Bishop Mark Hagemoen recently launched a Pastoral Plan for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon focused on the mission of proclaiming Jesus Christ.

“Evangelization must permeate everything we do — everything we do proclaims Christ and God’s Kingdom,” said Bishop Hagemoen, announcing the promulgation and rolling out of the new Pastoral Plan at an annual Administration Day for the diocese.

The bishop challenged Pastors, Parish Life Directors, ministry leaders and parish representatives from across the diocese of Saskatoon to use the proposed three-year plan as a way to reflect upon strengths, gaps, and new directions.

The mission statement “Proclaim Christ and God’s Kingdom Today” is identified in the Pastoral Plan, along with six priorities — beginning first and foremost with: “Draw People into a Deepening Intimacy with the Lord.”

“Whether it is a parish of five families, or 15,000, the task and the mission of Christ is fundamentally the same,” he said. “Ultimately, everything must involve  the call to evangelization.”

Greg Chatlain, Director of Education for Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools, was one of the facilitators for the eight-month planning process undertaken by the Diocesan Pastoral Council (which includes representatives from parishes of all sizes from across the diocese, as well as pastors, religious, and other leaders). “What you are seeing today is the result of many hours of wrestling and discussion, and of challenging each other to come up with those things that we all need to work on together,” Chatlain said at the Administration Day launch.

Reason for developing a Pastoral Plan

Bishop Hagemoen described why the first task that he gave to the newly-formed Diocesan Pastoral Council was to discern the needs and challenges facing the Church, and to produce a Pastoral Plan for the diocese and its parishes.

“As I travelled the diocese I was hearing different expressions from the parishes that we have in the diocese of Saskatoon — dreams, hopes, concerns — as you can probably guess, some of the concerns especially in the rural area were around issues of viability,” explained the bishop. “At the same time, Saskatoon has had the highest growth rate of any city in Canada, which has an impact on our parishes and communities, so there is need for planning for growth.”

In both cases, one cannot just plan for improving viability or for growth, without a vision, goals and priorities, he said. “Especially in the Church, especially in ministry, if it doesn’t come from the mission of Christ and the Church, then all we would be doing is enlarging our maintenance.”

Bishop Hagemoen cited the insight he heard from a Parish Pastoral Council chair at a small rural parish: “Bishop Mark, we love our church, we put a lot of work into our church and we will continue to do that, but we are exceedingly concerned that we are putting 95 per cent of our effort into maintaining our building and very little into the mission,. We know that if we keep doing that, we won’t last, we will die… we want to, and we need to, engage in mission.”

The six priorities/ goals

Click on each goal for more detail

1. Draw People into a Deepening Intimacy with the Lord!  –  Supporting a deepening friendship and intimacy with Jesus Christ
2. Make Every Sunday Matter  – Focusing on our Sunday celebrations
3. “Embrace Your Priesthood”  –  Discerning God’s call to each person to share in the mission and life of the Lord
4. Build and Support Family and Community  – Strengthening and supporting families and marriages, vocations support
5. Promote the Healing Journey in the Lord – Healing, growth, serving, ongoing conversion
6. Move from Maintenance to Mission. – Helping parishes proclaim Christ in everything

“We are only beginning — the coming months will see the rolling out of this,” Bishop Hagemoen said of the Pastoral Plan. “This is not meant to be a quick fix or a quick experience, check off a couple of things — that is not what it is meant to be.”

He added that he takes his responsibility as bishop seriously, and that he sees the plan as a way to move forward and deepen engagement with the mission of proclaiming Christ and the Kingdom of God, “I am building on the faith life of a great diocese,” he said.

Next steps:

At the diocesan level, the Pastoral Plan will assist in moving forward in ministries and programs to assist parishes and provide resources. As next steps for parishes, the bishop proposed the following:

• Personally and prayerfully review and consider the Pastoral Plan, the mission and goals
• Review and discussion at parish level
• Review by parish and finance councils; parish ministry people; general parishioners
• Possible discussion at deanery level
• Determine parish priorities/tasks given strengths and gaps
• Seek supports and resources

Working poster outlining the Pastoral Plan’s mission and goals: PDF of poster

Trip to Garibaldi Highlands and Black Tusk with graduates from St. Therese Institute of Faith and Mission Apostolic Year

By Bishop Mark Hagemoen, Bishop of Saskatoon

Six graduates from St. Therese, Brunojoined myself and several others from the Archdiocese of Vancouveron a spectacular one-day 27-kilometre hike through Garibaldi Park and Black Tusk mountain this summer. The area is utterly spectacular and beautiful. It is also a great introduction to prairie people of the mountainous playground of British Columbia and specifically, the southwest coast mountains.

The six graduates from St. Therese were: Rheal Chartier (St. Boniface Archdiocese, Manitoba); Veronica and Dominique Skuban (St. Paul Diocese, Alberta); Alison Fox (Calgary Diocese, Alberta); Kaitlyn Deck (Saskatoon Diocese, Saskatchewan); Peter Van Leeuwen (Archdiocese of Vancouver, British Columbia). Joining us were: Douglas Pham and his fiancé, Julia Rumpel and Beverly Ng of Vancouver; Josh Dupuis (just moved from Saskatoon to Vancouver); and Rev. Gary Franken of the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

The area features vast and majestic topography of meadow highlands, as well as spectacular ridges and peaks – many which fall off into seemingly empty abysses.

Josh Dupuis, Fr. Gary Franken, Rheal Chartier, Alison Fox, and +Mark Hagemoen on ascent toward Black Tusk Peak, in the distance.

Peter Van Leeuwen, Rheal Chartier, and Fr. Gary Franken take a needed break in the scree as they ascend the ridge.

Rheal Chartier is thinking: “Gee, there’s nothing this high in Manitoba! What am I doing up here?!!

A quick selfie looking backwards on the ridge approaching the Black Tusk.

The views get increasingly spectacular of the glacial meadows and highlands around Garibaldi Lake as we ascend the ridge.

Peter Van Leauwan carefully watches his next step!! Black Tusk Peak, in the distance.

The group celebrates at the top of the Tusk!

Working our way back down the chimneys.

Josh Dupuis, Fr. Gary Franken, Peter Van Leeuwen, and myself climbing up and down the final ‘chimney accesses’ up the cinder cone of Black Tusk.

The Tusk is both alluring and daunting as its viewed against the sky.

Getting ready to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in the upper meadows following the descent.

A truly epic day with a great group!

Visit to Our Lady Queen of Peace Dominican Monastery in Upper Squamish Valley

The following day we had the opportunity to visit the Dominican religious community of cloister religions women at Our Lady Queen of Peace. The community was formerly established at their home in Upper Squamish Valley in August 2012, having arrived 12 years earlier and working to establish their new community in the Archdiocese of Vancouver in 1999.

The current Dominican community of religious women at Our Lady Queen of Peace.

The spectacular view of the Tantalus Range from the Chapel at the Monastery.

For further information about the community, please visit: www.dominicannunsbc.ca

Other hiking in the area during the trip to the West Coast

It was great to continue to experience other wilderness hiking during the visit to the West Coast. All of these places I have spent much time at during my previous years living in the region, both during my youth and my 23 years as a priest in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

View of the Howe Sound Crest Ridge as viewed looking east from Gambier Island.

Gambier Lake, Gambier Island

Views approaching Brunswick Mountain, Cypress Provincial Park overlooking Howe Sound.

The approach and climb,  and the views from Brunswick Mountain are spectacular. Amazing to still see snow on the back slopes in late August – indicating that the west coast had a more moderate summer than previous years.

The meadow slopes in the upper ridge between Brunswick and Harvey Mountains.

Peaks to the south include Mount Harveyand The Lions– the most famous mountains viewed from Vancouver overlooking the North Shore Mountains.

View towards Mount Harvey – the next destination to the south of Brunswick Mountain.

View from Mount Harvey to The Lions.

Looking up from the base of Mount Harvey at the end of the hike.

Eagle Ridgeover Buntzen and Coquitlam Lakes.

Another opportunity to enjoy a great – although hot – day with my nephew, Matthew Hagemoen. Here we have just had a feed of mountain blueberries. They are quite abundant this time of year.

Views from Mount Beautifullooking along Eagle Ridge.

View from “The Pulpit” overlooking Coquitlam Lake.

View up Swan Falls Creekalong the trail descending the ridge.

Dinner with my father, Eric Hagemoenat his cabin at Shuswap Lake.

Rainbow over the Shuswap– a great sign during a wonderful respite.

I have been very blessed to have this time in the mountains in the south-west region of British Columbia, my home for many years. I return refreshed and renewed to the Diocese of Saskatoon, ready to receive further the blessings of the great Prairies and its peoples!

                                                            In Christ,      

+Mark HagemoenBishop Mark Hagemoen Blog – Summer 2019 Trip to the West Coast