Family Implementation Team (FIT)

One of the tasks to be completed as part of the first phase of Beacons of Light is to pull together a Family Implementation Team (FIT). The FIT is a team of people that help me, as pastor, and the other priests of our Family to take the early steps in the Beacons of Light process and assess our progress. The FIT serves the parishioners of Ss. Peter & Paul, Sacred Heart, St. Michael, and Holy Angels in helping us to get through the first year to 16 months. After that, we will move into a new phase of the Beacons process and will implement a leadership team (we will discuss that in around 9 months to a year.) The FIT is a temporary reality that does NOT take the place of the parish council, staff, or any other group.

The FIT is a smaller group made up of 8 people: 2 individuals (a man and a woman) from each parish in our Family. These individuals were chosen by the former pastors within our Family of Parishes (except Holy Angels). This means these individuals help to secure continuity with the past at each of our four parishes. So, this group of individuals will help me to hear how the Beacons process is going in our Family of Parishes and provide feedback. One of the things they will be helping to guide us through is the naming of Our Family of Parishes.

Now, before we get into what that process will look like, understand that each individual parish campus will still remain as St. Michael campus, Sacred Heart campus, Ss. Peter & Paul campus, and Holy Angels campus. However, the overarching parish/organizational name will be different from the individual campus names. Think of it like the various bank branches in different towns that maintain a certain level of individuality while being part of a larger corporate body.

So, each campus will retain their distinctive name. Why do we need to choose a name for the Family of Parishes? Well because NW-7 does not really have a great ring to it. But most importantly, because one day our parishes will be merged canonically into a single parish (a single legal entity both Church-wise and civilly to an extent). Meaning that our parish name must bear the name of a sacred patron, either a saint or a Christ or Marian title. So, when it comes to choosing a particular patron, we want to understand that a sacred patron chooses us as much as we choose them. Divine Providence is the ultimate authority in this process. They intercede on our behalf in a special way. For this to happen we are going to be asking you all (in the future) to help give us some ideas on a patron for our Family of Parishes. So, I ask you to first, pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance in choosing a patron and, then secondly, to think about who a fitting patron for the entire Family of Parishes might be. Consider researching some saints you don’t know and see if someone strikes you as a patron to intercede for our Family of Parishes. I would encourage you to research some saints from the early and medieval period within Church history. In early October I will explain the first steps in determining this process. So please hold tight.

Please continue to say your name upon exiting Mass. I and all our priests want to know who you are and to get to know you. So please keep that in mind as you greet us leaving Mass.

Thank you to everyone for your support, for the number of compliments given, and for the support our priests have gotten from everyone over the past couple of months. You have truly been encouraging for all four of our priests. I am very grateful for this outpouring of support because not every Family of Parishes has gone this well. You all are great and have been amazing. Keep up the amazing example of faith and encouragement.

Peace in Christ,

Fr. Jarred Kohn