Setting our Path
A Vision Statement for St. James Cathedral
in the Great Jubilee Year 2000
August 15, 2000
The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Dear Friends,
The year 2000. The dawning of the Great Jubilee. The dawning of the Third
Christian Millennium. What better time for a parish to look deep into its soul,
to examine its conscience, to count its blessings and to set a course for the
future?
During the past year, a committed and representative group of St. James
Cathedral parishioners accepted my invitation to do those very things with an
eye to setting a path for our future. These people, who came to be known as the
Pastoral Vision Committee, spent many an evening studying trends, considering
needs, and sharing dreams about our parish. They were an extraordinary group and
I believe they have produced a vision statement worthy of our extraordinary
parish.
Of course, a vision statement like this remains only a vision until an entire
parish breathes life into it. And I am confident we will do just that. Over the
past several years we have become a wonderfully alive parish known here and
across the country for the beauty of our worship, the excellence of our faith
formation and the depth of our commitment to service. The Last Supper words of
Jesus inscribed at the base of the dome above of our altar: I am in your midst
as one who serves, have become both motto and model for so much of what we do.
But we must no rest on our laurels. There is much work yet to be done!
I am excited at the prospect of working with you, the parishioners of St. James
Cathedral, in turning this vision into reality and in making these dreams come
true. I have been blessed beyond measure to be able to serve as your pastor
during some exciting years when we have seen the cathedral parish double in size
and triple in commitment. It has been a humbling and rewarding experience, a
grace for which I am profoundly grateful to God.
It is often said that the past is prologue. If that be true, then our future is
more than promising.
This document is aptly called Setting our Path. I believe we will find
our way into the future if we invite two great patrons from our past, St. James
and St. Frances Cabrini, to travel the path with us. The church honors St.
James, the first apostle to give his life for Christ, as the patron of pilgrims.
For more than a millennium, faithful Christians have made their way to his
shrine at Compostela in Spain, a place people in the middle ages regarded as
“the end of the earth.” Nearly one hundred years ago when this cathedral was in
its infancy, Mother Frances Cabrini came from Italy to another “end of the
earth”—Seattle—to serve the poor. Many a time she prayed here in our cathedral
and the spirit of this great woman, the first American citizen to be canonized
by the Church, lives on in our parish as together, we continue to look for the
face of Christ in the face of the poor.
With friends like these to show the way, and with God’s gracious Spirit as our
guide, let us accept the challenges set forth in this vision and walk together
with confidence into a future filled with hope.
Father Michael G. Ryan
Cathedral Pastor
Setting Our Path
A Vision Statement for St. James Cathedral in the Great Jubilee Year 2000
Preface
Eight years ago, in January 1992, the Parish Pastoral Council proposed a set of
goals for St. James Cathedral. Those goals—focused on faith, teaching, service,
and our common bond as a community—served as the framework for work and worship
at the Cathedral during the early 1990s and helped launch the Cathedral’s
successful renovation.
With the installation of the new ceremonial bronze doors and the Archbishop
Murphy Millennium Organ in late 1999, the Cathedral’s renovation was
substantially completed. In response, Father Ryan convened a Pastoral Vision
Committee to assess our progress as a community of faith and to set a path for
the next five years.
The Vision Committee looked first at how the parish has changed since the early
1990s:
Over the last decade young families with children have returned to St. James.
The parish community has grown from 1,400 families in 1990 to 2,200 in 2000.
Parishioners are now drawn from throughout the region, not just from
neighborhoods immediately adjacent to St. James.
The Cathedral is increasingly involved in the cultural and social life of our
city. It is recognized nationally as a model for liturgy, music, and service.
The Cathedral’s neighborhood has changed dramatically as a result of escalating
development downtown and on First Hill.
In spite of unprecedented prosperity in our community, the gap between the rich
and poor continues to widen. More and more individuals and families with
children are homeless on Seattle’s streets or go to bed hungry.
Parish Statement
We are the Cathedral for the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle and its Archbishop,
the Most Reverend Alexander J. Brunett. We are a parish church for a vibrant
faith community with a long history reaching back to Seattle’s early days.
We are an inner-city parish reaching out to many who live on the edge of poverty
and loneliness. We are a diverse community which welcomes, accepts, and
celebrates the differences we all bring. We exist in the heart of the city, yet
many of our parishioners come from considerable distances to worship here.
St. James Cathedral is a crossroads where ideas and challenges both old and new
are explored in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our Cathedral is
a center for many cultural and ecumenical events, which both reflect and help
shape the fabric of a vital metropolitan community. Above all, St. James
Cathedral is a community of prayer.
Our Guiding Principles
As a parish, we will devote ourselves to prayer, teaching, and service to
others. We will continue to strive to meet our unique responsibilities as a
Cathedral in the heart of a vibrant city.
Prayer
Prayer is the center of our life as a parish. Our community is formed and
nourished by prayer expressed through the Liturgy and the Sacraments and through
our individual, family, and community prayer. St. James will strive to
become even more a place of prayer. We will recognize the holiness in others and
seek to help each member of our community on our common journey of faith. We
will know we are succeeding if we…
Make our Sunday liturgies the source and summit of our life as a community.
Involve parishioners in the celebration of liturgies through liturgical
ministries.
Celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours on Sundays and on great Holy Days.
Celebrate the Sacraments as much as possible in the context of the Sunday
Eucharist.
Create opportunities for reflective prayer throughout the week and year.
Use the beauty of music, architecture, and the arts to express the holiness in
our midst.
Offer a place of solace to those in need.
Strengthen our ties with other faiths through ecumenical and interfaith services
and special programs.
Faith Formation
As a faith community, one of our central tasks is to help each other in our
spiritual development. Beginning with Baptism, St. James will assist
parishioners in their formation of faith. We will help parents educate their
children about our faith. We will provide ongoing support and renewal to
parishioners raised in the Catholic faith, including those who have left the
church and wish to return. And we will welcome, aid, and support those who
desire to become members of our faith. We will know we are succeeding if we…
Respond to the return of children to the parish by expanding and strengthening
our baptism preparation classes and religious education programs for children
and by seeking to develop additional services to the children and youth of the
parish.
Serve children who seek a Catholic education through our support of central city
Catholic elementary schools.
Attract young adults to the parish by giving them opportunities to be active in
parish ministry and have their unique needs met.
Nurture vocations to church ministry among our members.
Strengthen the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process and give new
parishioners the opportunity to continue to work, pray, and socialize together.
Welcome returning Catholics to the Cathedral through a strong orientation
program, thoughtful preaching, music programs, and community events.
Foster excellence by providing continuing education and spiritual renewal
opportunities for staff, lay ministers, and volunteers.
Explore the educational needs of parish families and revise our strategies as
needed.
Service
The Gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to serve one another. Service is not an
option for us; it is a foundation of our faith. As a parish, we must reach
out in love and compassion to others. Even more, we must become a voice in the
community against poverty, violence, injustice and inequity. We will know we are
succeeding if we…
Serve those in need. We will evaluate our existing service programs and modify
and expand them to assure we are addressing the changing needs of the poor and
vulnerable in our community and around the world.
Help all parishioners make service to others central to their faith and give
them many and varied opportunities to serve.
Advocate visibly and vocally for the First Hill community.
Create a tangible symbol of St. James’ presence in the community by exploring
the use of our property and resources to help meet the needs of the poor.
Provide pastoral care to the sick, the dying, and those who have lost hope.
Continue to be a place of welcome and renewal for the families and caregivers of
those being treated at local hospitals.
Witness and speak out against injustice and work for the dignity of human life.
Our Role as Cathedral
As the Cathedral parish, St. James is the home of the Archbishop and a spiritual
center for parishes throughout the Archdiocese. Our parish is a
crossroads, a place where people come from throughout the region and the world
to give glory to God. St. James is a place of beauty, where music,
architecture, and the arts inspire our prayer and guide us to the holy.
Our cathedral is a place of action, of service, and advocacy in the midst of the
city. We strive to continue to welcome and to serve people of all races, all
nations, all creeds. We will know we are succeeding if we…
Foster liturgies and preaching of the highest caliber.
Serve the community as a place of prayer and gathering in times of celebration
or crisis by holding special services and by providing a place to pray.
Reach out to the larger community through cultural programs.
Sustain our music and arts programs and continue to allow music, architecture,
and the arts to give expression to our worship.
Continue and strengthen the children’s music program.
Work with the faculty, staff, and students at Seattle University to share
opportunities for learning and celebration.
Nurture relationships with the parishes of the Archdiocese connecting them with
their Cathedral.
Host liturgical celebrations for the entire Archdiocese on great occasions.
The Pastoral Vision Committee
Robert Taylor-Manning (chair). Mary Bourguignon, Larry Brouse, Brooke
Brown, Ernie Burgess, John Dolan, Anne Herkenrath, snjm, Ann Jackson, George
Keck, Glenn Lux, Sandi Macdonald, Lita McBride, Cheryl Nance, Jackie O’Ryan,
John Pinette, James Savage, Patrick White
