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RENEW MY CHURCH

IN CHICAGO, RENEWAL IS OUR STRENGTH The history of our Church in Chicago is filled with women and men who carried out the mission of Jesus Christ in their generation. They prayed, worked and sacrificed to build communities of faith and rose to the challenges of their day to renew the Church and the world around them. From pivotal contributions to the liturgical movement and leading social justice reform to the first fruits of charismatic renewal and “Christ Renews His Parish,” the foundation for renewal is here. Our ability to answer the call to renewal and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit are woven into the fabric of our archdiocese. This legacy is vital because renewal is never complete. As the composition of our Catholic communities changes over time, so too does the world around us.

Today, our parishes are increasingly multi-cultural, with far greater numbers of Hispanic and Asian Catholics living out their faith in the archdiocese. We must respond with a wider embrace of our brothers and sisters who bring diverse expressions of Catholic piety and devotion. And together we face a popular culture that is far less supportive of living a life of faith and yet finds itself in dire need of Christ’s healing presence. So once again, through Renew My Church, the Church in Chicago is responding with fresh energy to the Lord’s call to transform the world.

GOD IS AT WORK AMONG US The seeds of change have been planted and the movement of renewal is happening once again. The Holy Spirit is at work in our parishes. Across the archdiocese there are lifelong Catholics experiencing a newfound joy and meaning as disciples in faith. People who have been away from the Church are finding new ways to return home. Those who have never lived a life of faith are meeting Jesus Christ for the first time and finding a home in His Church. Older generations of Catholics are seeing new hope for their children and grandchildren. And young adults are discovering a sense of belonging they’ve never felt before. And just as it was in the upper room at Pentecost, our God is asking each of us to speak His Word, to do His works and to be His disciples on mission. 5

OUR CHURCH HAS A BOLD MISSION The Holy Spirit has been leading us to this moment. We are in this time and place for a reason. As the Popes over the past 50 years have expressed uniformly, we must go forth and proclaim the Gospel in new ways. It is an imperative of our personal journeys as Catholics. God is calling us to renew the Church for our children and their children, to commit fresh energy to Christ’s call — the same call He gave to St. Francis of Assisi 800 years ago — “Go and rebuild my Church.” In every age, Christ renews His Church and He will do so again through us. It’s our turn.

POPE

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St. Paul VI Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ’s sacrifice in the Mass, which is the memorial of His death and glorious resurrection. EVANGELII NUNTIANDI, NO. 14

POPE

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St. John Paul II I sense the moment has come to commit all of the Church’s energies to a new evangelization and to the missions ad gentes [to the nations]. No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples. REDEMPTORIS MISSIO, NO. 3

POPE

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Benedict XVI The Church is missionary by nature and her principal task is evangelization, which aims to proclaim and to witness to Christ and to promote his Gospel of peace and love in every environment and culture. ADDRESS, OCTOBER 26, 2006

POPE

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Francis I dream of a “missionary option”, that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation. EVANGELII GAUDIUM, NO. 27 7

THE CHALLENGE WE FACE When you look at the signs of the times, what do you see? The fastest-growing religious affiliation in our country is “none” — people who claim “none” for their affiliation. Nearly 40% of people under the age of 35 claim no faith at all.

Change is everywhere in our nation, our neighborhoods and even our own families. Technology, careers, politics, morals and outlooks on reality are rapidly changing, especially among young people.

85% of 8th graders stop practicing the faith by age 231 8

83% of Catholic Millennials do not attend Mass weekly2

Think about that: Of all the children raised in the faith, only 2 out of 10 are practicing Catholics by 23.

52% of those raised Catholic have left the Church at some point3

HERE IN OUR OWN ARCHDIOCESE We see similar trends as the national Church:

35% Mass attendance has declined 35% since the year 20004

33% Weddings are down 33% in the last 10 years (down 58.5% since 2000)6

40% Baptisms have declined 40% in the past 10 years5

43% Vocations to the priesthood have declined 43% in the past 10 years7

OUR UNIQUE CHALLENGES Our formation programs and activities were created for a different age, not built to respond creatively to the needs of current generations Many parishes are spending most of their resources simply keeping up the physical structures and cannot afford the full-time ministry staff needed for the mission of making disciples The cost to keep parishes in full operation is severely outpacing the rate of giving by parishioners Priests are retiring at a rate not matched by the number of men being ordained, leaving parishes without future priests

WITH EYES ON THE CROSS These challenges may seem overwhelming. We may feel unsure of the path forward. We may even desire to place blame for our challenges on a certain group, idea or teaching. We might even be concerned that we’ll be the last Catholics in our family.

If we have eyes to see and ears to hear (Matthew 13:16), we will perceive God at work in this very moment. People hunger for meaning given the record rates of loneliness, isolation, anxiety and despair. Most people do believe in the existence of God even amongst the “spiritual, but not religious.” Our troubled times create an openness in people’s hearts that we know only Christ can fill as the answer to their questions about life. Our Lord wants us to stay focused on the mission of the Church, to read the signs of the times and, as Pope Francis says, “to work to renew the ways of doing things.” This is our task at hand: to respond to the challenges of our present age with hope and creativity, with new energy and commitment.

For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26

OUR RESPONSE: A MOVEMENT OF RENEWAL We have a mission not unlike that of the early Apostles. Our call is also to share the life-changing story of Jesus. Our model of parish life was built for a different time. We must prayerfully and carefully evaluate the needs of the communities they serve and reimagine the Catholic presence in the midst of the people. Our goal is a Church fully alive and communities filled with life and the joy of serving Christ. This means a carefully guided process of grouping, joining and even closing some parishes for the sake of refocusing resources so that, together, we can create stronger, more vibrant parishes in the future. 12

Often, these new faith communities are formed by uniting once-separate parishes into one. These new parishes and the ministries they support embark upon creating a culture of evangelization and a long-term pastoral plan for making disciples, building communities and inspiring witness.

We must adjust our methods to boldly and effectively proclaim Jesus Christ and His Church in our families, our communities and to those we serve on the margins.

OUR PATH FORWARD Research has shown that the primary reason people leave the Church is not because of Catholic doctrine or disagreement with Church teaching — it is because they did not feel welcome, did not experience a profound and personal encounter with Christ, or did not find opportunities for missionary work or meaningful spiritual growth.8 Through a process of intentional collaboration and detailed research, we have learned what works to build up the Church around the world. Based on these findings, we are committed to the following ways of ensuring our parishes, schools and programs are aligned to mission:

1 Offering new entry points, outside of Mass, for those seeking answers, a sense of belonging and an initial encounter with God and the joy of our community.

For the sake of believers today and those of tomorrow, each parish must discern — must dream — about the future of their presence in the midst of their neighborhood or city. Every Catholic must dream about the potential of their lives as an instrument of Christ. Each pastor must dream about the unique response of his parish to the mission Christ is calling us to.

Committing to create a culture of radical hospitality within a spiritual family where all feel welcomed, noticed, valued and embraced.

Ensuring our Eucharistic liturgies are vibrant and transformative with excellent music, engaging homilies and a focus on Christ.

Creating faith formation that meets people where they are rather than being simply age-based, with programs and family catechesis that are holistic and focused on unifying families in faith.

Committing to charity and outreach to share our faith and serve those in need both near and far.

This journey will not be easy. It will be challenging and difficult as we let go of some of what was. Along the way, eyes fixed on Christ, we will remember that God’s desire for His Church is far more than a physical building. It is for a way of life as His disciples, a people committed to others in community, and parishes that inspire the world around them.

YOU ARE A DISCIPLE WITH A MISSION While we refer to ourselves with many titles — Catholics, Christians and Chicagoans — we don’t often call ourselves disciples. A disciple is a person who knows how to pray, serve and share in Jesus’ name. As Catholics, most of us are familiar with prayer, through Mass or the rosary and many of us are committed to serving our Church, through serving in our parishes and schools. However, many of us are less comfortable actively sharing our faith with others, by talking about our own faith lives or relationship with God. Some of us feel unskilled in this area, yet Christ calls us to do this as part of the renewal of His Church.

In Matthew’s Gospel, after Jesus rose from the dead, he instructed the Apostles, “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. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Implicit in Jesus’ commission to the Apostles is the understanding that they themselves were already disciples. All those who follow Jesus are, in fact, His disciples. Our own discipleship is the most fundamental imperative in the renewal of our Church. And our willingness to commit to growing as disciples, directly affects our ability to make disciples, build communities and inspire witness in the world today.

RENEWAL DEPENDS ON YOU By sharing our faith and our great joy at being followers of Jesus, we help our parishes, schools and programs move from maintenance to mission. They can then become more focused on fulfilling the mission of bringing more people into a life-giving encounter with our Lord and His Church rather than simply maintaining buildings or continuing ineffective ways of spreading the faith. This “evangelization,” or sharing of our faith, while not always comfortable, is the only way forward for the sake of the generations to come.

WHAT WILL TRANSFORMED PARISHES LOOK LIKE? Imagine a parish fully alive and growing with a clear sense of mission, with engaged disciples constantly deepening their relationship with God and the parish community — eager to lead vital ministries and invite others into an encounter of faith.

Imagine a parish in which Masses and liturgies are so vibrant that the “Sunday experience” is transformative for all; where Sundays are enthusiastically reclaimed as Sabbath; days for worship and family with no competing alternatives.

Imagine a parish where everyone, regardless of their background, their current state in life, or their closeness or distance from God and His Catholic Church feels that there is a place for them — where they have a sense of belonging, a place to ask their questions and experience the love of the faith community.

Imagine a parish of disciples that sees the need to look beyond its own walls and parking lot and bring the healing grace of Jesus Christ to the world; to address with greater intentionality the ills of our age — loneliness, division, addiction, despair — and knows addressing those things is vital to its own life and mission.

This is what our parishes will be when they are fully alive with the vision of Renew My Church.

RENEWAL IS HAPPENING AND THE RESULTS ARE INSPIRING Through the power of the Holy Spirit and the incredible determination of pastors, lay ministers and parishioners around the archdiocese, some parishes are seeing the early fruits of their efforts.

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I’m very excited by this shift with Renew My Church looking outward as opposed to looking inward. This Church is a place for everyone. Radical inclusivity is what Jesus was about, He wanted to reach every person out there.

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SUNNY NGUYEN, YOUNG ADULT PARISHIONER

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We all knew deep down that as difficult as the journey was, we needed to go through it to help us become resilient in our faith and walk with God and the Church. We will draw on the gifts of one another in order to produce a robust, unified parish that will grow in faith and love over time. TINA CARTER, PARISHIONER

We have literally knocked on doors in the community and invited them to join us. We try to be very welcoming. The biggest reward we have experienced is changed lives. This has brought great joy to the newly united parish. FR. JOSÉ MURCIA ABELLÁN, PASTOR

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Our journey with Renew My Church, while different and challenging, is not new. We need to trust in the Holy Spirit. Moving from maintenance to mission takes time, planning and a change of heart — all of which come with prayerful vigilance and commitment. FR. PETER McQUINN, PASTOR

You — yes, you — are called to play a part in this renewal. Our parishes, schools and programs depend on it. Our children and their children depend on it.

of the great challenges facing “One the Church in this generation is to foster in the faithful a sense of personal responsibility for the Church’s mission, and to enable them to fulfill that responsibility as missionary disciples, as a leaven of the Gospel in our world. POPE FRANCIS, DURING HIS VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES

ask you to join us in this journey of renewal and think of all “ Ithose you wish to bring to our Lord, those you pray will be nourished by the faith that has sustained you. This has to be a moment in which each of us embraces the common vision of our ancestors in the faith. The responsibility for the Church belongs to each of us and I urge you to be an active and vital part of this renewal. CARDINAL BLASE J. CUPICH, ARCHBISHOP OF CHICAGO

Learn more and join the movement 22

RENEWMYCHURCH.ORG

835 North Rush Street Chicago, IL 60611-2030 archchicago.org

catholicleaders.org/news/leadership-and-caves

2. nineteensixty-four.blogspot.com/2016/08/sacraments-today-updated.html 3. Pew Research: pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/09/15/half-of-u-s-adults-raised-catholic-have-left-the-church-at-some-point 4. Archdiocese of Chicago, Internal October count trends 5. Archdiocese of Chicago, Department of Strategic Planning and Implementation 6. Archdiocese of Chicago, Department of Strategic Planning and Implementation 7. Archdiocese of Chicago, Department of Strategic Planning and Implementation 8. Summation: Aparecida (V General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2007) and Evangelii Gaudium (Pope Francis, 2013)