Love God. Love our neighbor. Make disciples.
Our Mission
The mission of our parish is the same mission entrusted to the first disciples by Jesus Himself. But each parish community has its own gifts and personality, so while the fundamental mission remains the same throughout the universal Church, how that mission is lived and expressed looks a bit different from place to place. So how are we living the mission here at Holy Spirit?
Love God
We exist above all to love God. Our Church, and our parish, exist because of Jesus Christ! Part of our apostolic mission is to rediscover the joy of being in relationship with Jesus. That relationship is one of love, a love from Christ's heart that changes everything. Our life of prayer at the parish flows from this love as we strive to enter into it more deeply each and every day.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, our highest form of prayer, serves as the center and lifeblood of our community. We have a robust rhythm of prayer at Holy Spirit that flows from the Mass. Weekly Eucharistic Adoration, frequent Reconciliation, and a number of opportunities geared toward helping us grow in prayer.
Love our neighbor.
As we grow in love of God, that love overflows into every dimension of our lives. It is from the foundation of our loving relationship with God that we are called to love our neighbor. This is the second part of the "Great Commandment" of Jesus: to love our neighbor as ourselves.
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Holy Spirit is a place of welcome, where anyone can come to meet Jesus and find a community growing in love of God and in communion with one another. Maybe you are new to the area looking for a parish home, new to exploring a relationship with Jesus, or somewhere else in your journey -- Holy Spirit is a home for you!
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Our call to love our neighbor extends well beyond the walls of our church. We seek and serve Jesus in those in need, many of whom live in our neighborhood. Through a number of outreach opportunities organized by our conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, we accompany and provide assistance to our brothers and sisters who find themselves in need and on the margins. In this way we respond to the Lord's teaching in Matthew 25: "Whatsoever you do for one of the least of these, you do it for me."
Make disciples.
Just before his ascension into heaven, Jesus commanded his followers to "Go make disciples of all nations." Discipleship is a life-long journey flowing from an initial encounter with the person of Jesus. That encounter changes everything, compelling us to follow the Lord and live the life for which we've been made. To be a disciple is not an "add on," a part of our identity, but the very foundation of who we are and how we live.
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Here at Holy Spirit, the mission of making disciples is infused in every aspect of parish life. Our formation of young people is based in helping them to have an encounter with Jesus rooted in sacred Scripture and his ministry of healing. Sacramental preparation involves the whole family (the "domestic church") in order to help the seeds of faith and grace fall upon fertile soil. We have begun running Alpha, an opportunity for the entire parish to take the next step in discipleship, and we're discerning a discipleship pathway to help the Lord's work to unfold in our community and beyond.