Our parish pastoral council responds to a series of listening sessions with plans to invite parishioners to get more involved in the volunteer life of the parishes. The Diocese requires our parishes—and, in fact, all parishes—to offer transparent financial reports on a regular basis. Our Sunday gospels tell the story of Jesus proclaiming the gospel and recruiting disciples. Are these merely random events? Or can we see a convergence here? I certainly hope we can! Jesus calls us to a mission—proclaiming the kingdom of God to our world. That mission needs people. And that mission, quite frankly, needs financial support. And, most importantly, that mission needs to be rooted in the life and mission of Jesus Christ and his apostles. That brings us back to proclaiming the kingdom God. To our world. We’re not here as parishes to nurture faith in those who those who already believe. We’re called, as St. Francis de Sales famously said, to “bloom where we are planted.” Look around our neighborhoods—here’s our mission field. Let’s be ready to hear the Lord’s call. Respond with our prayer and our time, our gifts and our talents. Make his mission powerful in our communities.