Ninth State of the Parish Address October 24-25, 2015 Monsignor John C. Marine 1. As many of you recall, it has been my custom since I was assigned to you as Pastor, over ten years ago, to take one Sunday, usually at the end of October to present you with the State of the Parish report. While I do try to keep you updated each week through my Pastor's Column in the bulletin and through posting events on our web site and an occasional e-mail blast, I feel that it is essential for me, at least once a year, to use another form of communication that a good old fashioned style of communicating that in this day of technology and social media, we sometimes forget, that is talking face to face with people. And so today, facing the people that I serve as Pastor, I want to give a report, or comprehensive overview, of how we are doing in fulfilling our mission as a parish. Our mission to proclaim the Good News, teach the Catholic faith, celebrate the Sacraments, build a Christian community and serve one another. 2. You know, it's close to a month since our Holy Father, Pope Francis, visited us here in Philly. And I think you would agree that we are still living in the after-glow of that visit. I heard people say, and I can agree with what they said that as he went through the streets on his Pope mobile, it was as if he wanted to
embrace every person he saw - whether it was a baby, a person with some deformity, and yes even a prisoner in a Philly prison. 3. Pope Francis, by his words and especially his actions, reminded us, during that world Meeting of Families, that the Church is a family. A family where everyone counts and everyone belongs. Wasn't that the message of today's Gospel as Jesus, Himself, was going through a city, not Philly but Jericho, and people were crowding all around to see Him. And there was a blind man shouting for Jesus' attention. And even though the crowd told that man Bartamaus to be quiet, as if so say: "Jesus doesn't have time for you." Jesus spied him and asked that he be called over. Jesus made him feel important and special. He asked him: "What do you want me to do for you?" And then he cured that man's blindness, but perhaps, cured a more deeper blindness. The blindness of those people by showing all of them, and their short sidedness, that in His family, in His Church, in God's Kingdom, everyone counts. 4. When you think of it, isn't that the model every parish should follow?
When we consider the state of St. Bede Parish, that must always be our goal to be that kind of family. In so many ways, I want to tell you, we are. But like every family, there is always room to get better. So with that in mind, how are we doing as a parish family? 5. First of all, how are we doing as far as the number of people we have. We are still one of the ten largest parishes in the Archdiocese. Each week, you will notice, we register at least two new families. And that is great. There is a continual flow of people who keep coming to us, especially from the city, but even from other places as well. Either by their work or their need to be closer to their other family members. However, on the other side of that statistic is the fact that throughout the year there are those who are aging or the loss of a spouse, decide to downsize and move elsewhere. So we are basically replacing the families who leave us. 6. But here is the challenge. How do we make those new families feel a part of the family of the parish that they count. Our Parish Pastoral Council is on this. And that is why today we are having our second Welcoming of New Parishioners event after the 11 o'clock Mass.
All those who have been registered within the last year were invited to come to find out more about our parish and enjoy a lunch and meet some of our other parishioners. We want them to know that their gifts and talents are needed to build up our parish and for them to live out the faith. And most especially to feel at home in the family. 7. How are we doing as a parish in that very important part of our mission of assisting parents in the education and formation of their children in the ways of faith. Let's talk first about our parish school. Currently St. Katharine Drexel Regional School has 324 students from kindergarten to 8th grade. This is a slight decline from last year's enrollment of 345 due mostly because we graduated an extremely large 8th grade of 67 students last year. 8. Since my last annual report, our school was selected, because of its potential and because of our strong administration between the two parishes to partner with the Healey Foundation. A philanthropic foundation founded to help select schools develop a new business model that will ensure their long term viability. The Healey Foundation has a wonderful track record and are nationally known for their best practices in preserving an promoting Catholic Education.
9. As a result we now have a full time Development Director and the school is now governed by a board of limited jurisdiction very similar to the private Catholic Academies in our area. 10. The board of fifteen is composed of fifteen parents, parishioners, community and business leaders, some of whom are not even parishioners, but all of whom are passionately dedicated to Catholic education. Their task is to oversee enrollment, development, finances, facilities and continual enhancement of both the academic program and the school's Catholic idenity, so as to give parents an affordable, safe, top notch option for the formation of their Catholic children.