Discerning a vision for your Family of Parishes calls for your leaders to be well-formed through prayer and study of the Church’s guiding documents as they give careful consideration of the current pastoral practices within your Family and begin to create a plan for parish vitality and mission for the future.
“In pastoral planning and parish life, every Family of Parishes will adhere to the spirit and norms of the Vatican Instruction: ‘The pastoral conversion of the parish community in the service of the evangelizing mission of the Church.’” (2020)
Family leaders will especially benefit from studying the Vatican Instruction, cited above and linked below, along with insightful videos of Father James Mallon discussing the Instruction. Journeying Together, which provides theological foundations for Beacons of Light, includes a study guide, which may be used in meetings of leaders throughout this process.
Many leader groups also studied Evangelii Gaudium and Radiate Christ in the early stages of Beacons of Light. These foundational documents are linked below as well.
To-do: Study Church documents, which will inform the vision for your Family.