November 2019
The Vision for Area Catholic Communities
Every parish in the Diocese of Saint Cloud will be part of an Area Catholic Community consisting of two or more parishes in a given area. All Area Catholic Communities will collaborate to provide for the pastoral and spiritual needs of all . As Area Catholic Communities share resources, talents, and efforts we hope to reenergize Catholics so all parishes thrive in the Diocese of Saint Cloud.   

Creating your goals and plan

How will the goals you have chosen achieve the ACC vision?
You should have between 3 to 5 goals. Remember that these goals are to be S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound).
Call or email if you have any questions about putting together your ACC plan. Here is the template for your convenience. The plan is due December 31, 2019 to the planning office.
***Future Diocesan Regional Ministry Gatherings will be based on the goals submitted.
Leadership Day Follow-Up

On October 24, Doug Tooke talked to about 100 people on collaboration, delegation, and conflict management in parish life. We began the day with Mass. Fr. Edward Vebelun from the Harvest of Hope ACC shared an ACC experience in his homily. Read his homily. Here is also a copy of the PowerPoint Doug Tooke used that day.
Keeping Communication a Priority
In most of the ACC council meetings I have attended, communication inevitably comes as a topic of discussion. How are you communicating to pastoral councils? The parish at large? What is the consistent message you are sending? Good communication fosters good working relationships, increases trust, and improves support and engagement.
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The Diocese of St. Cloud has entered into an agreement with Diocesan (a company that assists parishes with communications resources) to provide a software platform called Evangelus and develop a customized app for all Area Catholic Communities — for the cost of $60 per month per ACC. Evangelus would allow ACCs to easily reach parishioners through email, text, app, social media and websites. The app can be designed to match the needs of your specific community, providing your parishioners and community with news, messages, homilies, reminders about events, calendars, Mass times, readings, videos, a connection to all online giving solutions, and many other faith-building resources.

Pastors and ACC planning council chairpersons were recently invited to participate in a webinar about the app and Evangelus to explain more about how they work. You can view the recorded webinar here: https://diocesan.com/evangelus/stcloud . The combined use of Evangelus and the app can be valuable tools for helping to facilitate communications among parishes and parishioners as your ACC forms.

If you have questions, please contact communications director Joe Towalski at jtowalski@gw.stcdio.org , or 320-258-7624.
Praying for our ACCs
We all know that prayer is essential to our spiritual life. It is also essential to the success of our ACC process. How are you praying for your ACC? Some ACCs are:
  • Including an intention each week in the prayers of the faithful at Mass for the formation and planning of the ACC
  • Inviting people to pray a holy hour of adoration before meetings
  • Inviting the assembly to pray a common ACC prayer at Mass

Visit the diocesan planning website for additional ideas.
Did you see this article in the Central Minnesota Catholic?
Panel: ‘Nones’ make up bigger percentage of population than ever before
“None of the above” is the fastest-growing religious identifier in the United States and now approximates the percentage of Catholics in the country. Read more
"Christianity isn’t done growing and changing. Jesus himself invites us to discern what is essential. We don't want the church or the Christian tradition to become an antique shop just preserving old things. We want to build on old things and allow them to be useful in different ages, vocabularies, and cultures. We want our faith to be ever new, so that it can speak to souls alive and in need right now! Otherwise, the faith we cherish so much stops working and it can’t do its job of turning our hearts to God and to one another."
~ Richard Rohr, Daily Meditation, October 30, 2019
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I am grateful for your time and commitment to this process!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
Brenda Kresky | Director of Pastoral Planning | 214 3rd Ave S. St. Cloud, MN 56301
320-529-4611 | bkresky@gw.stcdio.org | www.stcdio.org/planning