Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Every year there are certain projects and goals that I have in mind here in the parish. Sometimes these are dealing with the physical plant, sometimes it’s about a particular ministry, sometimes it’s more about the overall administration of the parish. It’s that last category of things that I’d like to mention in my letter this week.
As you may recall, last Spring the parish conducted a feasibility study for a capital campaign. And in the subsequent months we’ve continued to plan and move forward with the campaign. In the next several months you’re likely to hear more and more about it, as well as get invited to participate in it. One of the lessons that we’ve learned along the way is that our current database could stand some improvement, namely an update to information that we have on file. In many cases, we’re finding that families have moved, that landlines no longer exist, and there are lots of gaps with email addresses for individuals and families.
In a way, this makes sense. If you’ve been a parishioner here since 2010 or earlier, your information in Parishsoft, the database used in every parish in our diocese, was taken from the information we had on file at the time. And for many years and for most parishioners that was sufficient for the parish’s needs. But as I’ve mentioned above, that’s not exactly keeping up with trends in communication. So many of us have a cell phone and in many cases, we’ve gotten away from a traditional landline. Even the rectory doesn’t have a landline anymore. And many of us use email rather extensively to communicate and to receive news about different organizations we’re involved in. Yet St. Charles doesn’t always have ready access to reach out using email. In some ways, now is a good opportunity for us to get with the times.
We are also overdue for a culling of the overall database. All are welcome to be a part of St. Charles and I don’t want to suggest that we’re trying to get rid of anyone. But the reality is, we have a fair number of families in the parish database that for one reason or another are no longer part of our community. It’s normal. Sometimes it’s because people have moved. In other cases, people have decided to go to another parish. Sometimes people register just because but then don’t participate at all in the parish. As such, it’s a healthy thing to do from time to time, to assess who is part of the parish community and who should be taken off the register of families. It’s been a good number of years since we last did so.
And so, in the coming months, I plan to roll out something to collect updated information about the families and households of St. Charles Borromeo. Your participation is greatly appreciated.
Peace and Goodness,
Fr. Dan
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