The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, led by the Most Rev. Kevin Vann, Bishop of Orange, has published the first-ever Diocesan Strategic Plan in support of the mission, vision and priorities of the Diocese of Orange.
The Diocesan Strategic Plan, developed in collaboration with stakeholders across the Diocese, focuses on 6 key areas: Evangelization and faith formation, governance and leadership, clergy formation, stewardship and finance, Catholic schools and the Christ Cathedral Campus.
Highlights of the diocese strategic plan include:
Bishop Vann will announce a “Year of Prayer” in 2020, emphasizing the essential roles of the parishes and schools of the Diocese in implementing the Mission of the local Church.
- -Improving the Mass experience for parishioners and visitors
- -The Diocese will assist parishes in funding and supporting programs to engage youth and young adults. This effort includes creating and implementing leadership training, team building and coaching for parishes to help promote evangelization, seeking to foster effective evangelization of young adults and to triple, annually, the number of young adults attending and participating in young adult and youth ministries.
- -Provide assistance and resources for clergy training in evangelization and faith formation programs for parishes and schools.
- -Ensure financial sustainability of parishes and Christ Cathedral Campus operations while invigorating stewardship giving throughout the Diocese.
- -Implement new Catholic identity evangelization and faith formation initiatives in the schools, while providing training to schools leadership, educators and staff.
- -Provide equal access for low-income students and equality of academic resources across schools.
- -Develop approaches to strengthen collaboration and support among the principals and schools.
- -Develop plans for the long-term sustainability of Christ Cathedral Campus.
- -Enhance the Christ Cathedral Campus visitor experience by opening a gift shop, food and beverage services and overall hospitality services by the spring of 2019.
Full story at Diocese of Orange.
Bravo! Every diocese needs a plan that articulates the direction and goals for its parishes and parishioners. Otherwise, it’s just the same old same old.
With faith in the eucharist, the ‘goal’ is already achieved
This is good on its face, but what does “improve the Mass experience” mean? OCP/GIA and praise and worship music or truly sacred music? Many of these things are what parishes and the diocese should already have been doing. In my years of experience in dioceses and parishes, strategic plans amount to nothing. They give the appearance of having goals and making progress, but 5-10 years later almost nothing is better. Bureaucrats love strategic plans because it makes it look like they are accomplishing something since they have a document to point to and give to people. Why has this not already been done in parishes? What’s lacking in leadership that these things have been neglected? A lot.
I agree. There are two kinds of leaders: those who take effective, responsible, visionary action on their own; and those who spend two years consulting “key stakeholders” before publishing a bland strategic plan. Bishops almost always fall into the second category. They love, love, love to publish documents. But the action is seriously lacking. The church is a bureaucratic mess. The church needs shepherds, not office managers.
As CEO of a non-profit organization with $110 million in earning assets, a strategic plan, updated periodically is essential. However, broad and nebulous goals need to be avoided. We use the acronym S.M.A.R.T. for our strategic plan goals. The acronym stands for:
—Specific and not “flowerly” platitudes
—Measurable during and after implementation
—Attainable with resources available
—Realistic in achievability
—Time sensitive in implementing and responsibility assigned to an individual.
After twenty plus years working with a diocese and with many parishes to develop strategic plans, I’ve come to the conclusion that success depends on a Pastor who is willing to let the lay people lead. Parishes have become too big to operate without a vision and a plan. The Pastors have too many “pastoral” responsibilities to be expected to also be effective leaders. When I was a kid, living in a town of fewer than 10,000 people there were two parishes, one with three priests and one with two priests. Today there is one parish and two priests, who are now responsible for four other parishes 10-20 miles away. Strategic plans are vital, should be for no more than three years and should be updated yearly. A congregation close to home has…
“After twenty plus years working with a diocese and with many parishes to develop strategic plans, I’ve come to the conclusion that success depends on a Pastor who is willing to let the lay people lead.” In a single sentence Bob One has revealed the progressive mindset which has destroyed the Catholic Church in the USA.