In late 2016, Archbishop George Lucas introduced a new vision for the Archdiocese of Omaha, One Church, Encountering Jesus, Equipping Disciples, Living Mercy.  As a part of the implementation of that vision, he invited all parishes to renew their focus on pastoral planning. To facilitate that effort, in the Fall of 2017 the Archdiocese brought in Fr. James Mallon, author of Divine Renovation, to host a workshop in Norfolk with the priests and lay leaders of the parishes of the Archdiocese of Omaha. St. Stephen the Martyr, under the direction of the Pastoral Council, formed a Pastoral Planning Subcommittee to attend the conference and begin the work of developing a new pastoral plan for St. Stephen the Martyr parish. It took over a year to develop the plan. Along the way, the team had the opportunity to solicit input from countless parishioners and staff members as the team worked through a series of phases in developing this plan.

This plan is intended to be a living document that is carried forward and updated on a regular basis. More is said about that in the closing remarks. Ultimately, the successful implementation of this plan will take the combined effort of the people of St. Stephen the Martyr parish. This plan is not intended to guide the actions of just our priests or the staff of the parish. Rather, all of us should look to it as we discern how we can better live out our Baptismal mandate to carry Jesus into the world.

View Executive Summary here.