catholic school as a confirmed means of forming committed Catholic adults
- Formulate a stewardship plan for the funding of Catholic schools
- Provide tuition assistance to families so their children can attend Catholic school
- Develop a scholarship fund to benefit individual students