Most Recent Updates

KEY MESSAGES

Local and national media wrote stories about the launch of Partners in the Gospel across the Archdiocese of Seattle. While most of this coverage was accurate, a few reporters were creative in how they positioned this renewal effort. We wanted to remind you of the key facts so you can help clarify any misinformation in your parish:

• Jesus is at the heart of Partners in the Gospel.
  The mission of the Catholic Church is at the heart of strategic pastoral planning. To achieve our mission of going out to share Jesus with others, we must reinvigorate our parish communities, which includes adapting to the needs of the faithful and to our current reality.

• The Archdiocese is NOT closing parishes or schools.
  After consultation and input from Catholics across the Archdiocese of Seattle, parishes will be placed into parish families. It will be up to the local parish family to make decisions about how to best carry out the mission locally. The parish will determine many things, such as what ministries to provide, what Mass times to offer, how to manage schools (if there is more than one), and what properties and buildings will be used and when.
   
• Partners in the Gospel is a consultative process.
  Everyone is invited to participate in Partners in the Gospel. This year, a draft of the parish family configurations will be shared with priests, parish leaders, school principals and leadership, archdiocesan employees and finally all Catholics across the archdiocese in Fall 2023. There is no predetermined outcome. The parish family configurations will be updated based on the input received. 

• Partners in the Gospel is a four-year strategic pastoral planning process.
  This renewal effort has publicly launched. This first year is focused on consultation with an invitation to Catholics to provide input this fall. The final parish family configurations will be announced in early 2024 and will go into effect in July 2024. The parish families will then spend the next three years working together to determine how they can best carry out the mission of the Church as one parish. We anticipate most parish families will become one parish in 2027.