The Mission of the Vine & Branches Area Faith Community empowered by the Holy Spirit is to bear fruit that will last as Jesus commanded:

• By celebrating and proclaiming our Catholic faith as disciples of Jesus using our God-given gifts;
• By reaching out to and welcoming all people; and
• By centering our lives on the Eucharist, sacraments, scripture, service and the teaching of the Church.

The Vine and Branches Area Faith Community consists of two parishes – St. Raphael Parish in Springfield, MN and St. Joseph Parish in Lamberton, MN. St. Thomas Oratory in Sanborn, MN is part of the St. Joseph Parish.

The pastoral leaders for the Vine and Branches Area Faith community are:
Fr. Dennis Labat, pastor for St. Raphael parish and sacramental minister for St. Joseph parish.
Michael Pekar, pastoral administrator for St. Joseph parish and pastoral associate for St. Raphael parish.

Area Pastoral Council

The Area Pastoral Council is the primary consultative body to the Area Faith Community pastoral leaders. The Council advises the pastoral leaders on how to best carry out the pastoral ministry of the Area Faith Community. This council will focus on the ministry areas of liturgy, social concerns and education. They will either form an area committee or invite collaborative sharing and planning of established parish committees. Collaboration in these areas of ministry will provide a stronger service than each parish working totally separate.

There are three representatives from each parish who will meet with the two pastoral leaders four or five times a year.