St. Frances Cabrini Church, Fairless Hills recently issued the following announcement. 

We have some very exciting news to share with our Parish Community. Following our Parish’s participation in the Disciple Maker Index, I was informed that our Parish had been selected as a possible participant in an initiative, the Next Generation Catholic Parish, to assist me as pastor, as well as our Parish Staff, our Parish leadership and indeed our entire Parish Community, in building the faith and leadership potential of our Parish Community in the everincreasing challenging mission of the Church. The Catholic Leadership Institute, which is based in Chester County, is assisting parishes around the Country, and is currently working with several philanthropists to invest in 12 parishes within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia over the next four years to help and increase the people in those communities. 

Daniel Cellucci, President of CLI, indicated in my telephone conversation that they are looking for pastors who are good shepherds to their people, who have an open mind, an open heart, and whose parish has great potential. I met Mr. Cellucci when we were reviewing the results of the CLI Disciple Maker Index Program. He was leading the CLI team as they reviewed the results with the participating pastors and their pastoral staffs. As you will remember, our Parish Community did very well, especially in comparison to the other parishes in our area. 

Prior to contacting me, Mr. Cellucci and his team consulted with Monsignor Daniel Kutys, Vicar General for the Archdiocese, who was very favorable toward our parish being chosen. Again, as you know, the Archdiocese is well aware of our participation in the regionalization of our schools in 2010-2011 and also our participation in the merger of parishes in 2014. 

After having consulted with our Parish Pastoral Staff, I informed Mr. Cellucci that we would be honored to be part of this most wonderful initiative. The next steps were to review the CLI’s invitation and related materials with our Parish Pastoral Council and our Parish Finance Council. I attended a Pastors’ Orientation Workshop at the end of January in anticipation of beginning the Next Generation Catholic Parish initiative in the spring of 2020; however due to COVID-19, everything was placed on hold. Finally, this past week, I received notice that we will be starting on the weekend of October 3rd - 4th when Lori Tedjeske, a consultant for CLI, will be visiting us for the first time. Lori will be here for our weekend liturgies and we will be making arrangements for Lori to meet with our Parish staff, members of our Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils as well as some other parishioners. It is our hope that through these meetings, Lori will gain some insight about our Parish Community. On Monday, October 5th, Lori will continue her meetings virtually and she will also be meeting with our Holy Family Regional Catholic School Principal and our parishioner, Mrs. Kara Haggerty. 

In my discussions with Mr. Cellucci, he indicated that this is not a program, rather it is a parish-specific accompaniment over a three year timeframe on our Parish Community’s unique needs, opportunities, demands and challenges. Although they consulted with the Archdiocese regarding the parishes being approached, Mr. Cellucci indicated that this is not an Archdiocesan initiative. Currently, CLI has this initiative being conducted in 50-60 parishes in the United States. These parishes are located in approximately five archdioceses/dioceses. 

Having had conversations with Mr. Cellucci and having read documentation on this initiative, I believe that this opportunity being offered to us is truly an answer to prayer. As our parishioners know, we conducted the Disciple Maker Survey and then we shared the results with our parishioners, but we have not been able to take the next step. This initiative will assist us in evaluating our Parish Leadership, including me, and also our Parish Community, formulate a Pastoral Plan and then implement the Plan. In the coming weeks, I will be sharing additional information as we soon begin the Next Generation Catholic Parish initiative. 

Again, I believe that this is an answer to prayer and a most wonderful gift being offered to our Parish Community. Please include this initiative in your daily prayers. Thank you.

Original source can be found here.