“Be ready! Be prepared for Lent! Get your fasting ready, please!” I got this advice from my granddaughter Lucy, who will soon be six, as I asked her for some encouragement for my bulletin article which is partly about Lent.. While I write this, we are having a grand time visiting her, her two sisters, and their new brother, Lonnie, who is named after Bl. Solanus Casey. We are now just days away from the Lenten season, and we were all prompted by Fr. Randy last week to think about how we might journey this Lent, considering what our fasting, prayer life, and almsgiving will look like in these next 40 days! In essence, how can we better know, love, and serve the Lord?
Will I be taking on fasting in a new way (perhaps pushing myself in a way I’ve been avoiding in the past), desiring to long for something greater than bodily pleasures? Will I be giving alms to Christian Service’s “House of Mercy” or some other initiative to help others (maybe resisting a purchase I’d like and sacrificing that” want” for someone’s “need” as a way to deny myself and be better able to “take up my crosses”? Will I be devoting ten (or more) extra minutes to prayer and reflection daily (possibly opening or closing my day with this rather than one more look at my phone) as a way to grow in relationship with Jesus, learning to better discern His voice and how He desires to reveal Himself to me? Whichever ways we’re moved this Lent, we are given this dedicated season as an opportunity to individually reflect on and grow in our discipline and devotion, preparing our hearts to better receive the truth, beauty, and goodness of the Easter season, to long for our Savior to continue to resurrect our hearts and minds, still partly dead with sin and full of worldly things, to be aligned with His!
Similarly, as a united parish family, we are on a journey together to know, love, and serve the Lord! That is why it is so important (just like self-reflection and individual growth at Lent) that we, as a parish community, also take the time to reflect on “where we are” and “where we are going.” This “self-surveying season,” for us (and the whole diocese) is called the “Disciple Maker Index,” a period from now until late March when each parishioner is asked to complete a questionnaire in order to provide future direction for the needed areas of growth and strong initiatives within our very own parish.
The Disciple Maker Index Survey Opens This Week!
Our parish is on a journey to know, love, and serve Christ as a parish community. We exist to “fulfill the Great Commission and form a community of missionary disciples in Jackson, Michigan.” And most recently, we’ve been focusing on ways we can “joyfully accompany our young families,” from praying for our school families by name as parish and school staffs, by deepening the Catholic culture and identity of our school, and by forming disciple makers to walk with the young families and others of the parish. Together, we must embrace Christ’s vision for missionary discipleship so our parish can thrive and be a place for others to grow together in faith.
An important regular process involves assessing our greatest strengths and opportunities, and that is where the Disciple Maker Index (DMI) comes in! (You many remember it from three years ago.) The DMI is an important survey tool that invites you to reflect on your discipleship journey here at St. John the Evangelist Parish.
We invite you to please take the DMI survey this Lent. The survey opens on Wednesday, February 18th and takes about 15 minutes to complete. It is open to all parishioners, ages 18 on up, and can be taken from any desktop or a cell phone.
- Your input helps strengthen our parish and can be compared to our 2023 results.
- Results help leadership prepare for the future.
- A report of the findings will be shared in the upcoming months as we receive our survey summary.
- All surveys are anonymous!
If you prefer a paper copy, you may pick up your survey after daily and Sunday Masses starting next weekend, 2/20-2/21. They will be located in the church vestibules. Your completed survey can be dropped off in the boxes provided in the same vestibules.
At St. John Parish, we are blessed in so many ways, and our parishioners, with their prayers and support, have been such an integral part of this. Together, we will identify our strengths and opportunities in greater detail as we strive to grow in missionary discipleship. Please help us see what’s needed and how to move forward, discerning what God is asking for and from each of us and our parish as a whole.
And please pray for this intention and for the growth and protection of our parish as you lean into Lent this season! With thanksgiving to our Lord who is moving so powerfully within our parish and people, we give Him all glory!.
What a privilege and honor to share this faith journey with you as we walk together this Lent and beyond! St. John the Evangelist, pray for us!
Shayne
Use the QR code below or use this link to access the DMI SURVEY starting this Wednesday:
https://survey.catholicleaders.org/d/p7x828
