ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Informal Evaluation by the Cluster Implementation Committee

Cluster 74

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 - Strengthen religious educational opportunities on all levels

Objective 1 - Educational needs of post confirmation youth

• The formation of a Cluster Subcommittee on Post-Confirmation Religious Education that met for 13 months studying the needs of our cluster youth.

• The decision to hire a Cluster Facilitator/Coordinator for all youth ministry in place in the cluster parishes.

Objective 2 - Educational needs of adults

• The formation of a Cluster Subcommittee for Adult Religious Education currently chaired by Sister Mary Agnes Ryan, I.H.M. Sister Ryan has developed a comprehensive plan for in-servicing interested adults in the Springfield and Cheltenham parishes using Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us.
• Presentation B.V.M. Parish hosted a very informative evening on the topic of the Sacred Liturgy.

• Holy Martyrs Parish held a Saturday mini-workshop for all lectors, cantors, choir members, musicians, and anyone interested in these ministries, for training in better celebrating the Sacred Liturgy.

Goal 2 - Make our worship vibrant and exciting

• The formation of a Cluster Liturgy Training Subcommittee

• The distribution of cluster wide opportunities for prayer and adoration.

Goal 3 - Formulate ways to effectively utilize the five priests that are projected for the cluster

• Presentation BVM and St. Joseph parishes have been twinned. Also, St. Genevieve and Seven Dolors Parishes have been twinned. The two-year evaluations of the twinned parishes were accomplished and the following recommendations were made:
• Presentation BVM and St. Joseph Parishes will continue to be two parishes with one Pastor.
• Seven Dolors Parish is scheduled to be suppressed (closed) and would become an alternate worship site of St. Genevieve Parish.

Goal 4 - Evangelize both active and inactive Catholics by developing a joyful and supportive community that fosters deeper spirituality

• The Archdiocese has made available the program Disciples in Mission Evangelization to foster Scripture reading and faith sharing among the laity. This program has since been replaced by a new Archdiocesan developed program called Community of Disciples, in which many of the cluster parishes are participating.

• The Cluster Evangelization Coordinator, Doris Duncheski, is the liaison between the cluster pastors and the Archdiocese in regards to Evangelization efforts. She will determine individual parish efforts and update us on opportunities, activities and all available resources.

Actions that still need to be taken include:

Cluster subcommittees have been formed to study and propose solutions for meeting each of the Cluster Pastoral Plan goals. Actions and activities are in place to accomplish the goals. However, since all of the goals are on-going, there is no such thing as a "completed goal", but all of the goals could be considered met in so far as that efforts are in place to satisfy every goal's stated needs.

Some areas where new actions would be warranted are:

• Exploring some of the Catholic Grade Schools issues.

• Educating the parishioners on the coming shortage of priests.
• Promoting the Archdiocesan Permanent Diaconate program.

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

• The difficulty in finding qualified dedicated volunteers to serve on the various cluster subcommittees.
• The lack of strong participation by the cluster parishioners in providing the subcommittees with feedback on their individual needs and desires.
• The geography of Cluster 74 with its widely spaced parishes has been a continuous problem in trying to organize cluster-wide events.

Status of the Plan

In light of the information collected in consultation with Parish Pastoral Councils, a voice vote was taken and the Cluster Implementation Committee members voted as follows:

Hold: 9

Continue: 1

New Planning: 1

The Cluster Implementation Committee 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.