Core Mission Priorities - Archdiocese of Baltimore

PLANNING FOR

Missionary Connversion with

THE CORE MISSION PRIORITIES

A Vision of the Whole:

Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. … By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.” John 15: 5, 8

This metaphor can help us understand the six Core Mission Priorities, which serve as guiding principles for your discernment. They describe six different but inseparable aspects of a vibrant, growing, and evangelizing parish.

LITURGY

Transformative Liturgy is like the sun in the sky. Without it, a Vine cannot take root, grow, or bear fruit because the Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life. The liturgy should welcome, form, make, and send forth missionary disciples to evangelize and serve others.

Summary:

The Church calls us to strive for “a conscious, active, and full participation of the faithful” at Mass. Your hospitality, music, preaching, and every aspect and detail of liturgical ministry should aim at this goal. With your participation, Christ wants to welcome, encounter, feed, transform, heal, teach, and send forth his people on mission at every Mass.

Goal: Transformative Liturgy

WELCOME

God’s Word needs good soil to take root, grow, and bear fruit. We need to prepare the soil of peoples’ hearts to receive God’s Word through radical hospitality, community, and reaching out to those on the peripheries. This creates a sense of belonging, trust, and openness to God’s grace.

Summary:

To practice radical hospitality and welcome others as Jesus did, seeking out the disen-franchised and vulnerable and creating a sense of fellowship, belonging, and community ground-ed in love for each other and humble gratitude to God.

Goal: Belonging

ENCOUNTER

Encounter is the planting of the seed in good soil, allowing it to take root and begin to grow. It refers to the personal experience of Christ’s love that transforms your heart and inspires a decision to live as a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ.

Summary:

Encounter is the life-changing personal encounter with Jesus Christ, unique to every person, that leads to conversion of heart and a life of discipleship, ongoing conversion, and evangelization of others.

Goal: Conversion

ACCOMPANIMENT

Planted in good soil and nourished by the sun, the vine grows and flourishes. Accompaniment means missionary disciples helping each other to grow spiritually and to live the gospel more fully through prayer, sacrament, faith formation, and friendship.

Summary:

Accompaniment means entering into friendship with others and growing as disciples in order to nurture growth in others as we study, share, and live out the teachings of Christ and his Church through prayer, sacraments, faith formation, and education.

Goal: Spiritual Growth

SENDING

A truly healthy vine always produces good fruit. The goal of Sending is the spiritual fruit that missionary disciples produce in their lives and communities through personal witness, service, friendship, and invitation.

Summary:

Sending means bringing Christ to the world, living out missionary discipleship, and serving the poor and those in need.

Goal: Making Disciples

MISSION SUPPORT

A vine cannot thrive and produce fruit without a “trellis” to support it. Mission Support refers to everything necessary to make the mission possible in the real world: finances, facilities, HR, development, communications, and more.

Summary:

Mission Support means practicing wise stewardship of God’s gifts so that all of our resources work together to support and further the mission of making missionary disciples and serving our neighbors.

Goal: Mission-Focused Parish

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CORE MISSION PRIORITIES WORKBOOK

Inspired by the Gospel story of the road to Emmaus, our Emmaus Team members travel in pairs to parishes to help them implement their missionary discipleship initiatives. The goal is to provide every parish or pastorate with an Emmaus Team.

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Resources

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