Informal Evaluation by the Cluster Implementation Committee
Cluster 31
. Assumption BVM . Our Lady of Good Counsel
. St. Bede the Venerable . St. John Bosco
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 - Develop and provide adult religious education
1. Parishes sought input from parishioners through communication including an Adult Religious Education Survey placed in pews of all cluster parishes.
2. St. Bede offered adult education courses - ten week classes were offered to catechists and teachers for education credits and were opened to rest of parish and clusters through bulletin announcements. Advent and Lent educational opportunities were offered to the cluster parishes through bulletin announcements.
3.An advent cluster-wide educational series was offered at St. John Bosco.
4.Cluster Implementation Committee consensus at its January 15, 2003 meeting is that adult religious education programs have been sponsored by the parishes in the cluster and continue to be worked on for the future.
Goal #2 - Expand programs to nourish faith life of youth and young adults
5. By focusing on this goal individual parishes were encouraged to expand their work in this area. St. Bede has placed their youth and young adult population under direction of their Director of Religious Education and a Youth Ministry Program for grades seven through twelve was begun.
6. The Archdiocesan Office for Youth and Young Adults expertise was sought and utilized.
7. Cluster wide youth symposiums have been held.
8. Archdiocesan wide events are announced in bulletins.
9. The Cluster Implementation Committee, at its January meeting, agreed that youth programs have been established and also continue each year and are sponsored by parishes within the Cluster.
Goal #3 - Strengthen and support the spiritual life of catholic families
10. Three gatherings on Teen/Parent Communications for parents regarding various aspects of parenting teens were held. Another is planned for November 2003.
11. Information on existing programs in the parishes was shared.
12. The consensus of the Cluster Implementation Committee at its January meeting is that our programs on Teen Parent Communication are offered for the support and strength of the Spiritual Life of our Catholic families and these programs continue to be planned for the future.
Goal #4 - Collaboration on evangelization programs
13. Because of the size of the parishes it was decided to further this goal at the parish level.
14. Cluster Implementation Committee consensus is that evangelization programs are enhanced through the appointment of a Cluster Coordinator for Evangelization.
Actions that still need to be
taken include:
Expand effort to address other concerns indicated in our Adult Religious Education Survey conducted in 2001.
Education of laity on function and direction of Cluster planning.
Re-emphasize the work of the cluster, explaining our successes and plans for new programs.
Develop a course of action to continue cluster collaboration on the goals.
Better communication by way of bulletin notices of what each parish is offering.
Opinions expressed at the Cluster Implementation Committee meeting of January 15, 2003 are:
- Pre-Cana programs need to be offered on a broader scale.
- The Cluster Implementation Committee needs to go back to the survey and work on other concerns of the respondents.
- Communication between parishes can be improved upon - information can be distributed among the parishes on a more timely basis.
- The laity in our parishes need to be educated about the existence and function of the Cluster.
While parishes meet most needs on the parish level, we can still act on cluster level when there is an agreed upon need.
Obstacles, that have stood in the
way of the implementation of the Cluster Pastoral Plan are:
The Cluster Implementation Committee, at its January meeting, agreed that obstacles were minimal. Some felt the distance between parishes might be an obstacle to attendance at some of the programs sponsored by the Cluster Implementation Committee. Others felt the level of activity in each parish was such that it precluded attendance in many instances.
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.