ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Informal Evaluation by the Cluster Implementation Committee

Cluster 72

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 Programs for Evangelization)

• Conducted Evening of Reflection on Evangelization (Advent of 1998)
• Held "Heart-to-Heart Evangelization" Workshop
• Formed Cluster Evangelization Team
• Conducted three annual Advent "Coming Home" series

Goal #2 (Develop a plan to best utilize the clergy)

• Instilled greater sensitivity to our parishioners relative to shortage of priests and role of deacons
• Fostered more awareness of cluster sponsored religious activities
• Prepared and issued two Sunday bulletin inserts to educate parishioners in the cluster on the role of deacons.
• Conducted seasonal communal Reconciliation night for the cluster (2x per year)
• Reduced one parochial vicar at Holy Saviour and one at Visitation
• Implemented priest assignments for servicing institutions in the cluster
  
  

Goal #3 (Develop a plan to integrate youth in the parish)

• Implemented the Life Teen Program in a few of our cluster parishes. The program did not generate the expected results. Consequently, education of youth was returned to the parish level.
• Conducted a one-time workshop on Children's Liturgy of the Word Program at Visitation.
• Pursued a program for post confirmation youth but there was not enough consensus to implement it.
  
  

Goal #4 (Develop a plan to educate the laity)

• Identified six topics for adult religious educational training sessions. Three of the six were given in the Fall of 2002.
• Conducted a Stewardship Seminar at St. Helena's
• Conduct an annual Cluster Liturgy Workshop at Holy Saviour
  
  

Actions that still need to be taken include:

• Need to further educate parishioners on the cluster concept
• Revisit Goal #2A(2) to provide a means to educate people on the roles of deacons and laity
• Revisit Goal #3A to provide religious educational opportunities and activities to teens
• Develop Children's Liturgy of the Word Program (Goal #3C)
• Revisit Goal #4 to provide adult religious educational courses
• The need to recognize and address the unique needs that exist in some parishes such as the growing Hispanic population at St. Patrick's
• The need to address the future of the parish schools in our cluster
• The need to address the qualification requirements that we wish to impose on our CCD catechists

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

• The lack of understanding of the cluster planning process by parishioners
• It takes too long to implement planned cluster actions

Status of the Plan

After reviewing responses to focus questions that were received from the Cluster 72 parishes and considering information in the 2001 Cluster Report, the majority (14 of 24) of the committee members present voted to recommend 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.