Welcome! The parish of St. John Neumann is a Catholic community of over 2,400 families located in the heart of Westlake at 5455 Bee Cave Road in Austin, Texas.

Strategic Plan

Vision for 2010-2014: Spiritual Renewal Through Learning and Living Our Faith in Community

We, the parish community of St. John Neumann Catholic Church, will focus on spiritual renewal for our children, youth, families and adults. Spiritual renewal is a lifelong process that involves learning and living our faith, both individually and as a community, and moving to a deeper understanding of and relationship with Christ in our lives.

Mission Statement: We, the parish community of St. John Neumann Catholic Church, invite all people to experience the love of Jesus Christ by participating in our community through sacrament, ongoing renewal in the Catholic faith and creative service to those in need in our world. All parishioners are called to actively engage in their faith, and, in so doing, witness to God’s grace and serve those in need.

Strategies and Goals


Family Religious EducationStrategy I. Integrated Faith Formation:  Create an integrated faith formation program for children, youth, families and adults.
Values

 

  • Strongly grounded in Catholic teaching and tradition
  • Transformational in nature
  • Promotes faith formation as an ongoing, lifelong process
  • Invites and enables ongoing conversion to Jesus Christ
  • Promotes and supports active membership in the Christian Community
  • Calls and prepares adults to act as disciples in Mission to the World

Goals

  • Create a Faith Formation Committee: Include representatives from Children’s and Adult Faith Formation and Youth Ministry to create an integrated and coordinated approach to faith formation at SJN.
  • Conduct a comprehensive faith formation needs assessment:  Include staffing, materials, technology and meeting space.
  • Faith sharing groups:  Encourage the formation of small faith sharing groups (eight to 12 people) to foster community and help parishioners grow in their faith.
  • Leadership training:  Offer leadership training to parish organizations to ensure they remain vibrant and are able to enact the vision of formation set forth in this plan.

*Taken from “Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, Three Major Goals for Adult Faith Formation”

Evaluation

Develop guidelines for evaluating the impact of Faith Formation programs.
Reference Document
“Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States” by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: http://www.usccb.org/education/ourhearts.htm

Reception for Fr. Mark HamletStrategy II. SJN Community:  Provide a nurturing atmosphere that encourages and sustains the participation of parishioners at SJN. Promote activities that build upon our strengths as a community, at all times serving as a beacon of Christ’s love.

Values

  • Inclusion of all peoples by age, race, gender
  • Models the scriptural ideas of community and hospitality
  • Recognizes and attends to the sometimes diverse needs of both new and longstanding parishioners
  • Employs multiple means of communication, using both traditional and new technologies.

Goals

  • Events Committee: Plan events that strengthen the sense of community at SJN.
  • Communications / Technology Committee:  The committee will evaluate current efforts and identify the most effective ways to maintain communication with all parishioners and make use of existing and new technologies.
  • Welcome / Hospitality Committee:  This committee will welcome newcomers, build community among current members, reach out to disaffected members and ensure the sick and elderly feel welcome and connected at SJN.

Evaluation

Develop guidelines for evaluating the effectiveness of the efforts of each of the these three committees.  Potential metrics include increase in stewardship and participation in parish ministries and volunteer opportunities.

St. Vincent de Paul Society Christmas Food Drive 2009Strategy III. Outreach:  Promote community outreach efforts, and, at the same time, foster a spirit of personal reflection that serves to connect outreach efforts with the values inherent in our Catholic faith so as to deepen a relationship with Christ.

Values

  • Connect outreach efforts with the values inherent in our Catholic faith so as to deepen a relationship with Christ
  • Provide opportunities for those involved in outreach to come together to reflect on and share their experiences
  • Pass on the value of serving those in need to the next generation at SJN

Goals

  • Theological reflection:  Create a process of theological reflection that can be used by all participants in SJN outreach programs.
  • Catholic Social Teaching:  Initiate a program in Catholic Social Teaching (i.e. Just Faith program) to offer parishioners a deeper understanding of the context of their outreach.
  • Annual retreat:  Offer an annual retreat for participants in social outreach programs focused on connecting the call to service to our Catholic faith.
  • Children’s service:  Work with Faith Formation Council to provide opportunities for children in faith formation to serve and connect their service to their faith.

Reference Document
“Communities of Salt and Light: Reflections on the Social Mission of the Parish” by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/saltandlight.shtml