| -Status of Cluster Plans |
“It is in the local churches that the specific features of a detailed pastoral plan can be identified—goals and methods, formation and enrichment of the people involved, the search for the necessary resources— which will enable the proclamation of Christ to reach people, mold communities, and have a deep and incisive influence in bringing Gospel values to bear in society and culture.
I therefore earnestly exhort the Pastors of the particular Churches, with the help of all sectors of God's People, confidently to plan the stages of the journey ahead, harmonizing the choices of each diocesan community with those of neighboring Churches and of the universal Church.”
Novo Millennio Ineunte, 29
Apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II (January 2001)
Apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II (January 2001)
Pastoral Planning: An instrument of Renewal
Renewal is the response to God’s movement in the lives of His disciples. It calls for a deeper relationship with God and the on-going change of heart that this requires. Parishes as well as individuals need ongoing renewal. It is necessary for a parish, through its Parish Pastoral Council, to reflect on how its mission guides its activities and directs the use of its resources. Pastoral planning facilitates this reflective process.The assessment of the Parish Pastoral Plan is the work of the Parish Pastoral Council. Through the Annual Self Assessment of the Parish Pastoral Plan (link), the Council can learn what has been accomplished, what still needs to happen and the effect that the pastoral plan has had on the parish.
Cluster Pastoral Plans are rooted in the plans of individual parishes. Information and insights that the parish receives through ongoing parish planing are used to develop and revise the Cluster Pastoral Plan, a tool for helping parishes cooperate together to be more effective in their ministry, service and programs.
Parishes Assess Their Experience Implementing the Cluster Plan
The Parish Pastoral Council needs to review the effect that efforts, working with other parishes to implement the Cluster Pastoral Plan, have had on their parish. Between October, 2002 and June, 2003, the Parish Pastoral Councils and each Cluster Implementation Committee were asked by the Regional Vicar to conduct an informal evaluation of the Cluster Pastoral Plan. The Parish Pastoral Councils are asked to consider the following four questions as an addendum to the annual Self-Assessment of the Parish Pastoral Plan:- Your Parish Pastoral Council has had two years to review the progress on implementation of your Parish Pastoral Plan. Are there any ways that the Cluster can now help your parish, that may not have been noticed when the self-study process was first done?
- Through the self-assessment process, have you discovered any new strength or resource within your parish that would be of service to other parishes in your Cluster?
- If the Cluster Pastoral Plan has not helped your parish, why has it not? If it has helped you, how?
- In light of the upcoming informal self assessment of the Cluster Pastoral Plan, does your parish representative to the Cluster Implementation Committee have effective communication with the members of the Parish Pastoral Council?
Informal Evaluation by the Cluster Implementation Committee
The Cluster Implementation Committee will initiate an informal evaluation of the Cluster Pastoral Plan. They will consider the following:- What action(s) has (have) been taken to carry out the Cluster Pastoral Plan?
- What action(s) still need(s) to be taken to meet the goal(s) of the Cluster Pastoral Plan?
- To what degree has the vision of the Cluster Pastoral Plan been implemented?
- Were any new needs discovered or new actions taken during the implementation of the Cluster Pastoral Plan? If so, identify them.
- What obstacles, if any, have stood in the way of the implementation of the Cluster Pastoral Plan?