Discipleship Pathway
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The crosslet also known as the missionary cross, is a Christian symbol that depicts a Roman cross extending out in four directions. It represents the spread of Christianity around the world.
The Great Commission (Mt 28:19-20) from our Lord is to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Following this command we, the Catholic, Missionary, Disciples in the Branch Parish Collaborative take seriously our call to build our Father’s kingdom in the area of our charge.
We recognize our responsibility as described in the Catholic Catechism to be fully committed disciples of Christ who spread the faith by making, molding and missioning new disciples of the Lord:Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 1816
The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it: "All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks." Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: "So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."
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Branch Parish Collaborative Mission Statement
The parishes of the Branch County Catholic Collaborative are a:
1. Welcoming,
2. Evangelizing community of faith.
3. Celebrating the Presence of Christ in Word, Service and Sacraments.
4. By the Eucharist we are strengthened to share the love and mercy of God.
1. ENCOUNTER - Invite, welcome and accompany others to an encounter with the Lord.
Lk 14:23 “The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled.’”
1 Cor. 5:7-8 Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
3. GROW - Celebrating Christ with others in the Word, Service and Sacraments.
Mt 28 19-20 “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20 Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
4. SERVE - Empowered by the Eucharist we become Christ for others, accompanying them for mission.
Lk 10:2 2 He said to them, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to Send out laborers for his harvest.