“A Little Child Will Lead Them”: A Story from the USA
Melissa and Cody Hedquist love their parish. They almost gush as they repeatedly explain “the way they do it at St. Patrick’s is…” relating their amazement at the difference they have found there.
St. Patrick’s Parish in Yorkville, Illinois, has been committed to parish renewal since its Pastor, Father Matt, attended the DR’16 Conference in Halifax. He got into coaching with Divine Renovation, formed a Senior Leadership Team, started Alpha and the trajectory of the parish changed towards becoming missional. Another big shift happened three years ago when, as part of their focus on the primacy of evangelization, St. Patrick’s hired a Director of Children’s Ministry. The new hire, Samantha, brought in a focus on family formation to children’s faith education and the fruit has been multiplying ever since.
For the Hedquist family, this change was tangible and deeply personal.
