C4. Culture Definition

Given a baseline understanding of ecclesial culture in the Culture Kickoff, a Family of Parishes Leadership Team is now ready to further understand their current ecclesial culture, define a desired ecclesial culture, and choose tools and techniques to begin to manage the Family of Parishes ecclesial culture in that desired direction. We refer to this process as Culture Definition.  

The power of ecclesial culture is that it endures, sustaining people through the changes in their lives. The downside of ecclesial culture is that it may be preserving bad habits or attitudes that resist making positive changes. Ecclesial culture, therefore, is something that changes slowly over time. Culture Definition will introduce Family Leadership to changes they can make to their own ecclesial culture that will then be caught, over time, by the lay leadership and from there, on to the parishioners.  

Beacons of Light is geared toward pursuing our God-given mission of sharing the Gospel throughout our archdiocese. Moving our parishes and parishioners into intentional, missionary discipleship is primarily a spiritual change that must be fueled by the Holy Spirit. While it might be possible to teach these leadership techniques and tools in a series of simple workshops, a retreat format is better suited to facilitating the heartfelt discussion and discernment necessary to sincerely embark on the effort of changing our ecclesial culture.