The Office of Parish Support exists to serve and accompany pastors, their staffs, and their pastoral leadership teams in the work of parish renewal.  We support, equip, and accompany each parish as they implement their own vision of making disciples of Jesus Christ.  This mission of making disciples focuses on four priorities: adult formation, youth formation, major life moments, and Sunday.

OPS consists of a team of liaisons who each work with individual parishes to assist them in discerning and implementing the vision that God is calling them to.  Rather than having different diocesan offices each working to serve all parishes, the liaison model places the parish first and provides the opportunity to invest more deeply in individual parish communities.  This allows us to best serve needs of the parish and foster the vision of those particular communities, knowing that each community is unique and has different needs.

DISCERNMENT

In all of our work as an Office and with parishes, discernment plays a foundational role.  Discernment involves intentionally taking time in prayer to ask God what He desires and to listen to what He shares with us.  God has a plan for each of us and for each of our parishes, so the most important thing we can do is give Him a chance to speak about that.  Discernment is not asking the Lord to confirm our ideas, and neither is it a time to figure everything out, but it is primarily a time to listen and be attentive to what God's desires for us.

Without discernment, all of the pressure falls on us to figure out what to do in a given situation.  When we discern together and listen to the Lord, we are confirmed not in our own desires but in what He is calling us to, confident that He knows what is best for our parishes and the pastors and leaders we serve.

THE FIVE

The Formation Life Cycle, what we often call "The Five," attempts to shine light on the experience we each have as we grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.  Since the mission of the Church is to make disciples, and the mission of the Office is to help support that process in our parishes, it is crucial for us to have a vision for what that looks like.

"The Five" are five dimensions or phases in the process of growing as a disciple.  As we begin the journey of discipleship, it is crucial that we have authentic relationships that encourage us to start and remain engaged with the process (Connect).  Through authentic community and good human friendships, we are often prepared for a deeper Encounter with God in our lives.  This encounter with the Lord can lead us to change certain elements of our lives, striving to root out sin and things that pull us away from Him (Conversion).  We also strive to grow in virtue and learn how we can more authentically live Christian discipleship (Grow).  And, as we more deeply experience the Lord, we then want to invite others into this same journey in response to what God has done for us (Mission).

Connect, Encounter, Conversion, Grow, and Mission are not necessarily five strictly sequential steps, although this order is important, but five dimensions of our Christian discipleship.  It is important that we are aware of each element as we implement programs and processes in parish communities to foster growth in discipleship.

A PROCESS OF DISCIPLESHIP