Parish Leadership Team
Here at St. Margaret Mary, we passionately believe in the mission of Jesus and helping each person in our parish Experience New Life In Christ! With fewer priests and increasing demands on a pastor within an ever changing culture, no priest, even the best ones, can do this alone. Hence, the Parish Leadership Team was formed in 2022 to help the pastor realize this vision and give parishioners every opportunity to encounter the Living Person of Jesus Christ, grow in relationship with Him, and be like Christ to others in a world that needs Him so much!
What is the Parish Leadership Team?
The Parish Leadership Team (PLT) is responsible for assisting the pastor in his responsibility of tending to the spiritual and organizational health of the entire parish. The PLT members look beyond their areas of expertise or concern and embrace the responsibility of helping to make the parish a healthy organization on mission.
What does the PLT do?
Just as the apostles Peter, James and John walked closely with Jesus, the PLT meets with the pastor regularly to assist him in aligning the parish to what’s most important for the mission at a given time. After much prayer, discernment, and planning, the PLT administers plans and supports other parish leaders including the staff and council members to continue carrying out the mission.
How is the PLT selected?
The pastor prayerfully discerns a small group of members to invite to the PLT. Members have a relationship with Jesus & evident prayer life and desire to share their faith with others, are humble enough not to be concerned with status but to work and emphasize the team over self, are self-motivated with a strong work ethic and are on fire for the mission, and are able to use good judgment & intuition in working with others.
Who is on the PLT?
- Fr. Max Behna – Pastor
- Matthew A. Ernst – Director of Finance & Administration
- Dn. Don Helgeson – Deacon and Sacrament Coordinator and parishioner
- Mary Kienstra – Christian Service Commission Chair and parishioner
- Rochelle Luciano – Director of Mission Advancement & Assistant to the Pastor
Where does this idea come from?
Amazing Parish is a Catholic non-profit organization co-founded by business and organizational health leaders Pat Lencioni and John Martin, who after much prayer and discernment and lengthy discussions with Catholic leaders, agreed that the Holy Spirit was prompting them to help parishes transform from maintenance to missionary communities. They provide free coaching and consulting to support and empower pastors and Catholic leaders to build amazing parishes striving to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). For more information, visit their website: https://amazingparish.org/about/
How can we be reached?
We can be reached at [email protected] with any questions or concerns.
