Having prayed over and studied the components that give life to a parish’s mission, we the people of St. Mary of Vernon Parish propose the following description of the MISSION to which God is calling us:
Mary, our Mother, the first disciple, and humble servant of our Lord, inspires the St. Mary of Vernon family. We aim to follow Mary’s loving example of service and willingness to surrender to God’s love and divine plan. As a parish we are strong in our faith yet strive to be humble in our spirit. We pray together that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide our entire community as we work toward cultivating a missionary spirit and forming disciples who lovingly share their personal relationships with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
As the apostles were called, so too are we called to enter into the mission of Christ as we aspire to build the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom grows when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, counsel the doubtful, and bear wrongs patiently. The Kingdom grows when we show being a Christian matters and our love for Christ underlies everything we do.
Jesus said, “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” (John 13:14-15) We find our strength to carry out Jesus’ command through the Word and the Eucharist which feeds us and brings us closer to the Holy Trinity. We aspire to ignite the flame of faith by drawing on the strengths of the parish, the wisdom of our seniors, and the energy of our youth. Our mission carries us beyond our parish walls and calls us to join our Mother Mary in bringing the hope, light, and love of our Catholic faith to the world.
Our community’s call to mission complements our call to spread the good news that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16) We embrace our sacred duty to transmit the flame of faith through spreading knowledge of our rich and abundant faith. Sharing our beliefs draws others into our community wherever they are on their faith journey. We seek to continue building on our past, growing from a small community of believers to a large family of faith, while focusing on the future.
The St. Mary of Vernon community will follow the grace-filled willingness and humble efforts of our blessed Mother Mary. We treasure our gift of faith and are motivated by our charge to “go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19) Our joyful celebration of the Mass fosters a passionate and loving community of disciples capable of honoring this call. With hope we go forth to love and serve the Lord spreading the Good News of our risen Savior.
The essential values of St. Mary of Vernon are rooted in our history and identity as a Catholic faith community dedicated to Christ’s mission.