The Grateful Discipleship logo represents our collaborative of St. James and Immaculate Conception. The Shell is often associated as an image of pilgrimage and the Cross represents St. James the Greater and the M represent Mother Mary. This logo is not intended to take away from our collaborative logo but is simply a further expression of us worshiping and working together.

Grateful Discipleship is the way to cultivate J.O.Y
– Jesus Others You

 

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Peace and blessings!

This spring, we are introducing a new program at the parishes of Immaculate Conception and St. James. This initiative asks us all to examine the ways we can work together to strengthen the Church in Stoughton by committing ourselves to the missionary work of evangelization – the work of bringing the Gospel of Christ to all people. We will be encouraged to give back a just portion of ourselves and our gifts to sustain our parishes for this critical ministry.

Like your family, our collaborative has struggled to navigate the numerous challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The truth, however, is that St. James and Immaculate Conception have been struggling to evangelize and grow for many years.  The goal of the Grateful Discipleship Program is to look within our hearts and find what place Christian Stewardship plays in our lives and to challenge ourselves to do even more to advance the work of Jesus Christ in our neighborhoods and our world.

As we reflect on ourselves and others during this Lenten Season, we ask parishioners to consider how they have prioritized their gifts of time, talent, and treasure.  It is our hope that you will evaluate your blessings and, out of a spirit of gratitude, generosity, and sacrifice, prayerfully consider making a commitment to your parish.  When we are intentional in setting aside the “first fruits of our labors” and committing to sharing the blessings God has bestowed upon us, then the parish can truly advance in its mission to evangelize, teach, serve, worship, and reach out to establish a fair and just world.
We have several key goals we hope to address through the commitments made in this program:

• Increase participation at Mass and in our many ministries.
• Support the work of our wonderful staff by growing the number of volunteers by 25%
• Establish an offertory pledging program that will allow the parishes to accurately forecast and budget for the coming year to work toward financial stability.

Below please find a link to the brochure and commitment form that describes the initiative and explain what it means to be a Grateful Disciple in further detail. April 24^th and 25^th is Discipleship Weekend and I ask that you prayerfully consider this request and return your completed commitment form by that day.

On behalf of the parishes, I want to thank you for the contributions of time, talent and treasure you provide to our collaborative. While I do not know if you can increase your levels of involvement and support, I hope that you will give it prayerful consideration.

Thank you again for all you have done in the past for our parishes and please know I will continue to keep you and your family in my prayers.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Rev. Carlos D. Suarez - Pastor