Strategic/Pastoral Plan

2013-2016 - USCCB STRATEGIC PLAN
THE NEW EVANGELIZATION
JOURNEY WITH CHRIST: FAITH  – WORSHIP – WITNESS

To make the New Evangelization a reality is to become pilgrims on a journey or pilgrimage with Jesus Christ- much like the journey of Jesus meeting the disciples along the road to Emmaus.  The journey or pilgrimage includes moments for a deepening of our faith, increasing our participation in the sacramental life of the Church, and leads finally to our destination of being Christian witnesses.

 "A new evangelization is synonymous with mission, requiring the capacity to set out anew, go beyond boundaries and broaden horizons. The new evangelization is the opposite of self-sufficiency, a withdrawal into oneself, a status quo mentality and an idea that pastoral programs are simply to proceed as they did in the past. Today a 'business as usual' attitude can no longer be the case. Some local Churches, already engaged in renewal, reconfirm the fact that now is the time for the Church to call upon every Christian community to evaluate their pastoral practice on the basis of the missionary character of their program and activities."—Synod of Bishops XIII Ordinary General Assembly,The New Evangelization for the Transmission of Christian Faith, Lineamenta, #10

The New Evangelization:  Faith-Worship-Witness

The Year of Faith, as a doorway that engages us in the work of the New Evangelization, is a “summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the One Savior of the world” (Porta Fidei, 6).  The Year of Faith, is a first instance to be engaged in the new evangelization for the transmission of the Christian faith, is an opportunity for Catholics to experience a conversion – to turn back to Jesus and enter into a deeper relationship with him. The “door of faith” is opened at one’s baptism, but during this year Catholics are called to open it again, walk through it and rediscover and renew and deepen their relationship with Christ and his Church.  

The New Evangelization as a journey of faith, worship and witness, presents three opportunities or audiences for the transmission of the Christian faith:

• To engage more intently those who are faithful and need to be renewed with increased catechesis;
• To reach out to those who have never heard the gospel proclaimed; and 
• To re-engage those who are baptized but have lost a living sense of the faith in their daily lives

The New Evangelization is an opportunity, a pilgrimage (journey) to rediscover the joy and confidence of believing in the Triune God and to enthusiastically profess that faith as” a true encounter and relationship with Jesus Christ. Transmitting the faith means to create in every place and time the conditions which lead to his encounter between the person and Jesus Christ.” (Instrumentum Laboris, #18)    

The New Evangelization/Journey With Christ: Faith-Worship-Witness has a natural progression that engages the work of the Church and the USCCB in a three-fold movement during 2013-2016 through a focus on:

1. Faith:  Inviting Catholics to a deeper relationship with Christ, and a deeper understanding of and relationship with his Church, and knowledge of the faith.
2. Worship:  Inspiring confidence in the gospel and the teachings of the faith expressed in a vibrant community and sacramental life, most intensively in the Eucharist and Penance, but also throughMarriage and greater appreciation of the family as the domestic church.
3. Witness:  Strengthening of our understanding of the Christian vocation lived through a public witness to Jesus Christ and to the life and dignity of the human person where believers, living out their vocation to be witnesses, affirm the freedom of religion and work to transform society through living and sharing their faith in Jesus Christ and giving recognition to the life and dignity of the human person

More on the strategic Plan

USCCB Road Map
Suggested Parish/Diocesan Road Map