by Paula D’Arcy,
p. 115.
This article is written days before the Community meeting on Aug. 20th,
so it reflects only that which I know before, not what happens during that
meeting. It does hold my hope for that meeting.
I honor the courage of the founding group of people who responded to Vatican
II to be a different way of being a parish in the mid 70’s. The stories of
community, of families growing up together, about prayer groups and social
action, of heartfelt liturgies responding to God’s love of them in vibrant
worship are inspiring. They are good memories of the movement of the Spirit and
are cherished.
I honor the energy with which the group of people donated “time, talent,
and treasure” to the ministries of St. Malachi’s when it was much more
fashionable to hold on to that discretionary income and extra time for oneself.
I enjoy hearing about the fun the people had while following their hearts
doing the work of the Church.
All this is reflected in Community of St. Malachi mission statement:
Jesus Christ has called us
together as a Catholic Christian
community in this particular place.
Through the Scripture, Christ has given us:
a pattern for our salvation;
a living witness of God’s love for us.
Our mission, therefore, is:
to worship God and celebrate Eucharist together;
to love others the way we are loved by God;
to take time to comfort God’s people;
to provide refuge; to heal; to console; to give hope.
As a pilgrim church continuing the Presence of Christ;
We RECOGNIZE the need to nurture our own personal and spiritual
growth;
We DESIRE to take more seriously the impact of the Gospel on our
world;
We COMMIT to becoming stronger witnesses to the love of God in
Jesus, who is our hope.
“Jesus Christ has called us
together as a Catholic Christian
community in this particular place.”
How beautifully the original group recognizes that the call is from Christ to
be a Catholic Christian community. The sentence goes on to say in this
particular place, but is that a commitment or was true only for that time? Is
“this particular place” the St. Malachi campus (so that if this campus is
closed, the commitment is finished) or the near west side (broadly understood)?
“Through the Scripture, Christ has given us:
a pattern for our salvation;
a living witness of God’s love for us.”
The founders of the Community of St. Malachi recognized the importance of
reflecting on Scripture.
“Our mission, therefore, is:
to worship God and celebrate Eucharist together;”
The founders placed worshiping God and celebrating Eucharist above all else
in their mission.
“[Our mission… is:] to love others the way we are loved by God;”
The founders placed no restrictions on love or others.
“[Our mission… is:] to take time to comfort God’s people;”
While the founders took time to comfort the homeless and the poor, I heard
stories of their reaching out to others, outside the immediate Community who
needed comfort and support.
[Our mission… is:] to provide refuge, to heal, to console; to give
hope.”
Refuge, heal, console, give help suggests the founders thought about other
people of God beyond themselves.
“As a pilgrim church continuing the Presence of Christ;”
The founders, once again, show their concern to following Christ rather than
themselves.
“We RECOGNIZE the need to nurture our own personal and spiritual
growth;”
Again, their relationship with God, and its continued growth, is of primary
importance.
“We DESIRE to take more seriously the impact of the Gospel on our
world;”
There is that reference to Scripture again. Awesome!
“We COMMIT to becoming stronger witnesses to the love of God in Jesus,
who is our hope.”
There is the commitment, to be stronger witnesses to the love of God in
Jesus.
There is no reference that this mission statement can be fulfilled only one
certain way. The founders were clear about their priorities. This is
their mission statement. It also the mission statement embraced since then by
every person who has become a member of the Community of St. Malachi. It remains
our mission statement to this very day. While the charter is one way of living
the mission, it is not the only way.
I submit that time is well spent on reflection and prayer. Another way of
looking at clustering is a call to be a parish in a new way. Another way of
looking at clustering is to share our gifts with other parishes to become more
efficient in our work. Another way of looking at clustering is to be open to
learn new ways of being. I do not see a request to give up our mission in any of
the four cluster scenarios. I do see a chance to share our enthusiasm for
Scripture, prayer, and service … in other words our enthusiasm for responding
to God’s love of us. Do we have the willingness of the founders of the
Community who, in spite of the discomfort of change, changed? I hope so.
I hope we continue to follow Christ in his pattern for salvation. Scripture
teaches He was a humble person whose love for God and whose work for God were of
utmost importance. Everything else, even where he lay his head, was secondary.
