Our Call for Renewal

“The thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal the wounds, heal the wounds. … And you have to start from the ground up.”      -Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel)

It is not just the Coronavirus pandemic. We are also living in a time of deep cultural divisions, brokenness in our homes and communities, and rapid technological changes which have altered the ways we interact with one another. This reality is a call to action for Catholics to live out their faith like never before.   What can we possibly do?

We can do only one thing — follow Jesus. And what did Jesus do? He concentrated all his human and divine power in one geographical location. He preached, prayed, healed, forgave, ate, sang, wept and suffered. We have been given our "mission territory", the location where we are called to imitate Jesus and share the Good News...  the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon.

From Astoria to Brookings, parishes can pray for each other and work together to share resources and best practices. From Ashland to Gresham, our parishes can grow to become vibrant places of hope and charity, where parishioners are engaged with the liturgy, breaking open the Scriptures, connecting through meaningful small group conversations and caring for one another.

Parish leadership is invited to embrace three objectives as together we all move forward this fall:

1. Leadership Development
2. Invest in Small Groups
3. Help Build the Domestic Church

Let us help you set a vision and  strategy; because, after all, everything else becomes just tactics. What programs, initiatives, events, etc. you use can be unique to your parish setting, as long as they are serving a clear discipleship pathway that reflects the catechumenal model and discipleship thresholds.

CONTACT US and together, let us build amazing parishes.