JACKSON – This edition of Mississippi Catholic is going to more families than ever for the first time in many years. During the past two years as communications director, I have been working to improve content, expand advertising opportunities and streamline delivery. Bishop Joseph Kopacz has said he would like every family to receive the paper so this project is meant to move us closer to that goal.
If this is your first Mississippi Catholic, I hope you enjoy it. If you have been receiving the paper, thanks for your support. The staff and I work hard to bring you stories from your parishes, schools, missions and communities as well as national coverage of issues and events and reflections on the life of the church. The paper publishes twice a month, on the second and fourth Fridays of the month.
Up until this edition, Mississippi Catholic kept its own database of names and addresses. The parishes maintained their own database of members using a program called ParishSoft. The staff from the Office of Stewardship and Development and Temporal Affairs has been working with me for a couple months to merge the two lists and get it as up-to-date as possible.
This is the first edition we could send out using the ParishSoft system. We selected this edition because it includes the first peek at the diocesan pastoral priorities for the next 3-5 years. During the coming months, Mississippi Catholic will be presenting different parts of these priorities, sharing how different parishes are implementing them and reflecting on what they mean for the church. It also happens to be the first edition of our new volume year since we have started a new liturgical year with Advent.
I would like to thank Rebecca Harris, director of the Department of Stewardship and Development, Christopher Luke, the coordinator for stewardship, and Julia Williams, liason for ParishSoft for the diocese, for all of their patience and hard work while we get this new infrastructure up and running.
If you do not wish to receive the paper or if there is a mistake in your name or address, please notify the secretary at your parish. He or she can update your information in ParishSoft.
I welcome feedback, story ideas and submissions. You can send your stories, photos or ideas to editor@mississippicatholic.com or call my office at 601-969-3581.
Maureen Smith
Communications Director
Catholic Diocese of Jackson