REGISTER FOR A JOURNEY IN FAITH SESSION
All parishioners are asked to consider attending one of these meetings (RSVP required)
The four nearest informational sessions to St. Patrick are:
· Wednesday, Sept. 17, 1-4 PM – Blessed Sacrament Church, 650 Stephan Ave., Waterloo
· Saturday, Sept. 20, 9 AM – 12 PM – St. John the Evangelist Church, 209 5th Ave. N.E., Independence
· Monday, Sept. 22, 6-9 PM – St. Stephen the Witness Student Center, 1019 W. 23rd St., Cedar Falls
· Tuesday, Sept. 23, 6-9 PM – St. Edward Church, 1423 Kimball Ave., Waterloo.
To RVSP, please visit https://tinyurl.com/JIFSeptSignUp
or scan the QR code.
You can also click on the Register for Sept Meeting button at the top of the page.
If you would like to register for one of the Journey in Faith sessions in September and don’t want to sign up online, please call the parish office and we will be happy to register you. You will just need to know which session location you would like.
RSVP to attend informational session
Important News from the St. Patrick Journey in Faith Team - Sept 2., 2025
Parishioners with an email address on file should have received an email or heard/read the press release from the Archdiocese last week concerning the upcoming parish mergers under the Journey in Faith initiative. Informational articles have been in the bulletin the past several weeks. Two important aspects to consider:
1. Your voice is important. No permanent decisions have been made, so it is critically important for our parishioners to attend one of the regional meetings in September (we are Region 6) to be informed of the anticipated changes. These are informational meetings only. There will be no Q/A or open mike. The meeting times/dates along with the RSVP website address are listed below this message.
These regional meetings will be followed by two parish meetings here at St. Patrick, the first in October and the second in November. Prior to those parish meetings, you are welcome to give any feedback you may have to the Journey in Faith committee via the Journey in Faith website at www.dbqjourneyinfaith.org The feedback button is at the top of the home page.
2. Your opportunity for questions will come at the two parish meetings scheduled on Oct. 19 and Nov. 13. These meetings are your chance to voice your opinion and ask questions.
Each parish or cluster has a Journey in Faith team to guide the parish in the process.
The St. Patrick Parish Journey in Faith Team members are:
Diane Flaherty (chairperson)
Email: diane.v.flaherty@gmail.com
Brad Best
Jill Blanshan
Paul DiMarco
Jan Hanish
Kristin Woods
Members were selected by the pastor to help facilitate the feedback process at the parish. Their role is to impartially record and submit the feedback of the parishioners at their parish meetings to the Journey in Faith Core Team. They are advocates for parishioners to be engaged in the process. Local Journey in Faith Team Members are not decision makers in the process. All decisions will ultimately be made by Archbishop Zinkula.
In summary, we ask that you RSVP as soon as possible to one of the regional meetings, plan to attend our parish’s October and November meetings, and provide written feedback via the Journey in Faith website.
Please feel free to contact team members with questions.
— Diane Flaherty
Proposed pastorate configurations - Sept. 2, 2025
Model A map and Model B map are two proposed Pastorates under consideration for your review. Model A map suggests that the parishioners of St. Patrick Church will only receive 2 Masses on a weekend. Model B map suggests that the parishioners of St. Patrick will receive 3 Masses on a weekend. We need the parishioners of St. Patrick Church to give us input on which Map would address the needs of the parishioners in our Church. There are multiple considerations to be taken into account with it comes to making a final decision on a Pastorate. There are pluses and minuses with both Model A and Model B. This is why it is so important to attend a listening session. The final Pastorate will take effect in July of 2026. All the parishes within a proposed Pastorate will also be combining their human and financial resources over the course of the next three years.
— Fr. Ivan Nienhaus
Archdiocese of Dubuque announces Journey In Faith initiative
June 2025
From Archbishop Thomas Zinkula:
I invite you today to embark on a new path with me—a Journey in Faith. This is a call from the Holy Spirit to examine how we live our Catholic faith and how we can best support our parishes, our priests, and one another for generations to come.
Journey in Faith is our new pastoral planning process to renew discipleship and strengthen parish life. It is a response to real challenges—but grounded in hope and trust in the Holy Spirit. Every parish will be involved in shaping the future.
More information about Journey in Faith can be found at the link below:
https://www.dbqjourneyinfaith.org/
