ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Informal Evaluation by the Cluster Implementation Committee

Cluster 52

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 Evangelize Practicing and Non-practicing Catholics

The parishes have developed evangelization programs recommended by the Archdiocesan Office of Evangelization, such as Disciples in Mission and Community of Disciples. The pastors recognized Evangelization as something at the heart of the activity of each parish.

The parishes have taken advantage of training sessions in evangelization at Bishop Shanahan High School to train lay people in evangelization techniques and to promote and enhance adult religious education and faith study.

The parishes have made use of parish bulletins to advertize Penance Services in Lent and Advent.

Goal # 2 - Develop and Improve Effective Youth Ministry Programs

The parishes have participated in the Catholic Leadership Experience programs and found the programs successful.

Parishes have recognized the need for a youth minister in each parish. The parishes are too large to share a youth minister.

SS. Philip and James Parish has developed a program for young adults, ages 25 to 40, which has proved successful and attracted attendance from other parishes.

Goal #3 - Increase Vocations and Meet Fundamental Elementary and Religious Education Needs of our Children.

The parishes have cooperated with programs sponsored by the Archdiocesan Vocation Office. The pastors handled implementation of this goal at the parish level.

St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, SS. Peter and Paul Parish and St. Cornelius Parish have opened new parish elementary schools during this period of time. SS. Philip and James Parish built an addition to the parish elementary school.

The parishes have disseminated information on various parish presentations.

Goal #4 Bridge the Gap between Economic Classes through Strengthening of Community Outreach

Parishes addressed this goal on a parish by parish basis. All parishes participate in programs to provide food for the hungry. SS. Peter and Paul Parish raises up to $60,000 each year in the poor box collection for programs that help people in need. Since the beginning of the program, SS. Peter and Paul Parish has contributed some $500,000 to the causes of the needy.

St. Agnes Parish provides a Day Room for people in need to relax and have a meal. The parish also provides a health care clinic for poor women.

The pastors recognized the excellent service Father Depman provides for Hispanic people in southern Chester County and expressed the desire to lend assistance to Hispanic people both in Cluster 41 and their own Cluster 52.

Overall, the pastors felt that the vision of the Cluster Plan has been implemented to a high degree through the actions of the individual parishes in such a wide geographic area.

Actions that still need to be taken include:

Each parish has a major capital project to pursue.

Three of the parishes recognized the need to build parish schools and one needed to build a school addition. The parishes have completed these construction projects

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

The distance from parish to parish presented an obstacle to addressing some of the cluster goals, as did the need for each of these large parishes to address individual parish goals.

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 develop or expand the Cluster Plan - the goals have been addressed but new information indicates that some new cluster plan actions will be needed.