May 25, 2025

This week’s survey results from the  Archdiocese Discipleship Maker Index from the Catholic Leadership Institute for our Trinity Cluster are the final ones from the category the Archdiocese has asked us to reveal and work on together called, “Four Factors of a Thriving Parish.”

This weekend we look at our Trinity Cluster’s “Missionary Impulse,” which means the measure of our outreach to bring the Gospel and our faith to others I will start off by sharing what we discussed as a Cluster Pastoral Council this month regarding the survey. Our Trinity Cluster has solid core beliefs in the Word of God as living and active and the Real Presence of Christ in the  Eucharist. We take time for personal prayer with God, and we experience our community as welcoming. Let us celebrate these strengths and ask God to increase them! However, we have to acknowledge from this data that our outward proclamation of Christ and sharing of our faith is something we are lacking in and need to work on together. We also discussed at the Cluster Council meeting this month how it is challenging to live our faith in a public manner outside the walls of our churches. It takes conviction that God wants all people to know, love, and serve him. It takes courage to express this to others and invite them to encounter Christ and his Church’s gifts of grac. We should see these honest results from the survey as opportunities to grow, because it is about our salvation and the  salvation of others. For this, we need better formation as disciples of Jesus. We need to take intentional time to experience that a living relationship with Jesus and his Gospel message changes our lives and calls everyone to make more disciples.

This was our Archbishop’s goal with the survey and his upcoming year of pastoral planning for a sustainable and  flourishing future: to see where we are at and what we need to do. He wants our parishes and our Archdiocese to be  on mission for Christ and not simply in survival mode.  Let us begin to move in that direction together! Fr. Martin

May 18, 2025

This week’s survey results from the Archdiocese Discipleship Maker Index from the Catholic Leadership Institute for our Trinity Cluster are from the third factor of the four factors of a thriving parish that were given: “Spiritual Practices.” I want to draw your attention to a few things.

81% say they are growing in their faith, whether rapidly or steadily, a lot or a little. This is good news! Let us continue to seek the Lord together. This may be related to 53% of people having a daily prayer life, and 78% having weekly personal prayer time with God. I might add that to grow in the spiritual life we must take advantage of every grace God offers us.  So, in addition to the Sunday Mass and daily prayer, there is the Sacrament of Reconciliation in which Jesus offers us a sure path of continued conversion. Our numbers for this Sacrament were low (30% never going to confession). If we are looking for a boost in our spiritual lives, we would do very well to live more fully in the gifts God offers us to grow - daily prayer, the Mass and the Eucharist, and the forgiveness of our sins in confession. This will certainly help our journey as Catholic Christian followers of Jesus to encounter and know him as a Merciful Savior and Forgiving Friend, and benefit us all for eternal life.  May God bless our spiritual growth, Fr. Martin

May 11, 2025

We continue to look at the Archdiocese DMI results for survey questions that pertain to the “Four Factors of a Thriving Parish.” These include: Leadership Indicators, Sunday Experience, Spiritual Practices, and Missionary Impulse. This week’s summary No. 2 are the results from “Sunday Experience” for the Trinity Cluster as a whole.

Our strength within this factor shows that 88% agree that our Trinity Cluster is welcoming. I encourage you to make others feel welcome in our parishes. When you see a new face please greet them in a kind way. When you see a young family coming in please make room for them and tell them you are so happy they are here. These are concrete ways we can be a welcoming community each Sunday.

The results show that I can work on my preaching to better reach you in breaking open the life-giving Word of God. Thank you for your feedback. We can also acknowledge that all prayer is good, and the highest form of prayer is our communal prayer for spiritual growth as individual members of the Body of Christ at the Mass. Here we join our hearts, souls, and very bodies to the Sacrifice and Real Presence of Christ in offering the Eucharist and receiving Holy Communion, and so truly live as the Church of Christ This is the growth via the Mass that we are privileged to share in and which will help us to heaven. Music is part of this liturgical celebration and we can always look to enhance this form of prayer and praise of God in our Cluster with the talents God has given us.

Thank you to all the ways you assist in the Sunday Mass in the Trinity Cluster as a Mass ministry scheduler, greeter, sacristan, altar server, Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, lector, cantor, musician, usher, and everyone who actively participates in each Mass!

God bless you,

Fr. Martin

May 4, 2025

The Archdiocese is asking that we share the DMI results for survey questions that pertain to the “Four Factors of a Thriving Parish.” These include: Leadership Indicators, Sunday Experience, Spiritual Practices, and Missionary Impulse. This week’s summary are the results from “Leadership Indicators” for the Trinity Cluster as a whole (not individual parishes). The next three bulletins will feature the remaining factors. The Trinity Cluster Pastoral Council and I will be reviewing these results and communicating with the Archdiocese to help us do better.

Our strength within this factor shows that 89% would recommend their parish to others. I encourage you to continue to invite others to join our community. A personal invitation is a great way to engage others in their faith and help our parish grow as well.

The results show that we need to improve involvement from you in making decisions and having opportunities to serve, as well as being more financially transparent. For financial transparency, we can improve by sharing more than weekly giving in the bulletin, such as a year-end fiscal report. Some progress has been made in involvement and decision making when we rebooted the Trinity Cluster Pastoral Council last year. We have been meeting every-other-month. The Cluster Council serves as a consultative body for me and as key leaders to help meet the needs of the Cluster. I am grateful for their help, and I look forward to their role this year in working together and with the Archdiocese to act on these survey results. 

God bless you,

Fr. Martin