Congratulations Future Transfiguration Parishioners!

I’m privileged to be the first to say it in writing…congratulations future Transfiguration Parish Parishioners on our new name!  

Those who were particularly curious about our new name and who also appreciate sleuths like Sherlock Holmes could well have used the readings for this “new parish name announcement weekend” as a give-away clue:  One of the three Transfiguration stories in the Gospel is always proclaimed on the second Sunday of Lent.

I appreciate our new name for a number of reasons.  Firstly, the Transfiguration is a “vision,” a rather personal experience of Peter, James and John.  (Heads up to St. Saviour Parishioners.  The Transfiguration window there does not have James and John depicted, just Jesus, Moses, Elijah and Peter!)  As a vision, it needs interpretation, explanation to be understood and, if more than one person sees a vision, it might be explained in very different ways.    Secondly, I appreciate the Transfiguration story because it meant something different for Jesus, than it did for Peter, James and John.  Thirdly, the Transfiguration is always referenced or connected to the Cross of Jesus.

In the future, it will not be surprising to parishioners to imagine that I will be writing about the Transfiguration name in more detail, commenting on those three reasons above and additional reasons why it is a good name.

For the next weeks, I have asked some PLT members to offer reflections on what inspires them about the Transfiguration.  To lead, Bill Lennard offers a wonderful article below about how the PLT arrived at a recommendation for the name and what will need to happen in the future.

Sincerely and with Love in Christ
Fr. Pat
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A New Chapter: Announcing our New Parish Name
From Bill Lennard, PLT
 
The gospel this week is the mystery of the Transfiguration of Christ. As reported in the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the disciples Peter, John, and James are taken by Jesus up to a mountain top. Jesus was changed, or transfigured, before them.  While experiencing the radiant presence of Christ, the disciples were instructed to listen to Christ and follow him without fear. As the body of Christ we too are called, like the early disciples, to know and follow Christ. 
 
 I share this background because this week was chosen to announce the name of the parish that will be created through the merger of our five existing parishes. 
 
The formal name will be Transfiguration of Our Lord Parish. 
For common use the name will be:  Transfiguration Parish or just Transfiguration 
 
This name was selected by a process that spanned many months and involved many staff and parishioners. The Parish Leadership Team thanks the Name Our Parish (NOP) committee, with representation from each parish and led by Joe Schnelle, for their help in guiding this process. The PLT also thanks all the parishioners who participated in this process.
 
The Process

1. All Crescent Family Parishioners were invited to submit potential Parish Names.
   1. 85 unique Names were submitted by 99 Parishioners.
   2. Those 85 names were provided to each of the five parish councils. The council members were asked to select their top five choices.
   3. Based on the Parish Council input, 17 names were selected for further consideration by the PLT .

2.     Discernment by the PLT and the NOP reduced the 17 names to 5 names
   1. Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Crescent, St. Josephine Bakhita, St. Katharine Drexell, and Transfiguration were the five remaining names.

3.    Parishioners were then invited to rank their top 3 preferred options.
   1. 495 parishioners submitted input.
   2. Transfiguration received the most support and was well represented across all five parishes. 
   3. Through further discernment by the PLT, names were eliminated until there were two left, Transfiguration and St. Crescent. 

1.   As with most healthy teams, individual preferences regarding the choice between St. Crescent and Transfiguration varied.  At the same time, Fr. Pat discerned that because more of the PLT felt greater inspiration surrounding Transfiguration, Transfiguration would be our new parish name.

 
Next Steps

1. Establish a Team of Parishioners to work on branding activities. (Logos, colors, etc)

1. We will want to tap into the Holy Spirit in God's creative people (our parishioners.
2. For a logo, we will want distinguish the Transfiguration from the Resurrection and Ascension.
3. It would be good for the logo to also reference the five merged parishes.  
4. Please contact one of the parish offices or Father Dave if you have the interest, time, and experience to be part of this team

1. Create a plan on when and how to start using the new name prior to final merger.
2. We will continue to share information and reflections related to our new name, merging, and more in future bulletins.