ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Informal Evaluation by the Cluster Implementation Committee

During the Spring, 2003, the Cluster Implementation Committee conducted an informal evaluation of the Cluster Pastoral Plan in consultation with the Parish Pastoral councils. The purpose of this informal evaluation was to determine the current status of the cluster plan. They considered the following questions:

1. What action(s) has (have) been taken to carry out the Cluster Pastoral Plan?

2. What action(s) still need(s) to be taken to meet the goal(s) of the Cluster Pastoral Plan?

3. To what degree has the vision of the Cluster Pastoral Plan been implemented?

4. Were any new needs discovered or new actions taken during the implementation of the Cluster Pastoral Plan?

5. What obstacles, if any, stood in the way of the implementation of the Cluster Pastoral Plan?

The committee found the following actions have been taken:

Goal #1 - Promote and develop evangelization efforts, which include ongoing conversion, continuing faith formation and outreach to everyone. This goal has five objectives: including evangelization, lay leadership development, financial stability, youth and reduction of diocesan priests in the Cluster from seven to five by June 2000.

• The Cluster sponsors an annual summer revival, Uganda Martyrs celebration, Jesus Jamz, Advent and Lenten Penance Services and Dr. Martin Luther King annual prayer services;
• The Cluster has regularly sent representatives to the St. Peter Claver Center and to the Seminary for Workshops and courses to enhance lay leadership in the Cluster;
• The Cluster sponsors evangelization training programs and door-to-door evangelization outreach within the parish setting. Four of the Cluster parishes have participated in these programs. One parish has Disciples in Mission;
• Many of the Cluster Parishes promote a Stewardship Program in their parishes;
• Many of the Cluster Parishes have reached out to involve the youth in parish activities, including the liturgy, service activities and Parish Pastoral Councils;

• The Cluster sponsored a Symposium on "Racism" for the youth of the Cluster;
• The Cluster compiled and published a list of all youth activities in each parish in the Cluster;
• The Cluster is in the process of forming a Cluster Young Adult Group;
• St. Madeleine Sophie and Holy Cross Parishes were twinned in June 2000. The twinning arrangement was evaluated in the Fall 2002. It was agreed that the parishes would continue the twinning arrangement and would evaluate it in two years;
• The Congregation of the Mission assumed the pastoral care of a third parish in the Cluster - St. Francis of Assisi Parish - in June 2000.

Goal #2 - To develop cluster-wide processes and practices to insure the maintenance, development and viability of quality Catholic schools.

• The subcommittee for Catholic Schools has worked hard over the past three years to raise $200,000.00 in seed money to hire a Cluster Development Director for the schools. It formed an Advisory Committee and submitted dozens of grant proposals to Foundations. To date, they have raised approximately $45,000.00.
• The subcommittee for Catholic Schools has also worked hard to develop marketing materials for the Cluster schools to increase enrollment. Regrettably, four of the six Cluster schools are experiencing declining enrollments.

Goal #3 - To continue to witness the Cluster's commitment to the poor.

• The Cluster has been sharing resources to provide social outreach programs for the poor in each of the parishes. St. Vincent de Paul Parish has invited the parishes to participate in their extensive social outreach programs to the poor of Germantown.
  
  

Goal #4 - To examine and expand efforts that enhance the cluster's role in the broader community.

• There has been very little done to implement this goal.
  
  

Actions that still need to be taken include:

• The Pastors of Cluster 18 have initiated a self-study of the six parish elementary schools. They will meet, along with the Principals, in the Fall 2003, to review the results of these self-study reports.
• The Cluster Implementation Committee is in the process of transiting into the "Catholic Communities of the Northwest," which has been in existence for many years. The scope of work and the membership on the Catholic Communities of the Northwest will be expanded to include the ongoing implementation of some of the goals of the Cluster Pastoral Plan, the implementation of the norms from the Tenth Archdiocesan Synod and future Cluster pastoral planning.

Status of the Plan

In light of the information collected, the Cluster Implementation Committee in consultation with Parish Pastoral Councils recommended to the Regional Vicar that the status of the plan be

To continue - implementation is not complete, new data does not indicate a need for revised cluster plan but further work is required on the current plan.