The Disciple Maker Index Survey Results are Coming: As you recall, the Disciple Maker Index Survey closed on March 31, 2023, and due to the great volume of information gathered, all of our parish leaders have been and continue to review the results. In next week’s bulletin, you will see a one-page parish summary report that will provide information such as: • How many parishioners completed the survey and the overall response rate; • Key parish strengths and opportunities for growth; • Summary of key responses. These results will enable parish Envisioning Teams, our pastoral planning leadership body, to begin the work of pastoral planning. The information will be repeated in the bulletin for the next two weeks to reach as many of our parishioners as possible during the summer travel season. In addition, stay tuned for a Diocesan summary report to be released the weekend of August 26/27 that will show a snapshot of the DMI Survey results for the entire Diocese of Pittsburgh.
As many of you may know, Bishop Zubik is requiring that every parish in the diocese create a pastoral plan that will help us grow our mission and ministry over the next three to five years. All pastoral plans are due by February 14, 2024, but may be submitted as soon as this fall due to staggered pastoral planning schedules and the efforts and diligence of the Envisioning Team. As the work of pastoral planning continues, one of the key elements of our work will be developing three pastoral priorities. The priorities are specific to what the parish sees as needs of the community utilizing the results of the Disciple Maker Index Survey. These pastoral priorities will move the vision forward for the next three to five years. The priorities are to be focused on accomplishing the vision for the future set by the Envisioning Team while taking into account the three priorities that Bishop Zubik has identified for the diocese as the priority focus areas: • Evangelization • Missionary Discipleship • Shifting the focus of the parishes from Maintenance to Mission
A VISION FOR THE PARISH As our parish begins the work of pastoral planning, we will be charged to look to the future of the parish. In the next three to five years, how will our parish look and act differently? How will we be living out the purpose of the Church which was given to us by Christ: Go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all of creation. —Mark 16:15 The Envisioning Team, our pastoral planning leadership body, will work to create a parish vision that will answer these questions. The parish vision is a statement of hope that summarizes the way in which we will bring our mission to life. Accomplishing our parish vision for the future will not be a simple task. It will only be accomplished through much prayer, discernment, and work towards bringing about the mission of Christ. REMINDER: The universal distribution date for DMI results has been established for the weekend of August 19/20, 2023. All parishes in the diocese will use a common template to publish their individual results. The weekend of August 26/27, 2023 aggregate results for the entire diocese will be published in parish bulletins.
ENVISIONING TEAM AND PURPOSE An essential step before beginning a pastoral plan is to establish a parish Envisioning Team consisting of five to seven members. This team will assist Father with analyzing the results of the Disciple Maker Index Survey and in the creation of a pastoral plan. A pastoral plan lays the path for how best the parish is going to achieve its mission and lead parishioners in furthering our call to Jesus and our ability to lead others to Jesus. The Church teaches that the purpose of the parish is to proclaim the Gospel, celebrate the Sacraments, and promote works of charity all directed towards the salvation of souls. The process of pastoral planning will allow us to bring this purpose to life as we strive to live out the mission entrusted to the Church by Christ: Go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all of creation —Mark 16:15 As a reminder, in order to give ample time for all parishes to prepare for the distribution of DMI results and to ensure that all parishes are receiving information in a consistent manner, a universal distribution date for DMI results has been established for the weekend of August 19/20, 2023. All parishes in the diocese will use a common template to publish their individual results. The weekend of August 26/27, 2023 aggregate results for the entire diocese will be published in parish bulletins.
As many of you know, there are three separate tracks for pastoral planning in the diocese: Next Generation Parish, Virtual, and Self-Directed. Each parish follows their own timeline in the pastoral planning process, but will deliver a parish pastoral plan to Bishop Zubik on or before February 14, 2024. The Next Generation Parish (NGP) is a four year experience with accompaniment from Catholic Leadership Institute to assist the pastor and his community with the opportunity to assess the parish’s greatest opportunities and strengths, develop a plan to move into the future with hope, and cultivate a deeper missionary spirit throughout the community. Twenty-three of our parishes elected to participate in the Next Generation Parish. The Virtual Track is receiving four individualized virtual tutorials from Catholic Leadership Institute that assist parishes with understanding the DMI results and creating a pastoral plan with priorities and goals. In this track, parishes will be responsible for creating their own implementation strategies. Fifteen of our parishes elected to participate in this track. The Self-Directed Track have been participating in group webinars to assist with reviewing and understanding the DMI results. Through the use of templates these parishes will self-direct the writing of their pastoral plans and be responsible for creating implementation strategies. Twenty three of our parishes (Saints Joachim and Anne Parish) elected to participate in this track. DMI Results - Regardless of what track your parish is following (NGP, Virtual or Self-Directed) we know that many parishioners are requesting to see the Disciple Maker Index results. While it is encouraging that so many are interested in seeing the results, we must also keep in mind that it takes time for the pastor and key parish leaders to learn how to navigate the CLI portal and assess the information that is voluminous and detailed. In order to give ample time for all parishes to prepare for the distribution of results and to ensure that all parishes are receiving information in a consistent manner, a universal distribution date for DMI results has been established for the weekend of August 19/20, 2023. All parishes in the diocese will use a common template to publish their individual results. The weekend of August 26/27, 2023 aggregate results for the entire diocese will be published in parish bulletins.
THE WORK OF PASTORAL PLANNING Important to the work of pastoral planning is accountability. Accountability will allow us to measure how we are doing in achieving the work of the pastoral plan over the next three to five years. The achievement of the pastoral planning goals ultimately measures the success of the plan. In addition to goals as a mechanism of internal accountability to those implementing our plan, it will also be important for us to provide regular communication to you on how we are progressing on the plan and also explaining the actual process of pastoral planning. Look for information about this in subsequent bulletin announcements.
THE WORK OF PASTORAL PLANNING One of the most essential pieces of pastoral planning occurs through the act of listening and discernment. We are called to listen first to Christ, but also to the faithful (YOU!) and to those in a position to impart elements of wisdom. The information provided by the Disciple Maker Index (DMI) survey allows us to take a big-picture look at how the parish is currently serving our faithful. As our pastoral planning continues, there will also be opportunities for members of the parish to share their experience of the parish; to come together to share their thoughts, dreams, and frustrations with the leadership body of the parish. We will share those dates with you as soon as we have them.
THE WORK OF PASTORAL PLANNING As we begin pastoral planning in our parish, it is important to acknowledge that for the work of pastoral planning to be fruitful, it is essential that it be sustained through prayer. Ultimately, God’s purposes inform all our action, and all our action ought to be oriented toward God. Moreover, it is the Holy Spirit who animates the Church and enlivens our shared life within parishes, schools, and other ecclesial institutions. As we begin our pastoral planning process, our community of faithful is asked to commit to praying in earnest for the success of the planning.
WHAT IS PASTORAL PLANNING? As a parish, we have been called by Bishop Zubik to create a pastoral plan that will direct our work over the next three to five years. Pastoral planning is a prayerful and intentional practice by which the parish Envisioning Team will assist the pastor to establish spiritual goals through listening, discernment, and prioritization. A pastoral plan addresses the current parish community’s spiritual needs. Done well, a pastoral plan lays the path for how best the parish is going to achieve its mission and lead parishioners in furthering our call to Jesus and our ability to lead others to Jesus. The parish pastoral plan sets the optimal scenario for the Holy Spirit to act among us. It creates the most appropriate local background for the Sacred Purpose of our parish to be animated.
As we begin to sort through all of the information we received from the Disciple Maker Index (DMI) Survey, I am filled with great hope for the future. The Envisioning Team and I are excited and energized by how the survey results can impact our parish life. Although we are still in the process of reviewing all of the data, please know that the results of the DMI Survey will be shared with the entire parish. We look forward to creating a vision for our parish to help us grow our mission and ministry over the next three to five years.
The results of our parish Disciple Maker Index (DMI) Survey will be available very soon. To help our parish prepare for the next steps in the pastoral planning process, I have assembled an Envisioning Team. The Envisioning Team is comprised of a small group of Key Parish Leaders who represent a cross-section of parish life. The Envisioning Team will assist me and members of our staff in reviewing and analyzing the results of the DMI Survey and developing a parish pastoral plan. To help facilitate this process, Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI) is hosting a series of pastoral planning webinars which the Envisioning Team will attend this summer.
Thank you again for your support and participation in the Disciple Maker Index (DMI) Survey through Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI). The DMI Survey closed on March 31, 2023, and due to the great volume of information gathered, CLI is still in the process of tallying the survey results. As soon as the final batches of paper surveys are entered, we will receive access to our parish results and summary report. These reports will enable parishes to review and analyze their DMI Survey results and begin pastoral planning. The results of the DMI Survey will help parishes create a pastoral plan that is centered on Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship. The pastoral plan, which will focus on three strategic priorities, will enable our parish to gain momentum in moving from maintenance-driven to mission-driven action. Pastoral planning will focus on the needs of future generations and align parish activity with mission and ministry. We will continue to update you on the pastoral planning process and share the results of the DMI Survey when the reports become available.