To The Faithful of the Diocese of Superior:

Happy Advent! I hope that your journey to welcoming Christ more fully into your lives has been fruitful thus far.

The Office of Parish Transformation for the Diocese of Superior was established by Bishop James P. Powers on Feb. 18, 2025, to assist parishes in implementing his Pastoral Letter on Evangelization which was released on Pentecost of 2023, and the “Maintenance to Mission Pastoral Plan: Recalibrating our Structures to Move on Mission,” which was also rolled out on Feb. 18, 2025.

It has been nearly a year now since members of the Office of Parish Transformation have been assisting, coaching and accompanying pastoral leaders, trustees, councils and evangelization teams in implementing these visions for our diocese. Myself (Christine Newkirk, director), Peggy Schoenfuss (Chancellor and Superintendent of Catholic Schools), and Fr. Andrew Ricci (rector of Cathedral of Christ the King), are the members of the team that have been working with parishes. Each of assists directly one-third of the parishes. I am pleased to share that we have recognized the diocese has come a long way in moving from maintenance mode to intentional mission.

Albeit there is still much to be done, we have much to celebrate as we continue on the journey of solidarity in “keeping the main thing, the main thing”: evangelization, spreading the Good News of the Gospel, inviting people to authentic discipleship in Jesus Christ, holding the Eucharist as the source and summit of our efforts, and being intentional in our restoration of apostolic zeal in the Diocese of Superior.

As we partner with The Office of Evangelization & Missionary Discipleship, we also celebrate the establishment of Encounter: Parish Mission Apostolate. In collaboration with trained speakers, musicians, and local communities, this experience provides the faithful a powerful opportunity to encounter their deepest identity as sons and daughters of God and receive the Lord’s healing mercy, as well as, providing an opportunity for parishioners to boldly choose to live out intentional discipleship (www.catholicdos.org/parish-mission-apostolate).

As part of the diocesan-wide pastoral plan, each parish planning team is being asked to set specific goals each year that will be submitted to the Office of Parish Transformation for review, support and further resources if needed. The first set of goals are due by May 15, 2026. Our hope is for broad participation throughout each parish, so please feel free to ask your pastoral leader how you can offer your gifts for the service of the local planning process.

For more information on the Office of Parish Transformation, I invite you to check out our website for pertinent documents, resources and staff contact information at www.catholicdos.org/parish-transformation.

In the coming year, we look forward to sharing success stories from around the diocese!

Christine Newkirk
Director, Office of Parish Transformation

Christine Newkirk