The St. John the Evangelist Parish Report to the Archdiocese on the Pastoral Planning Commission’s Proposal was submitted to the Archdiocese on May 1, 2012. A draft of this report was reviewed by the Parish’s Pastoral Council, Finance Council, Staff Council and Planning Group at a meeting held for that purpose, and the report was modified based on feedback received at that meeting. Much of the input reflected in this report was received at consultation meetings held following each of the liturgies on the weekend of March 24-25, with an additional meeting held Monday, March 26 to accommodate those who were unable to be present at one of the weekend sessions. An online survey option was also provided for those unable to attend a meeting, and both email and paper responses were solicited as well. Approximately 180-200 members of the parish community participated in the consultations (meetings and online responses), which provided a much needed opportunity for parishioners to share their thoughts, concerns, and hopes and in some instances their frustrations.
The report’s conclusion appears below; the entire report is available under the Links and Downloads menu on the Proposed Pastoral Collaborative page.
Conclusion
Collaboration will bring many opportunities to revitalize and strengthen the parishes of the Archdiocese. It will be important to continue to stress the positive aspects of the new model as parishes become bogged down in the difficult decisions that are inevitable. In some instances, the Archdiocese might consider providing professional facilitators to assist parishes in sorting through difficult issues.
Careful planning for the transition will be critical to the successful implementation of the new structure. At this point it is difficult to see how we will get from our current structure to the proposed collaborative model. Development of any plan needs to be done in stages, starting from the grass roots level in the parish. Parishioners see the need for, and want to be engaged in, strategic planning, particularly with regard to the Pastoral Service Team and mechanisms in place to ensure that parishes share equally in decision-making. This information will help people to understand and plan for the transition ahead.
Mutual respect and trust will be critical to the success of any collaboration. While these will develop organically, some recommendations might be offered on how to promote these qualities. We will learn a great deal as we work through the process, and there are opportunities to learn from each other.
Communication as we begin this transition will be important, as will documentation of the process at the Archdiocesan and local parish level.
