Should parishes have mission and/or vision statements?

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Prior to the 1990s, few, if any parishes had mission and/or vision statements. Then, suddenly, it seems that MBAs invaded the rectories during that decade and within a few years most parishes had a mission and/or a vision statement. (Believe it or not, some parishes, like some corporations, have BOTH!) This was the latest trend, and it continues to this day – yet another example of the profane world impinging on the sacred realm.

Here is a particularly verbose example:
bc.edu/bc_org/prs/stign/mission.html

Did the author of that monstrosity get paid by the word? :confused:

But do you think that a parish even needs such a thing? I do not. If a parish is properly run by its priest and staff, it’s “mission” will be self-evident.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that so many parishes have adopted mission statements, since many of them are run like businesses, and many parishes have taken on so many different roles that they have lost their identities as CHURCHES.

However, if a parish simply HAD to have a mission statement, I can think of nothing better than this succint little line:
“To worship God and to sanctify the people.”

Anything beyond that would be verbose, superfluous fluff, and would detract from the true mission of any Catholic parish.

How did the Catholic Church ever stay on track before mission and vision statements? :rolleyes:
 
The Church’s “mission statement” is the Nicene Creed. Those silly statements usually beginning with “We, the people of St. X Catholic Faith Community O’Love, …” are nothing more than an attempt to inject a trendy bit of American corporate culture into a parish setting. The only corporate culture we really need in our parishes is to learn how to dress appropriately and balance the budget.
 
Cavaille-Coll said:
The Church’s “mission statement” is the Nicene Creed. Those silly statements usually beginning with “We, the people of St. X Catholic Faith Community O’Love, …” are nothing more than an attempt to inject a trendy bit of American corporate culture into a parish setting. The only corporate culture we really need in our parishes is to learn how to dress appropriately and balance the budget.
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Excellent points! 👍
 
lepanto said:
How did the Catholic Church ever stay on track before mission and vision statements?
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We’ve had one since the beginning:

"…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…"
MT:28, 19-20
 
I was once enamored of such verbose nonsense when I pastored United Methodist societies. It is an infestation of the corporate mindset. I repented of all of that when I converted to Christ’s Church.

At the same time it is essential to keep the true mission of the Church (the Nicene Creed) and the true vision of the Church found in Matthew 28 (as was stated) ever before the Church. We need to know what Jesus made us to be and what He wants us to do, not what some protestant or corporate person wants us to do.

CDL
 
Why not? We spent at least a few weeks revising ours, contributing to it and then revising it again.

What better thing can we do than that, no one really wants to go out evangelize, sanctify the people and just worship God?
Do they? 🙂

Scylla
 
Now it is the time when we will start to see parishes appearing in Dilbert’s strips instead of corporations. 😃
 
The Lutheran church we attended had a mission statement and vision statement. What a bunch of nonsense. Thankfully the parish we belong to now has no such thing–beyond the Great Commision and the creed.
 
I used to help by reviewing mission statements in the Air Force - the writers didn’t appreciate the help but the commander did. 😃 A proper, useful mission statement is a rarity.

So when our parish wrote a mission statement I was asked to review it. It vanished for a couple of years after that. They didn’t ask me to review the new one. :rolleyes:

For example, I insisted that the mission statement should reference our submission to, and union with, the bishop and pope. I think they stopped reading after that. Any decent mission statement should be coordinated with the mission statement of the next higher level in the command.
 
Joe_Kelley said:
I used to help by reviewing mission statements in the Air Force - the writers didn’t appreciate the help but the commander did. 😃 A proper, useful mission statement is a rarity.

So when our parish wrote a mission statement I was asked to review it. It vanished for a couple of years after that. They didn’t ask me to review the new one. :rolleyes:

For example, I insisted that the mission statement should reference our submission to, and union with, the bishop and pope. I think they stopped reading after that. Any decent mission statement should be coordinated with the mission statement of the next higher level in the command.
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I believe Jesus will say, “Well done, you good and faithful servent. Enter now into your rest.”

CDL
 
I never really thought about a mission/vision statemen per-se. Isn’t the Creed enough - it sums everything up. 👍
Works for me, at least.
 
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