November 6, 2022

Dear Friends in Christ,

According to St. Pope Paul VI, the church does not so much have a mission, as it is a mission. In short, the church exists to evangelize – to proclaim Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit so that people in our times through parish communities like St. Bridget’s, will open their hearts to the Lord and find the path to authentic holiness which reveals the deepest meaning and purpose of life.

In this spirit, our Mission Statement has been updated as part of a parish strategic planning effort that took input from the Synod Listening Sessions, Parish Survey, and a diverse group of parishioners. You will see more elements of our updated parish strategic plan introduced over the coming months. It begins with our new mission statement:

"Rooted in the Gospel of Christ, we are a Catholic parish community, welcoming all people to pray, love, and serve together."

You will encounter this renewed mission statement for our parish at the beginning of all weekend Masses, on our all-knowing web page, and in our other social media communications. Because of its brevity and straightforwardness, I hope it is something we all become familiar with and even memorize. Special thanks go to the following who have generously worked to facilitate this renewal process: Chair; Meghan Browne, Core Team; Tim Vinopal, Mary Kay Beeby, and Michael Palmer as well as the Extended Team; Mike Wietholter, John Lane, Eric Verzuh, Anne Gehrig, Tom Gehrig, Julie Henling, Blythe Hirst, Daisy Lu, Ryan Oftebro, and Beth Toomey.

Thanks also to those of you who have pledged to our “Seasons of Thanks” stewardship campaign. We now have 211 pledges on our way to a goal of 300. I encourage those who have not yet done so, to please consider investing in the mission of St. Bridget’s through a pledge in 2023.

A blessed November to all!

Fr. William Heric, Pastor