My Vision for the Church

(September 2011; last revised/updated April 2017)

We live in a seemingly God-forsaken world where one third of our sisters and brothers live in poverty and half of those are so malnourished that they are actually starving to death¹; where preventable diseases and natural disasters claim the lives of tens of thousands each day; and where violence and senseless wars consume precious lives and resources for destructive purposes. I envision the Church as a caring, sharing, life-giving community in which all the baptized proclaim and embody the message of God’s love in Jesus Christ and serve the world by continuing Jesus’ work of healing and forgiveness. Our outreach to the world must include both emergency relief and work for structural change that embodies justice, peace, and reconciliation. I also envision the Church as a functional family in which those called to pastoral and sacramental ministry serve the baptized through word and sacrament so that the baptized may be empowered to reach out to the world in love and service.