Beacons Update - March 2021

People on a journey of missionary discipleship.
Priests who have the time to be present, attend to the needs of their people, and lead their parish to fulfill Christ’s great commission.

Parishes that are alive in faith, filled with vitality, ready to form people to radiate Christ at home, in their neighborhoods and workplace, towns and cities, and in the world.

Welcome to the first BEACONS of LIGHT Update!
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GUIDING PRINCIPLES

BEACONS of LIGHT is an archdiocesan strategic and pastoral planning process in which parish groupings will become Families of Parishes. Parishioners will be invited to share their hopes and dreams as parish leaders come together to discern the future, with the ultimate goal - in time - of each Family becoming one parish led by a single pastor.

As the Families of Parishes come together, leaders of the parishes will create a pastoral plan for the Family, guided by the vision of a mission-focused evangelizing faith community. Six principles that contribute to this vision have been approved by Archbishop Schnurr and will be the foundation for the plans that each Family of Parishes will develop. Future issues of Beacons Update will focus on the principles and the vision they provide for parish life in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

How do we actually effect meaningful change? What does it take to change not only the structures and systems in an organization, but also the culture? Experience shows us that planning and executing a careful change process is the key to this kind of transformation.

We have chosen to design the BEACONS of LIGHT process based on an 8-step model developed by Dr. John Kotter over 25 years ago. This process of Leading Change has become a gold standard, used by thousands of successful organizations around the world.

As we proceed through the Beacons process, we’ll reflect more upon this process and our role in it.

Find out more about how we are using the 8-step model for change in the recording linked below.

Beacons Roundtable is a web series focused on building parishes that are beacons of light. The series includes timely topics and is especially appropriate for pastors and parish leaders.

Each session includes a brief presentation, witness by a parish leader or panel of leaders, time for discussion in breakout groups, news, and announcements. Register for any of the Beacons Roundtable sessions below. Once registered, you will receive the meeting link which applies to all sessions. Sessions are recorded and the recordings and session materials are posted here.

All sessions begin at 1:30 and conclude at 3:00.

Upcoming Beacons Roundtable sessions include:

April 14: Building Belonging in our Parishes for Persons with Disabilities
April 28: Growing Young: Engaging Young People and Their Families
May 12: The Post-Covid parish: Parishes as Beacons in the Autumn and Beyond