St. Joan of Arc/ISAIAH Inreach

Interim report

Introduction and Purpose

In 2007, we began an “inreach” at St. Joan of Arc coordinated by the St. Joan of Arc ISAIAH Core Team. ISAIAH is a coalition of 90 faith communities in the metro area and St. Cloud working together on issues of economic, racial and social justice. The SJA ISAIAH core team is a group of parishioners who meet monthly to help connect our parish to the work of the larger organization, and all SJAers are welcome to be part of our core team.

The inreach process consists of one-to-one visits with SJA parishioners by SJA ISAIAH core team members to create a social justice “snapshot” of the parish and strengthen the network of relationships and community at SJA. The visitors sought to learn:

– Why people choose SJA as their worship community

– What about their experience here energizes them

– What spurs them to take action on social justice issues at SJA or in their community

– What hopes, dreams, and concerns parishioners have for the future of SJA

Initial Report

As of early 2008, twelve SJA ISAIAH core team members have visited 55 fellow parishioners. In addition to visits with parish leaders and committee members, an invitation was issued through the bulletin to any parishioners who were interested in being visited or in being a visitor. The visits will continue and this initial report will be updated as new insights are reached. If you are interested in participating in an interview and/or would be interested in training to become a visitor, please contact Julie Madden (staff liaison to the SJA ISAIAH core team) at 612.823.8205x228 or jmadden@stjoan.com.

The inreach is not a survey, and not statistics-based. The results of the inreach are the insights and wisdom shared by those who are visited. In the visits conducted to this point, the following themes have emerged:

Based on the results of the inreach visits so far, it is apparent that SJA is deliberately chosen by parishioners as their place of worship for many reasons. SJA sustains, challenges and inspires. It is a place for parishioners to live out the values of the gospel, the mission of Vatican II, and Catholic social teaching. SJA is perceived as a community where people make a connection between their faith and the other arenas of their life: family member, citizen, volunteer, worker, friend, and neighbor.

The sense of community at SJA is real and is experienced in a deep and meaningful way by the parishioners who were visited. The inreach itself is a process that “makes sense” to SJAers, as its intent is to build relationships and to give participants a chance to articulate the values of their faith life and their work for justice.

One of the tangible benefits of the inreach to the ISAIAH core team has been an increased interest in the work of ISAIAH, although we specifically made it clear this wasn't a recruitment tool. The conversations were an opportunity to answer questions about ISAIAH and other ministries. This demonstrates that if the inreach model was duplicated in outreach to new parishioners or those unfamiliar with the parish, we would expect increased interest and participation in all the ministries and programs of SJA. We believe the congregation should consider a focus on welcoming new members through an inreach/”welcome wagon” approach.

There is both energy and tension around the myriad of options in social justice and peace work at SJA, as the forms and functions of this work are quite varied. A concern voiced by some of those who participated in the inreach is the need to improve connections between and among these varied groups.

We are all busy. No big surprise there. In terms of our social justice and peace work it means that some are overcommitted, while some want to do more, but are already stretched. We are challenged to identify opportunities to allow parishioners to be involved in an issue or action without being overwhelmed. Also, many of our parishioners are involved in working for peace and justice in their professional lives or their volunteer activities so, while they do not engage in SJA ministries, they are very active in this work in many ways.

Conversations surfaced great interest in the involvement of youth, not only in education, but more broadly across social justice and peace issues. In addition, those who participated expressed common concerns about how to meet the need to expand physical space. On a larger level, there was concern about SJA and its future relationship with the incoming archbishop and archdiocese.

SJA’s commitment to peace and social justice is a source of great energy for many of those who shared in the inreach thus far. There was tension around this as well, primarily around whether SJA is sometimes perceived as not being as welcoming as it might be to those with viewpoints that do not line up with SJA as a whole. If a view is expressed on behalf of the whole community, how do we commune with those who challenge that viewpoint or disagree? Is that an issue with which we need to grapple? How do we truly respect the journeys and viewpoints of our individual members while we articulate and commit to a communal journey as well?

Specific social justice concerns identified by those who participated in the inreach mirror the diverse range of interests and action of the parishioners. These include – in no particular order:

– Health care

– Peace and ending militarism

– Immigration reform, including global immigration

– Livability of communities; crime; education, diversity in Minneapolis schools

– Domestic violence

– Homelessness;

– Economic and racial disparities

– Poverty in other countries

– Rights for sexual minorities

– Environmental awareness/living more simply

Of course, information alone does not bring change. The over-arching purpose of the inreach is to use the information to inform action steps that strengthen the SJA community and strengthen our work in the broader community. ISAIAH and other groups at SJA will use the insights gained in the inreach in determining unmet needs and in planning actions as we go forward. We extend our thanks to everyone who has shared their insights and their time with us so far, and we look forward to continuing this spirit-filled work. St. Joan of Arc is a community filled with abundant gifts, and we are grateful to be on the journey with you!