DPC hears presentations on bishop's priorities

Intermountain Catholic

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Jesuit Father Paul McCarthy, parochial vicar of Saint Thomas More Parish in Sandy, welcomed the members of the Diocesan Pastoral Council to the parish for their quarterly meeting.

SANDY — Three of Bishop John C. Wester’s top priorities – the diocese’s youth, stewardship and hospitality – were discussed Jan. 19 at the quarterly meeting of the Diocesan Pastoral Council.

Members of the DPC are drawn from all parishes and serve as an advisory board to the bishop; they also are charged with taking information from the meetings back to their parishes.

At the meeting, it was announced that Deacon Jack Clark has stepped down from the group’s leadership role. Juliana Boerio-Goates, the immediate past president, has been appointed interim president until Robert Woods is installed to the post in September.

Samantha Almanza, who began two weeks ago as director of the diocesan Youth and Young Adult Ministry, told the DPC that 21 parishes in the diocese, or less than half, have active youth groups. From questionnaires, she has learned that those in youth ministry would like training and resources, and she is now determining how to provide those.

Parish youth groups "aren’t just fun and games," Bishop Wester said. "It’s a formation program integrated into the life of the parish. This is what young people are looking for: to be with people their own age, to explore Christ and to move onto the next level of faith."

The diocese just completed its second stewardship renewal, which is a time for pastors to invite their congregations to live a stewardship way of life through time, talent and treasure, said Shannon Lee, director of the diocesan Office of Stewardship & Development.

This year, 22 parishes and missions in the diocese participated in the stewardship renewal month in October, she said, twice as many as last year.

"The parishes that have embraced stewardship have been calling and telling me about these wonderful blessings that are coming to them, and they’re crediting stewardship for that," Lee said. "Our challenge is to keep stewardship alive in those parishes, but also to encourage those parishes that haven’t fully embraced stewardship to take that first step."

The stewardship committee plans to offer age-appropriate curriculum for youth in schools and religious education programs, as well as Spanish-language materials and ongoing efforts for the English-speaking community, Lee said. They will continue their workshops in both languages, and this year are planning a stewardship day June 15 for the whole diocese, she said.

"Advocating for legislative policies on the state and federal levels is an amazing opportunity to participate in our faith, because this is our chance to evangelize in one arena, at least," said Jean Hill, the diocesan government liaison, as she presented an outline of state and federal legislation that will impact areas of social justice.

At the federal level, the farm bill and immigration legislation reform are among the top priorities, while at the state level, the legislature will discuss issues including Medicaid expansion and Earned Income Tax Credits.

Hill urged the DPC members to contact their legislators to voice their opinion on such matters.

In this way, "they will know where Catholics in Utah stand on the matters," Hill said. "The more times we do that, the more power we have with that delegation to push those moral issues. Our delegation needs to hear the Catholic voice."