THE WORK OF PASTORAL PLANNING
As we begin pastoral planning in our parish, it is important to acknowledge that for the work of pastoral planning to be fruitful, it is essential that it be sustained through prayer. Ultimately, God’s purposes inform all our action, and all our action ought to be oriented toward God. Moreover, it is the Holy Spirit who animates the Church and enlivens our shared life within parishes, schools, and other ecclesial institutions. As we begin our pastoral planning process, our community of faithful is asked to commit to praying in earnest for the success of the planning.

WHAT IS PASTORAL PLANNING?
As a parish, we have been called by Bishop Zubik to create a pastoral plan that will direct our work over the next three to five years. Pastoral planning is a prayerful and intentional practice by which the parish Envisioning Team will assist the pastor to establish spiritual goals through listening, discernment, and prioritization. A pastoral plan
addresses the current parish community’s spiritual needs. Done well, a pastoral plan lays the path for how best the parish is going to achieve its mission and lead parishioners in furthering our call to Jesus and our ability to lead others to Jesus. The parish pastoral plan sets the optimal scenario for the Holy Spirit to act among us. It creates the most appropriate local background for the Sacred Purpose of our parish to be animated.

As we begin to sort through all of the information we received from the Disciple Maker Index  (DMI) Survey, I am filled with great hope for the future. The Envisioning Team and I are excited and energized by how the survey results can impact our parish life. Although we are still in
the process of reviewing all of the data, please know that the results of the DMI Survey will be shared with the entire parish. We look forward to creating a vision for our parish to help us grow our mission and ministry over the next three to five years.

The results of our parish Disciple Maker Index (DMI) Survey will be available very soon. To help  our parish prepare for the next steps in the pastoral planning process, I have assembled an Envisioning Team. The Envisioning Team is comprised of a small group of Key Parish Leaders who represent a cross-section of parish life. The Envisioning Team will assist me and members of our staff in reviewing and analyzing the results of the DMI Survey and developing a parish pastoral plan. To help facilitate this process, Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI) is hosting a series of pastoral planning webinars which the Envisioning Team will attend this summer.

Thank you again for your support and participation in the Disciple Maker Index (DMI) Survey  through Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI). The DMI Survey closed on March 31, 2023, and due to the great volume of information gathered, CLI is still in the process of tallying the survey results. As soon as the final batches of paper surveys are entered, we will receive access to our parish results and summary report. These reports will enable parishes to review and analyze their DMI Survey results and begin pastoral planning. The results of the DMI Survey will help parishes create a pastoral plan that is centered on Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship. The pastoral plan, which will focus on three strategic priorities, will enable our parish to gain momentum in moving from maintenance-driven to mission-driven action. Pastoral planning will focus on the needs of future generations and align parish activity with mission and ministry.  We will continue to update you on the pastoral planning process and share the results of the DMI Survey when
the reports become available.

Thank you for participating in the parish-wide survey about discipleship conducted by the Catholic Leadership Institute.  The survey was available from February 22 through March 31, 2023.  In the coming weeks, the Catholic Leadership Institue will compile the results of the survey for our parish.  This information will be invaluable to Fr. Wagner and our various ministries as we plan for the future and strive to be the best disciples we can be.  We will receive the results this spring/summer at which time we will share what we have learned with the entire parish.  All survey responses are confidential and the parish will only receive information about the community as whole.