Our Lady of the Black Hills exists to proclaim the joy of the Gospel to all creation and to transform lives with the Father's mercy.

Our Sacred Purpose

Our Lady of the Black Hills exists to proclaim the joy of the Gospel to all creation and to transform lives with the Father’s mercy.

Vision

Build with the Mercy of the Father

Core Values

MERCY – God’s steadfast love for us and our imitation of His love for others.

• We will listen daily to the Word of God to receive His
• We will share mercy through caring and compassionate ministries.
• We will seek repentance for our faults and forgiveness of ourselves and others who have wronged us.
• We will emphasize the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
• We will invite everyone to receive the outpouring of God’s mercy through the
• We will reach out to show our understanding and compassion for those who are not able to receive all the

STEWARDSHIP – Gratefully acknowledge that God provides us with everything and calls us to care for and share these gifts.

• Each day we will examine our generosity as stewards by recalling the abundance of God’s
• We will make annual commitments to deepen our spiritual lives and to inspire lively
• We will share generously the gifts God has given us individually and as a
• We will form dedicated disciples who courageously proclaim the gospel to everyone they
• We will welcome all with joyful hospitality.
• We will be co-responsible for the Church’s mission.

PRAYER – Intimate communication and communion with God.

• We will begin each parish meeting with 15 minutes of prayer and reflection with
• Through daily prayer we will open ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit and to God’s will.
• We will consistently provide prayer experiences in faith formation and
• We will attend Mass
• We will deepen our relationship with Christ through intentional times of personal and family prayer each

EXCELLENCE– Striving for the highest ministry standards to give glory to God.

• We will equip members to know, to understand, and to utilize their talents and
• We will focus and share OLBH’s vision, purpose, and values with all members.
• We will view the ministry standards through the lens of vision, purpose, and values.
• We will be faithful to the voice of God as expressed in the teachings of the Catholic
• We will train the members to help them succeed in the delivery of their ministries.
• We will evaluate annually the work of all the ministries for continuous improvement.

Pastoral Priorities 

Over the next three years, as members of Our Lady of the Black Hills Catholic Church, we will focus our efforts on the following three pastoral priorities and associated goals to fulfill the vision of our parish.

Priority #1:  Stewardship – Forming Disciples to be Stewards

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Pet. 4:10).

“Once one chooses to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, stewardship is not an option” (Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response).

Priority #2:  Evangelization – Reaching out with Boldness and Mercy

“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).

Priority #3:  Social Justice – Serving God’s Beloved Children

“Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matt. 25:40).