Archbishop Vigneron Talks Next Step for Families of Parishes on ‘Eyes On Jesus’

Archbishop Vigneron, Mary, and guest host Erik Coules discuss the transition to Families of Parishes, including its impacts on parish staff and clergy, and what went into identifying family groupings.

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Show notes

(1:30) Archbishop Vigneron gives brief updates on how his month has been, the work he and his leadership team have been doing to help mitigate the virus, and the continued work towards the transition to Families of Parishes. He also reflects on the holiness of the month of November.

(3:20) Archbishop discusses other successes and challenges that have arisen over the past month and shares a bit about his Thanksgiving and the blessings we can find in unconventional celebrations.

(9:23) Mary refreshes our memories of the announcement to move our archdiocese to a Families of Parishes structure, and Archbishop shares more about why the decision was made, what a ‘family of parishes’ is, and where the inspiration for this shift came from.

(14:20) Archbishop discusses more of the specific process behind identifying parish groupings and the sorts of considerations that were made in determining families.

(18:36) Mary asks about the effect the groupings will have on the presence of clergy within the parishes, and Archbishop overviews what plans there are for the waves of the transition and whether he anticipates the movement of any priests.

(20:53) Next, Erik asks about the possible effects on parish staffs. While recognizing that there is no one model by which every family can make these adjustments, Archbishop discusses a playbook that has been developed to help pastors and families navigate the changes.

(25:00) Archbishop discusses this transition as a fruit of the Synod and our calling to evaluate all of the structures we currently have in place for the mission. Mary overviews the pastoral note Led by the Spirit on Mission and how it can help the faithful prepare for this move, and Archbishop reflects on how the move carries out Jesus’ Great Commission.

(29:38) Erik asks Archbishop Vigneron what key message he hopes readers of Led by the Spirit on Mission will take away from the note, and Archbishop answers simply: courage.

(33:40) Archbishop shares his vision of how our coming together as families of parishes is part of the work of being joyful missionary disciples and sharing the Good News.

(36:56) Mary takes questions for the Archbishop from the faithful, including his favorite holiday treats, go-to prayers, and how to restore shaken faith.

(43:55) Final blessing