Growing Disciples
What is
Growing Disciples?
Growing
Disciples is a pastoral planning process for the Catholic Diocese of Peoria to
renew discipleship and enhance relationships with Jesus Christ in every corner
of our region. The pastoral planning process will examine the current structure
of parishes and schools in the diocese to evaluate how they can best meet the
needs of the faithful and address challenges facing the Church today.
Specifically,
Growing Disciples has three primary goals:
- Enabling the faithful to go make disciples
within a mission-driven, sustainable structure of parishes and schools.
- Enhancing the vibrancy of our parishes,
schools, and ministries.
- Increasing our support of the happiness,
health, and holiness of our priests.
Father and appointed Key Parish Leaders met
with representatives of the Growing Disciples group in April to review and
discuss the preliminary proposals for our parish. This information has been posted to the
parish Facebook page and website. As you review the information, please keep in
mind, at this time, these are preliminary proposals. No decisions have yet been made. Please note as well, that the Core Team of the program
made a serious error in dividing Fr. Pat’s pastorate of Tolono & Ivesdale
into two different planning proposals.
They said that they would rectify this error.
Three options were presented for our
parish, and feedback was collected for each option. Parish feedback will be
reviewed by the Growing Disciples Core Team and a second round of parish models
will be developed over the summer, and critiqued in the autumn by the priests
at their Priests’ Assembly Day.
The second round of parish models will be
presented in the fall and a meeting will be scheduled to obtain feedback from
parishioners. This feedback will be gathered and presented to the Growing
Disciples Core Team who will then develop a final set of parish models for
review by priests and the Pastoral Planning Commission. The final
recommendations will be presented to Bishop Tylka and an announcement is
anticipated in Spring 2024.
The Key Parish Leaders had lots of
questions regarding the current models. We do not have answers to questions
about which buildings, if any, may close, or what mass times may be under the
proposed models. Again, at this time, these are merely suggestions, and an
opportunity will be available in the fall to provide feedback once the second
round of models have been developed. We wanted to be transparent and share the
information that we have at this time.
If you have feedback at this time, you can
email: ifpdems@gmail.com . Please use “Growing Disciples” as the
subject, and the Key Parish Leaders will review and forward on to the Growing
Disciples Core Team if there are issues, we did not consider with the
proposals.
A copy of the Growing
Disciples Planning Area Models packet is available to look at in the vestibules
of the church. Please keep it there so
that everyone may have a chance to read through it.
Father Pat
Key Parish Leaders:
- Deacon Jim
- Nate Baxley
- Jim Harrington
- Tonya Flavin
- Mary Johnson
Document coming soon.