Archdiocesan strategic planning task force will hear from parish leaders

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The Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Process for Parishes and Schools will be entering another phase in early July as task force members begin holding eight regional meetings for parish leadership.

These meetings will give parish leaders an opportunity to receive information and give input into the planning process, said Jim Lundholm-Eades, a member of the Strategic Task Force for Parish and School Planning.

Parish pastors may invite up to five parish representatives to attend and participate in the meetings. These representatives could include the pastor himself, parish trustees and chairs of the parish and finance councils.

Have your voice be heard Archdiocesan Catholics can offer their ideas and feedback to the task force in various ways. • Web address: www.archspm.org. Click on link for “planning process” to access a survey. • Voice mail: (651) 291-4435 • Mailing address: Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis, PST - Planning Process Comments, 328 Kellogg Blvd. W, St. Paul, MN 55102

If a parish recognizes a particular ethnic group through a distinct council or commission, a representative from that group is also encouraged to attend as part of the parish leadership.

The eight regional meetings will not be identical; rather, they will focus specifically on the areas from which the attendees are located and encourage conversation between neighboring parishes. For this reason, parishes have been assigned to a particular meeting time and place, Lundholm-Eades said.

Parish leaders are strongly encouraged to attend the meeting to which they have been assigned. If they cannot attend on the designated date for their parish, they are encouraged to attend another regional meeting for parish leadership as geographically close to their own parish as possible.

The meetinghs will be held in Northfield July 7, Minneapolis July 9, Inver Grove Heights July 13, Burnsville July 15, St. Paul July 21, Deephaven July 23, White Bear Lake July 28 and Brooklyn Park July 29.

At the meetings, parish leaders will be given an overview of the archdiocese’s current reality and discuss their visions for the archdiocese in five to 10 years.

Task Force members will be present to gain insight for establishing archdiocesan priorities in areas of sacramental service, marginalized and immigrant populations, pastoral leadership and Catholic education.

The regional meetings for parish leadership will not include parish staff members. They will be consulted in September and October in Archdiocesan Coalition of Ministry Association meetings.

The task force expects regional meeting attendees to:

• Learn about and and become familiar with important information describing the current reality of the archdiocese.

• Advise and assist the pastor in creating venues for local parishioners to become familiar with the strategic planning process.

• Assist the pastor in encouraging parishioners to attend regional meetings for parishioners, which will begin this fall.

“These meetings also build up the connectivity between parishes in the archdiocese,” Lundholm-Eades said. “We’re all in this together — an enterprise of Catholic formation and growing the faith.”

For more information about the planning process, visit www.archspm.org/planningprocess. See an overview of the process HERE.