THAT ALL MAY BE ONE
QUE TODOS SEAN UNO
A Parish Discussion Process for the Diocesan Plan
THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME SUGGESTED IDEAS FOR STUDYING THE DIOCESAN PLAN AND
POSSIBLY USING IT AS A RESOURCE FOR DEVELOPING A PARISH PLAN.
I. Review and discuss the major elements of the new
diocesan plan.
Identify the implications, challenges and
consequences for action on the parish level.
A. MISSION STATEMENT
Read the Mission Statement for the
Diocese of Reno. How does it reflect the uniqueness of the Northern Nevada
Catholic Community? Using it as a guide discuss the following:
Does the parish have a mission
statement?
Does it express why the parish
exists?
Does it express the parish’s identity
and purpose?
Does it describe what makes the
parish unique or distinctive?
E. VALUES
Discuss the Values in That All May Be
One. How do these reflect the core values or key beliefs of the diocese? How
will living out these values help the diocese carry out its mission and bring
its vision into reality? Using them as a guide discuss:
Which diocesan values are also the
parish’s values?
Why are the diocesan values also the
parish’s values?
Does the parish have other values?
What are they?
Why might some of the parish values
be different from the diocesan values?
C. VISION STATEMENT
Discuss what the diocese will look
like once its Mission is fully realized. What are some of the hoped for results
of living out the diocesan Mission? Looking at the parish Mission Statement and
Values discuss:
What are some dreams and hopes for
the parish?
How are they similar or different
from the diocesan Vision?
How would parishioners like the
parish to look, to be in five years? Ten years?
How would this Vision reflect living
out the parish Mission?
How would it coincide with living out
the diocesan Mission?
D. GOALS
A vision usually represents the
achievement of multiple goals, while goals are typically stepping stones toward
a vision. Goals are long term in nature and do not usually change. They can,
however, provide a basis for new goals.
Discuss the ten Goals in That All May Be One. How will they lead to the actualization of the Vision Statement?
Looking at the parish Vision Discuss:
How would the diocesan Goals help to
bring the parish Vision to reality?
What are some key issues that the
parish has that the diocese does not have? E.g. staffing, funding, facilities,
relationships.
What other goals might be needed to
accomplish issues that the parish has that the diocese does not have?
Are some of the diocesan goals
different from the parish goals? Why or why not?
E. OBJECTIVES
These statements answer the question,
what will we need to do in order to achieve our goals? How will the Objectives
in That All May Be One bring the Goals to reality? At the parish level discuss:
Which diocesan Objectives would also
be parish Objectives? (See Worksheet “A” for a sample process.)
What actions steps can the parish
take to implement appropriate diocesan Objectives at the parish level?
In writing these action steps, who
would be responsible to carry them out at the parish level? What time frame
would be appropriate to accomplish the various action steps? (See Worksheet “F”
for a possible tool to write and assign these steps.)
What action steps would be needed to
accomplish the Objectives that were written for the parish?
II. If a parish wishes to write their own parish
level plan, there are a variety of ways it can be accomplished. A Planning
committee would need to be formed. It would need to:
A. Review the diocesan plan and any
former parish plans that might exist.
B. Gather information from as many
people as possible. Holding a parish town hall meeting, going to existing small
groups, meeting at homes in a neighborhood, sending out written surveys are some
ways to accomplish this. Some questions to ask are:
What are key realities in our parish?
What are some dreams and hopes for
our parish?
As Catholics living in
________________ parish, what do we value?
How do we want our parish to look in
five years?
What are major obstacles/challenges
to our moving forward?
How can we overcome these obstacles
to make our dream a reality?
G. Review and discuss the input.
Write a sample plan.
H. Return to the same groups for
further input on the proposed Mission, Values, Vision, Goals and Objectives for
the parish.
I. Rewrite the parish plan based on
the additional input.
J. Present the plan to the parish. Do
this in a large parish celebration. Give the Parish Plan to as many parishioners
as possible.
K. Write the Action Steps and give
them to the appropriate people to accomplish. (See Worksheet “D” for a sample
process.)
L. Monitor the progress of the Action
Steps. Publicize the progress being made on accomplishing the Goals and
Objectives in the Plan.
PLEASE NOTE: THE "PARISH DISCUSSION
PROCESS FOR THE DIOCESAN PLAN" REQUIRES ONLY WORKSHEETS "A", "D", AND "F"