1. Provide spiritually moving masses.
a. Make a call for social action a part of the Mass.
b. Stress the need for respectful silence before and during Mass.
c. Engage congregation to learn hymns prior to Mass.
d. Set up committee to decorate church according to church year.


2. Promote religious education to all age groups.
a. Provide information on Catholic doctrinal, moral and social
teachings.
b. Schedule speakers to talk on the subjects listed above.
c. Develop program to help parents instruct their children on morals,
church etiquette, dress code, discipline and living their faith in
daily life.
d. Engage children headed to college to participate in Catholic Campus
Ministry.


3. Promote vocations with additional emphasis on women’s vocations.
a. Adopt a policy of saying a prayer for vocations at all weekend Masses
b. Have our seminarian speak to the youth and children periodically.
c. Show K of C vocations DVD to children.
d. Invite visiting missionaries.
e. Have sisters from various orders visit parish.
f. Bulletin inserts highlighting the life of the religious.


4. Maintain and expand facilities.
a. Analyze need and potentially build additional classrooms and
meeting rooms.
b. Analyze need and potentially build a parish center.
c. Develop building and grounds committee.
d. Enlarge parking area.


5. Develop and communicate opportunities for parishioners to
contribute their time and talents to provide services to parish
a. Identify potential opportunities to fit the needs of the parish.
b. Once committees create a list of potential opportunities, they
could promote at a ministry fair.
c. Develop lists of opportunities available and needs in parish..
d. Pamphlet of ministries and place on website.
e. Conduct town hall meeting to explain ministries and church
organizations.
f. Periodically survey parishioners on detailed needs.


6. Make members and visitors to parish feel more welcome and included.
a. Establish a team to welcome all newcomers. This should include a
visit to the family’s home. Team could bring along information on
all that is offered at St Jude’s
b. Have a monthly welcome for new families, perhaps to include
mentioning the families in the bulletin.
c. Have quarterly luncheons for newcomers to meet each other.
d. Have Father ask new parishioners to stand so they can be recognized.


7. Target programs to needs-specific groups: seniors, married couples,
families, disadvantaged ethnic minorities, single adults, divorcées,
widows/widowers, adolescents, young adults, mixed marriages, hospital-
bound, home-bound, handicapped, prison-bound, etc.
a. Create a survey to determine the need/interest in groups listed
above.
b. Once team determines specific interest, actively solicit a
parishioner to lead each new group, i.e., a single adult for that
group, divorcee to lead their group, etc. Team should continue to be
involved by providing resources and information to ensure success.
c. Develop services directory that includes multi-denominational
services (ecumenical outreach) as well as other community service
organizations.
d. Pamphlets and other resource directories.
e. A group is currently needed to visit the shut-ins. Right now that
is being done by Eucharistic ministers and they are getting really
tied up because the people are lonely and want to visit or have them
run errands and that is not what they need to be doing. The Ministers
need to administer the sacrament and then go to the next place. We
would need people to visit both Jacksonville and Cabot.


8. Reach out to non-practicing Catholics.
a. Create group to check on members who are no longer coming to Mass.
(gp w/need training)
b. Try to determine cause/reason and if systemic or idividualized,
then work toward resolving the issue. (could use survey/questioniare)


9. Provide more retreats, parish missions, etc.
a. Invite missionaries to speak to congregation.
b. Organize missions, Habitat for Humanity participation, etc.
c. Incorporate the call for social justice in Masses.
d. Investigate the possibility of joining sister parishes who already
participate in missions.
e. Conduct day retreats at St. Jude the Apostle.
f. Contact the different religious orders to see if they are involved
in mission work, and if so, come and talk to us.
g. Organize a response team for tornadoes and floods. Working with
clean up and recovery. (see Hot Springs Village)
h. Send out a survey and ask for ideas for retreats.
i. Talk to other parishes about sharing the hosting of day retreats.


10. Improve communication and awareness of all ministries
a. Communicate activities, achievements, parish council items of
interest
b. Provide information on legislative issues, church history,
stewardship, etc. Provide inserts in the bulletin covering the
Church's position on the issues.
c. Hold annual town hall meetings.
d. Invite parishioners to council meetings. (make known it's not a
town hall type meeting)
e. Post board members and responsibilities on church bulletin board.
f. Ensure that achievements of various parish organizations/ministries
are publically recognized.
g. Invite someone from the diocese to speak on stewardship.


11. Ecumenism outreach
a. Identify resources available via other local churches that could be
useful to St. Jude the Apostle parishioners.
b. Identify opportunities to “team” with other local churches to
provide services to community at large.
c. Have ecumenical services with other local churches on Thanksgiving,
4th of July, etc.