Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we gather for this Annual General Meeting, I want to speak not only as your pastor, but as a fellow disciple—someone who, like each of you, stands under the Word of God and seeks to follow the voice of the Good Shepherd. The verse that has been with me in prayer as we prepared for this moment is one that is both beautiful and demanding:
That they may all be one; just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:21)
This is the heart of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer before His Passion. It is not a suggestion. It is not a poetic flourish. It is a plea from the Son of God for a unity so deep, so transformative, that it would become a living sign to the world of God’s truth and love. Jesus doesn’t pray merely that we “get along,” but that we become participants in the very communion of the Trinity. This unity is the condition for mission. Without it, the world has little reason to believe.
And here is the challenge: unity is not cheap. It costs us something. It means surrendering the desire to control, to cling to “the way we’ve always done things,” to seek comfort rather than conversion. It means taking seriously our baptismal call—not simply as a personal devotion, but as a commission to help renew the Church from within.
Over the past year, our Pastoral Council has studied Divine Renovation by Fr. James Mallon—a book that is not afraid to challenge the status quo. Fr. Mallon asks the difficult question: Are we truly making disciples, or merely managing decline? Are we content to run programs, or are we ready to become a community of evangelizing, Spirit-filled Christians who live and breathe the Gospel?
These questions cannot be answered by clergy alone, or by councils and committees. They demand a response from every parishioner. Renewal is not something the parish “does.” It is a transformation that begins in hearts—hearts that are open to the Holy Spirit, ready to risk change for the sake of the mission.
And yes, it will feel like a risk. To many, the call to missionary discipleship sounds unrealistic or even threatening. We are already tired. We’ve served for decades. We’ve given our time, our resources, our energy. But Jesus does not ask us to give what we do not have—He asks us to trust Him enough to surrender what we do have, even when it seems small.
Let’s be honest: if we wish simply to maintain what we have—structures, routines, habits—we can do that. But if we want to become the kind of parish where lives are changed, vocations are born, families are healed, and the lonely find belonging, then we must allow the Lord to lead us into something new. That means learning to pray more deeply, to listen more attentively, and to work together more sacrificially.
The unity that Jesus prays for is not passive; it is active. It calls us into deeper collaboration across generations, across ministries, even across differences of opinion. It asks us to die to individualism and rediscover what it means to belong to one another in Christ. Only then will our parish be a credible sign to the world.
Fr. Mallon writes that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” And he’s right. A new plan or program, however well-designed, will not bring renewal if we do not first ask: What kind of community are we becoming? Are we a parish that invites others in? That accompanies the broken? That evangelizes the lukewarm? That prays with expectant faith?
At this meeting, we will look at reports and statistics, finances, and plans. But none of those things tell the whole story. The real measure of our parish’s health is not how many people fill the pews, but how many hearts are set on fire. How many people come to know Jesus—not just about Him, but truly encounter Him. And how many are then formed and sent out as His witnesses.
So let me conclude by returning to Jesus’ prayer: “That they may all be one.” It is a prayer still being answered—through us. We are called to be the answer to that prayer. And that will demand courage, humility, and the willingness to let go of lesser things for the sake of the Kingdom.
May we not shrink from that challenge. May we embrace the cost of communion, and the joy of mission. And may our parish become a place where the world sees something so beautiful, so united, so filled with the Spirit, that it cannot help but believe.
Fr. Michael
