The latest update from the Diocesan Pastoral Planning Office follows:

“Ministry 2025 continues to move forward behind the scenes following an October clergy meeting.

“While we had hoped to publish the final version of the maps and explain the upcoming cluster phase of the process sooner, at this point we are looking at publishing the updated and revised maps along with an explanation of the next steps of Ministry 2025 in the Catholic Globe in the January 12^th edition.

2025 PASTORAL PLAN UPDATE

1.      The final plan of the 2025 Pastoral Plan will not be published until January 2017. Reasons:

a.      A great deal of feedback was garnered from clusters, parishes and individuals in early spring. The Pastoral Planning Committee reviewed the feedback, but was not able to get together until September 15, to act upon the feedback. At that meeting a number of changes were made to the original plan. The second plan was taken to the priests and deacons on October 17. Most of the new plan will remain intact, but more tweaking needs to be done.

b.      In the original schedule the entire plan was to be implemented in the summer of 2017. Due to some delays in the process and also due to some needed extra time in some areas to make the transition, not all new proposed clusters will go into effect in the summer of 2017 – but many will. The Priest Personnel Board began meeting on November 7, to look at the pastoral needs and available personnel to determine which places will begin the 2025 Pastoral Plan in 2017 and which ones will begin in 2018. It is a very complicated task to look at retirements, priest personnel, and proposed changes in order to come up with the smoothest transition into the plan as possible. Only when the Priest Personnel Board determines where the plan starts this year and where next year, will the final 2025 Pastoral Plan be able to be published.

2.       Pastoral Planning in the new parish clusters will most likely begin in late winter/early spring. Before pastoral planning begins on the local level, people will be recruited and trained to help facilitate four pastoral planning sessions in each new cluster of parishes. Cluster parishes are to have one common Pastoral Council with common goals and plans to achieve those goals.”

More information will be coming around January 12, but as you see, once the announcement is made in January, parishes in the designated clusters would need to meet to discuss the plan AFTER facilitators are recruited and trained to facilitate planning sessions in each cluster of parishes.

Stay tuned here for more information as it is announced.
 

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Ministry 2025: Pastoral Planning information may be found under the ABOUT drop down menu above.

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.