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January/February 2007
Issue
Bishop's Column
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Welcome to the first issue
of FAITH Grand Rapids, our new publication for the Diocese
of Grand Rapids. FAITH Grand Rapids will be published
10 times annually. It is being mailed to all registered
parishioners in our 102 parishes and missions.My hope
is that FAITH Grand Rapids will serve as an instrument
of evangelization, with local stories of faith, as well
as a vehicle of communication for important and helpful
information about our Catholic faith. |
FAITH Grand Rapids is intended to supplement
the information provided (and updated) on a regular basis
on our Web site at dioceseofgrandrapids.org.
Eighteen months ago, I was appointed bishop
of Grand Rapids by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. It
has been a wonderful experience to be with you during this
time. I am honored to be your bishop. Priests and people of
the diocese have been exceedingly welcoming to me, and I am
most grateful.
This time with you has given me the opportunity
to become familiar with the diocese, which encompasses 11
counties in West Michigan. Our 102 parishes and missions are
served by 121 priests. Of these, 106 are diocesan priests
with 30 retired and 15 who are members of religious communities:
Redemptorists, Paulists and Vincentians. In addition, we have
many dedicated deacons, lay ministers and religious working
in our parishes. I am grateful for their ministry and service
to you.
Having visited every parish has provided me
with the opportunity to reflect on some of the needs that
have been identified and to see how we might explore meeting
some of these challenges.
Our greatest challenge is always to proclaim
the Gospel, ever old and ever new. In our secular society,
the Gospel proclamation becomes even more important.
With the number of parishes we have and the
limited number of clergy – a significant number of whom
are retired and still serving – we continue to have
a critical need for priestly and religious vocations. There
is concern about our ability to serve sacramentally all of
our parishes in the same way that we have in the past or may
be serving now. A pastoral plan will be developed and implemented
that will enable each parish to be served but, at the same
time, help them to face the realities of change in our society
and church. I will work to preserve all of our parishes as
faith communities. Wherever the future takes us, we can be
confident that the Lord will be with his church, and that
fills me with hope.
Our schools have served and continue to serve
the diocese well. Schools are an important part of our mission,
but the mission of the church is not defined by the schools.
We must have schools that are noted and recognized for their
Catholic faith and for their excellence. Anything less is
neither worthy of us nor of service to our young people. We
must carefully examine what we are doing and look for creative
solutions. There is no simple, easy answer, but, we are a
people filled with hope in the Lord and will go wherever he
calls us.
The first six months of FAITH Grand Rapids
are being funded by your generous support of the Catholic
Services Appeal. After July 1, 2007, FAITH Grand Rapids will
be provided to you and funded by your local parish.
I ask you to pray for the success of this
new venture and that it will be a source of information and
inspiration. If you enjoy FAITH Grand Rapids, pass it on.
Bishop Walter A. Hurley
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