Mission statements are common currency in business.  They articulate the purpose of the company, the reason for their existence.  Religion has a purpose.  Is this the/a mission statement of the Church: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt 28:18-19)?  

Members of St. Paul Catholic Center gathered to craft a mission statement germane to this Center in the early 1980s.  It went through a revision in the 2000s to say:

St Paul Catholic Center, the Newman Center at Indiana University, is a Christian community rooted in the saving compassion of Jesus Christ, energized by His sacraments, and nourished by the liturgical life of His Church.
•    Imitating the Lord who welcomed all who came to Him, we seek to be home where all people find the shining face of love.
•    We especially commit our shared spiritual and material resources to making the presence of the Catholic Church real and visible to the Indiana University community.

The first paragraph identifies our essence and the context for our mission by which (1) we welcome all and (2) are the Catholic presence at IU.  As a university parish, St. Paul surely has lived out this ethos, and continues to do so today.  

Recently, when asked for a thumbnail description of ‘our mission,’ in the absence of a text, I heard the following description of St. Paul: we welcome; we are the Catholic presence to IU; we form Catholics engaged in their faith; and we form leaders.  That sounded accurate!  Later on, referring to the actual text, I discovered that two goals were “missing,” but I could swear that all four are active here.  Look at the parish programming; there is much that is directed toward making our faith alive and to forming leadership at all levels: the many formation opportunities, retreats for college and resident members, ministries formation, faith-in-action initiatives, faith sharing groups, and internship programs.  The next time someone asks me—or any member of St. Paul—“What do you do there?” it is most helpful to be able to reply: “We welcome all, we form Catholics engaged in their faith, we nurture leaders with Christian values, and we are the Catholic presence at IU.”  The capacity to remember the mission and to succinctly relay that information to an outsider (or to each other) is the purpose of a good mission statement.  And more and more, folks from outside St. Paul, along with alumni, are asking our Development Director this question.  

Thus, the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) is in a process of ratifying a current revision of the mission statement that includes all four goals.  This will not the last revision of our mission statement, but it is the most current.  Let us all ‘weigh in’ as commentators of this statement, and then live it to its fullness.  Here are some ways to reply: (a) reply to a forthcoming email (if you are a registered member with such contact information); (b) reply from the website; or (c) reply on a paper copy in the Gathering Space.  The PPC will gather these comments during October and give feedback to the parish shortly thereafter.