“On the way to the future… together.” 

I am very excited to share with each and every one of you some fantastic news about our future here at St. Columban. In a very few short weeks, we are going to begin a strategic planning and visioning process that each of you is going to be invited to join in. Nothing could be more exciting than to be a part of the future. During the next eight to ten months we are going to spend some quality time praying, talking, inviting, and discerning our parish community to unearth what is life-giving right now and how our parish might envision what we could be in the future.

As you know, St. Columban parish began in 1859. Since that time, we have grown from a very small country parish to a bustling and vibrant community of now over 1800 households of faith. During those years, we have built five worship spaces, with the last one being completed in August of 2002. From a few schools rooms filled with children and the sisters living on the top floor of the building, we have now grown to a new campus, new buildings, and a student population of over 660 children. From just one large and lovely neighborhood of Loveland, we now have over 160 different neighborhoods within our parish boundaries. Yes, we have grown indeed!

However, we are not finished. We are on the way to the future, together. And it is the future that we would like to dream about while also looking at our present. We do this important looking because planning for our future is very important. If we are to remain a vital faith-filled parish, we are going to have to look carefully at what is life-giving right now and what we envision for our future.

Therefore, it is with great excitement that I welcome the Reed Group, and in particular Maureen Gallagher, who will be heading up the visioning process. Maureen has already gathered a Steering Committee of five parishioners who will be the force behind this process. Moreover, Maureen will speak at all the Sunday Masses during the weekend of October 22 and 23.

I want to be honest with you and say that this exciting process will have little effect if few of us get involved. Therefore, I am asking that everyone, yes, everyone try to the best of his or her ability to get involved. For most of the parish, this involvement will only be a one time deal, meeting once in your own neighborhoods with many people you know and some you might not. For others, it will be more extensive as we will need facilitators to help process the neighborhood meetings. I am only asking that everyone please give some time to this important venture we are undertaking here at St. Columban.

As for me, I could not be more excited as I see this fantastic family of faith gathering to share their stories, perhaps their faith, and looking into the future, together. You will, and do, make a difference. So, stay tuned for more details and please keep this process in your daily prayers.

Fr. Larry