Throughout this fall there are some interesting meetings going on at this parish. Most come and go without anyone ever knowing that they have taken place. In July, I appointed 5 commissions to study various aspects of parish life and to come up with a list of recommendations (actions) that could be accomplished in 1 to 5 years at St. Theresa. Since this is our 50th anniversary year, I felt that this was the best time to look forward to what we wish St. Theresa to become in the short range and long range. The commissions that are meeting deal with Liturgy, Education & formation, Outreach & Social Justice, Parish Life & finally Finance. I have asked each group to come up with a short range list of goals and a long range list of goals. In January, the Pastoral Council will put together a top 10 list so to speak from all these commissions. At that point, we will dedicate 2005 and the years ahead to accomplishing these goals. What I need from you are your prayers for these groups as they meet to discuss our future. You�ll have your say in this process in Town Hall meetings which I will discuss in the article on page 2.

In future years starting with the Pastoral Council elections in February of 2005, individuals elected to the council will have the opportunity to sit on one of these 5 commissions. The whole council meets not to discuss what is going on in the parish but rather what they wish to do and how they plan to go about accomplishing it. Below is a summary of what each commission�s purpose and responsibilities are:

Liturgy: its purpose is to work with the pastor and other ordained members of the parish to enhance the spiritual life of the parish through planning, implementing and evaluating the parish�s liturgical life. It also focus� on activities and programs related to the prayer and spiritual growth of the parish. Its responsibilities include: Observing

& evaluating the liturgical life of the parish; Specifying liturgical needs of the parish and making appropriate recommendations to the Pastoral Council; Providing opportunities for spiritual growth of parish groups; Encouraging prayer groups; Promoting Eucharistic Devotion; Promoting Marian Devotions; Promoting home prayer life and family prayer; Promoting ecumenical programs & efforts; Coordinating and preparing of Liturgical Seasons. I have appointed Phil Hargrave chairperson of this commission.

Education & Formation: Its purpose is to coordinate, develop, promote and evaluate all parish related education and formation programs. All that pertains to the education and formation of the whole person in Christ is within the scope of this Commission. Its responsibilities include: Adult Religious Education programs; Sponsoring speakers on theological and formation topics, Little Rock Scripture Study; Publicity of educational and formation programs; Support of Catholic School, Support of PRE program; Vacation Bible School; Sacramental classes, Fostering Marriage preparation teams; RCIA; Promoting vocations; Support and direction of CYM and Junior high programs; Providing family life programs; Providing programs for the divorced, separated and widowed. I have appointed Marianne McElyea chairperson of this commission.

Outreach Commission: Its purpose is to inform and involve St. Theresa parish community in social concerns and charitable acts toward one another and toward the larger community of city, state, nation, and world. To transform into action the Church�s concern about social justice and charity towards all. Its responsibilities include: Developing parish information-action programs based on the Gospel and social teachings of the Church; Identifying social issues and human needs in the parish and larger community; keeping the parish aware of pro-life activities,

sponsoring study groups on Papal Encyclicals or Bishop�s Pastoral letters dealing with social teaching; Providing Thanksgiving baskets for the needy; Secret Santa; St. Theresa Angels; Developing a relationship with the Mission on 65th street; Determining ways to reach out to Hispanics in the area; Developing a home-visitation program for the elderly and shut-ins; Working with St. Vincent DePaul Society in the Little Rock area. I have appointed Pat Bell chairperson of this commission.

Parish Life: Its purpose is to promote unity and a sense of �family� among the parish members by providing opportunities for people to be together. Its responsibilities include: Holding dances, potlucks and other events to promote unity; Coordinate Autumnfest (2005); Provide refreshments after Sacramental events, Conducting census; Sponsoring parish sports teams; Funeral meals; Parish Thanksgiving Dinner; Sponsoring and supporting Scouting troops; Official Parish photographer; Establishing a parish historian; Overseeing Parish Directories; Contact person to Arkansas Catholic; Welcoming of New Parishioners. I have appointed John Dale chairperson of this commission.

Finance: Its purpose is to assist the pastor in the �ordinary� acts of administration of the goods and finances of the parish. Its responsibilities include: Assembling the annual parish budget; Preparing status and forecast reports and the Annual report to Diocese; Publication of Annual Report to the parish; Evaluating the effectiveness of collections compared to financial needs; Implementing of Diocesan Standards in regards to charts of accounts and accounting practices. Larry Tucker is chairperson of this commission.

In 1972, my parents moved from Philadelphia to a godforsaken placed called Arkansas. Unfortunately, I had to come with them. I was 15 years old at the time and had no idea where Arkansas was. I even told my friends we were moving to Arizona, the only state I knew that started with an �A�. I soon found myself in a foreign land where hardly a soul spoke English. I remember in my early days of English class, my teacher put me in front of the room and had me read from a book of poetry telling all the other students, this is how they were suppose to talk. Talk about being embarrassed, but I did agree in my head that she & I were the ones who knew how to speak English. But the speech was not the only thing I thought was odd about my classmates at school. Everyone kept asking me �Are you saved?� and wanted to know what Church I went to. When I did not give the right answer to either question, they simply walked away confused. �Catholic?� �What type of �church� is that?� I could hear them mumble under their breath. I just assumed that their inability to speak properly caused their brains to be fixated on the topic of salvation and church. They all called themselves Baptist. I had no idea what that meant, but if that meant I had to greet everyone with the question about salvation, I wanted nothing to do with being one. They were lonely days for me during high school. Since I wasn�t a Baptist,

didn�t care whether anyone was saved or not and felt like a stranger in a foreign land, Church became very important to me. As much as I hated to get up on Sunday morning to my father�s phrase, �Time to roll,� going to Mass was like going home. Even though I was in Arkansas and far away from my parish church in Philadelphia, I could identify with these people. We had a common bond and that was our common faith; our Catholic faith.

It wasn�t long before I was invited by another teen to come to a CYO meeting. It took some encouragement for me to go. I was afraid that it would be boring or we would talk about religion all the time. But I was wrong. CYO for me was a way to meet other teens in my parish that went to my school and were Catholic. We did talk a little about religion and faith, but we did fun things as well. It helped me to come out of my shell and learn to have fun even in a state that was still very hard to call home. CYO made it possible for me to have friends that shared a common faith, a common purpose in life and common values.

Well that was 32 years ago. It seems like a long time ago that I was that lonely teenager who lived in a foreign land that I now call home. However, over the years my faith is still important to me. Whenever I visit a far away church or cathedral I feel at home. What makes me feel comfortable is the faith I possess. It

is my Catholicity that unites me to all others who share my faith. Believe it or not, my CYO days in high school contributed to this strong sense of belonging.

Now days, CYO is called CYM (Catholic Youth Ministries). The name change really just reflects the organizations desire to show people that Catholic youth not only can identify with each other, but can also play a vital part in parish life. St. Theresa parish has had a rich history of having a great CYM. Over the years hundreds of Catholic teens have made friends, deepened their faith and remained active in the church due to our CYM program.

However, over the past several years, we have had an increasing difficult time getting young people to give this wonderful Catholic Ministry a try. Perhaps it is has to do with changing life styles of teenagers. Maybe it is sports or work. Some say they do not have time, others say it�s not fun. Nonetheless, here at St. Theresa we still have a organization called CYM that is open to all students in high school. I know that even now, teens need to spend time with friends who share the same faith and the same values.