Parish Life
LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC
Office of Parish Support staff are from left, Father Patrick Riviere, Sunday experience specialist; Joe Klapatch, logistics specialist and event coordinator; David Dawson, director and major life moments specialist; Rebecca Abboud, youth formation specialist; and Stephen Estes, adult and young adult formation specialist.
Office of Parish Support team accompanies pastors and parish leaders by listening and praying to know God’s will as a team Guest Columnist David Dawson
When I heard a couple of years ago how the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux was courageously restructuring their ministerial offices to focus all of their energy on what happens at the ground level, in their parishes, I was seriously impressed. It gave me great hope that a diocese would be willing to move in that direction with such conviction,
and though I never thought I would be personally involved in the project, I hoped and prayed that it would be successful. Having worked in a number of parishes and dioceses, I was familiar with most of the typical obstacles to progress in the church’s mission of making disciples. One of the main obstacles is a felt sense of isolation among the clergy and parish ministry leaders, and this can often lead to discouragement, self-doubt, and a lack of focus. So, when I heard that an Office of Parish Support was being developed to provide each parish with their own diocesan liaison for longterm, personalized accompaniment, I knew that God was doing something
20 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2021
big in this part of the world. It wasn’t until the summer of 2020 that I had any idea that God might be calling me and my family to be a part of what he was doing down here. I assumed that I would learn a few things from the outside that might be useful for my work in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Even when someone mentioned to me that there was an opening for the position of director of the Office of Parish Support, I never thought I would be the one to get involved. However, in typical fashion, God is full of surprises, and he gave us clarity in prayer that this was to be our next step and that we needed to prepare for the transition. And, though it’s been a wild ride and
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