The Diocesan Assembly is required by the Diocesan Pastoral Council Constitution. It is an important way of ensuring that lines of communication with parishes remain open and that ongoing efforts are made to promote interaction among the laity, clergy and religious. If the Council is to function effectively as the primary consultative body to the Bishop and if it is to carry out its mission to serve and represent the people of God in the parishes and other communities of the diocese, to dialogue and reflect on the directions of the Diocesan church, to carry out the goals of the Second Diocesan Synod and to guide the future of the Church of Joliet, then participation from people throughout the Diocese is vital.

Seven goals for the Diocese were formulated from input received from Assembly ’96. They were presented for use throughout the Diocese and served as the basis for Assembly ’98. Topics surfaced at Assembly ’98: lay ministry, diversity and clustering, were studied by the Diocesan Pastoral Council. That Assembly encouraged regular meetings between Council representatives and lay leaders of their respective cluster parishes, in the hope that a sharing of information and dialogue would improve communication overall. As a result, sharing cluster experiences became a regular agenda item for Council meetings.

Assemblies provide an opportunity for persons to pray, reflect, discuss, listen, vision, celebrate, find inspiration and share enthusiasm. They also are a means to better discern, meet future challenges and embrace whatever changes may be needed in parish life for the future.

Roundtable Discussions 2003

Flyer and Registration for 2005