Sowing God's Spirit: Cultivating Connections in Christ
May 20, 2024
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
There appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
And began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. . . .
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded.
—Acts of the Apostles 2:1-7a
This Pentecost, the pulse of the Holy Spirit guiding the Diocese of Des Moines quickens as we implement the mission and vision we believe God has bestowed on us.
This pivotal moment comes after over three years of listening to one another, praying, identifying strategic priorities, and crafting concrete means of realizing our mission. Overall, we have humbly opened ourselves to what God’s will asks of us. We are a people of faith who recognize there are many among us still searching for God in central and southwest Iowa. Our considerable investment of spiritual resources, human inspiration and practical wisdom is a labor of love for God and our neighbors. I personally believe with all my heart that God anoints this bold venture of faith and mutual accompaniment with his Holy Spirit—the same Spirit that came down upon those gathered together at the first Pentecost.
I am pleased to share with you the fruits of this concerted listening, learning, mutual respect, and transparency. We are offering our parishes a bundled “basket” with an array of resources and a proposed means of engagement. This basket of the Spirit’s fruits is served up to our parish leaders and persons of all ages living out their baptismal call to grow faith and deepen their connection with Jesus Christ and one another—including each of us, I hope!
Our Strategic Mission and Vision
On that day, Jesus, went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down,
And the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
—Matthew 13:1-9
Like Jesus himself, who often spoke in parables using images drawn from the ordinary experiences of people and nature, the harmony of Scripture and our own local diocesan culture—with the sense of the faithful, the signs of our own times, and a strong unifying ethos of agriculture—contribute well to our guiding mission and vision: “Sowing God’s Spirit: Cultivating Connections in Christ through Encounter, Friendship, and Communion.”
The six toolkits in this bundled “basket” are a robust collective resource correlated with our six identified diocesan strategic priorities. Together, they beckon for patient and selective discernment and deliberation by each of our parishes. In no way are the toolkits and the visioning process intended to be a top-down mandate from on high, let alone a theoretical ‘program’ from me, your Bishop, that you are obliged to simply passively obey and enact. To view the toolkits and the vision in such a dim light is a surefire recipe to stymie and deplete the Spirit’s potential among us.
Rather, I have great confidence and trust in the power of the Spirit working in every baptized and confirmed member of the faithful—and even beyond the bounds of our established parish communities. When we believe in the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit and engage and collaborate in this prophetic endeavor, we sow seeds of God’s Spirit. We cooperate with the Lord of the harvest by gathering the produce of the Kingdom realized in the mysterious presence of the Risen Lord among us.
Priorities & Practical Implementation Steps
For the one God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.”
—John 3:34-36
“You know what to do with your farm, and does God not know what to do with you, his servant?”
—St. Augustine, cited in Haggerty, Conversion, p. 109
Below are the six identified priorities of the Diocese, each of which has a toolkit. You can also download this infographic in Spanish.
Below is our timeline for beginning a cyclical process for how we will live into this process over the next five years.
At about this time next year, your parish leadership will share with you what progress your faith community has made, and begin the process of discerning needs, our parish mission, and toolkits available to help your parish with the next step.
Commendation of this Vision and Plan to Mary
Mother of the Evangelizing Church
We now embark with abiding trust and holy boldness upon the implementation of this Strategic Visioning plan in the lives of the people of Central and Southwest Iowa. We know that from the “first seed” of the Christian community today many fruits, many new seeds of the Spirit have sprung forth and are entrusted to us to sow generously throughout the many local communities and the parishes that compose our Des Moines Diocese.
We take heart that Mary continues to accompany her Son’s Church and intercedes on our behalf. Like her Son, Mary is forever “for us” and will never forsake us. With the evangelical energy and good counsel of the Holy Spirit guiding our discernment, we enlist the practical wisdom and common sense of priests, deacons, religious, parish leaders, and lay persons of faith and good will who accompany us now, and who will soon, we pray, join our mission of Sowing God’s Spirit.
We may not put a hand to a physical plow, but we invest our hearts and minds in this Kingdom project of allowing God to save souls through us, drawn in hope by our common vision: “Cultivating Connections in Christ through Encounter, Friendship, and Communion.”
Come, Holy Spirit! Come ignite our hearts and seal the bonds of friendship and communion that are to be found in Christ, in union with Mary, who is Mother of the Evangelizing Church and Spouse of the Holy Spirit!
Come, Holy Spirit! Come ignite our hearts and seal the bonds of friendship and communion that are to be found in Christ, in union with Mary, who is Mother of the Evangelizing Church and Spouse of the Holy Spirit!
For questions about the toolkits, email toolkits@dmdiocese.org.