By Maureen Smith
GLUCKSTADT – Members of Bishop Joseph Kopacz’ Pastoral Priority resource team met Saturday, June 3, at St. Joseph Parish to lay out their plans to help parishes implement the new Pastoral Priorities for the Diocese of Jackson. The Priorities are part of a new mission and vision the diocese has been formulating for more than a year.
Bishop Kopacz toured the diocese to introduce the mission, vision and priorites and invited every pastor and lay minister to incorporate them into the work of his or her parish.
This resource team will accompany parishes as they set new goals and align their work with the priorities. Team members are available to meet with parish teams or pastors who want additional guidance and will report progress to the bishop regularly. Each member of the team will partner with several parishes so each has a contact person, but the parish teams will set their own goals to fit the dreams of their communities.
“We really want this to be a grass-roots effort, but we want to support the work of the parishes in every way possible,” said Father Kevin Slattery, vicar general and leader for the team.
At the meeting, team members talked about what they are already hearing from some parishes and about good ways to share best practices and resources with parish teams.
The plan, along with some preliminary resources, is available online at https://jacksondiocese.org/vision.

GLUCKSTADT – Pastoral Priority team members, (l-r) Danna Johnson, Raquel Thomas, Joyce Hart, Lorenzo Aju, David Phillips, Marvin Edwards and Fran Lavelle take notes at a meeting to discuss logistics for the plan. (Photo by Maureen Smith)