My name is Miles Handley. I joined the Faith Formation Commission in June 2020, when the parish was still developing its strategies for dealing with the pandemic and its response to the Black Lives Matter movement. It was a particularly challenging time for the parish, and I was impressed to see how committed everyone was to ensuring effective outreach to children and adults about the fundamentals of our faith and how our faith demands a loving and unambiguous response to the racism inherent in our culture, including an understanding of white privilege and all the unconscious bias it entails. One of the primary reasons I converted to Catholicism in 2001 was because I was drawn to the way St. Ignatius Parish lived out the gospel message of social justice. My involvement with the Faith Formation Commission has reinforced my belief that social justice and caring for others is essential to my spiritual life.
In the last two years, I have also gained a much greater understanding of how parishioners inform and guide our parish. On the commission, we are asked to listen with hearts and minds and bring what gifts we have to better serve our fellow parishioners. There is always so much going on, and we can all gain from the many voices in our community. I invite you to bring your own voice and gifts to this dialogue by joining a leadership commission. All are heard and all are welcome at the table.