ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Informal Evaluation by the Cluster Implementation Committee

Cluster 28

PARISHES:

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:

1. Millennium Cross of Reconciliation: a week long event consisting of morning and evening prayer for all age groups, daily Masses, cluster Mass, youth Mass with social following, ecumenical service, stations of the cross, private adoration and sacrament of reconciliation, held at St. Ephrem's.

2. Cluster Newsletter distributed once last year and to be distributed again during the winter of 2003.

3. Cluster Rosary Procession and Mass on one month anniversary of 9/11. A Mass of Remembrance held on the one year anniversary of 9/11.

4. Senior Citizens Group at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish for seniors from all cluster parishes.

5. Designation of St. Ephrem as site for Lower Bucks County to provide sign language at Mass on Sunday once a month.

6. Lenten Adult Education series of four lectures presented by the Family Life Office rotating at 3 different parishes.

7. St. Ephrem's Fall and Lenten Bible Studies and four Marian lectures open to Cluster parishes.

8. Eucharistic Ministers workshop in the fall for 3 years at St. Ephrem open to cluster parishes.

9. Cluster Altar Servers Mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton with social following.

10. World Youth Day was attended by 30 youth and 15 adults including 3 priests from the cluster parishes.

11. Channel 98 is utilized by St. Charles School and other schools within the cluster.

12. St. Ephrem and St. Charles cooperated in sending parishioners to the March for Life in Washington D.C.

13. Two Pre-Cana Programs at St. Ephrem are open to all cluster parishes.

14. The opportunity to come together as a cluster community to pray during the tragic events of 9/ll/01 came naturally.

15. Communication between the cluster parishes increased parishioner awareness of the schedules each parish offered for Advent and Lenten programs and Mass/Confession availability.

The Plan has been implemented in a limited manner. Further encouragement and guidance needs to be provided to facilitate implementation of unmet goals.

Actions that still need to be taken include:

• Coordination and communication within the cluster parishes can be enhanced.
• Need for a cluster ministry for separated and divorced Catholics to foster more healthy families within our parishes.
• actions for evangelizing inactive Catholics need to be initiated at cluster level.
• Work to cultivate the involvement of youth in programs of Catholic life have been ongoing at parish level but not at cluster level. Youth community leaders, gathered for the World Youth Day, should be encouraged and fostered.
• Bereavement groups and parenting groups should be undertaken at cluster level.
• The merger of parish schools within the cluster or county should be considered.
• The newly instituted Hispanic ministry requires more cluster participation.
• Catechetical books and materials need to be aligned with the instructional time and volunteer instructors need ongoing education and formation in the faith.

Obstacles, that have stood in the way of the implementation of the Cluster Pastoral Plan are:

• The needs of the individual parishes seem to outweigh the needs of the cluster.
• To carry out plans on a cluster level, it is necessary to have professional people on the payroll of the parish. However, the financial resources are simply not available. Collections have also decreased.
• Distance, varying needs, scheduling issues, ineffective communication, busy schedules of parents and children, lack of volunteers who are committed to cluster activities
• There is no effective coordination provided to parishes in evangelization. Structure is not in place for effective planning and coordination of programs of faith outreach. Lack of financial resources hampers having people on staff.
• Ownership of the Plan is lacking as three of the five current pastors were not in the cluster when the Plan was adopted. Also, at that time there was a lack of enthusiasm for the Plan and the process imposed.

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 hold - implementation is complete, new data does not require a new cluster plan at this time.