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CHARTER Version 5.2 09 June 09 Dubuque Deanery Planning Task Force CURRENT SITUATION Our contemporary Church is confronted with more than the usual number of challenges. Some of them are external and outside our control, such as the pervasive secular culture. Others are challenges from within, such as the declining and aging population, financial stresses, the decrease in Mass attendance, lessening loyalty of the younger generations, and the declining number of priests. It is the purpose and the duty of councils to advise Church leadership, Pastoral Councils for the pastors and Deanery Councils for the Archbishop. The Dubuque Deanery Council wishes to contribute toward that goal regarding the challenges and opportunities presented to the Church in the Dubuque Deanery. The Deanery Council, with the support of parish priests and parish councils of the Dubuque parishes, is creating a Planning Task Force to address these important matters. The Planning Task Force will conduct a study and make recommendations for consideration by Archbishop Hanus. PRIMARY AFFECTED GROUPS Pastors, Deacons, Sisters, Brothers, Parish Staff, Parishioners, Holy Family Catholic Schools. MISSION and GOALS The Planning Task Force will study the current status of the Church in the Dubuque Deanery. It will analyze the various ways each parish is organized and operated, document similarities and differences, and make recommendations to position our parishes to meet challenges and opportunities in the years to come. The task force will conduct its study with emphasis on the following high level directions: 1. Discover and appreciate the unique ways each community brings Christ to its members, to Dubuque, to the Archdiocese, and beyond. 2. Imagine what kind of faith community the changes in our Catholic Church and our world are calling each of our parishes to become. 3. Seek opportunities for continued evangelization within and beyond our parish communities. 4. Develop a plan that brings the Dubuque Deanery into mutual agreement to serve the entire community while ministering to the unique needs of each parish. 5. Establish a program for continued evaluation of the plan’s implementation, additional changes needed, best practices to share, and additional opportunities wherever they may be. Specific areas of focus will be to: • capitalize on the strengths of the local church • practice good stewardship with church resources • supplement the weaknesses of parishes and of ministries in the Deanery • bring about an increased level of collaboration among the parishes • reduce Holy Family Catholic School subsidies on parishes o stretch goal – reduce maximum subsidy from 68% to 50% • use parish life to encourage Catholic School attendance • pursue any other opportunities that become evident during the course of the study IN SCOPE The Dubuque Deanery parishes are in scope: Holy Spirit Pastorate (Holy Ghost, Holy Trinity, Sacred Heart), Nativity, Resurrection, St Anthony, St Columbkille, St Joseph The Worker, St. Joseph – Key West, St Mary/St Patrick Cluster, St Raphael The following areas are within scope for analysis and recommendations: • Parish communities; number, organization and operation, financial condition • Parish facilities and their effectiveness. • Degree of lay participation with focus on overlap with priestly or staff functions. • The roles of deacons, lay staff and volunteers • How parishes can work together to improve stewardship and effectiveness of: o Parish staffs, youth ministry, RCIA, faith formation, facilities, mass schedules, etc • Impact on Holy Family Catholic Schools • Any other areas of opportunity discovered during the study. OUT OF SCOPE Parishes outside of the Dubuque Deanery are not in scope. 2 PROJECT ASSUMPTIONS • By 2015: o Seven or eight priests will be available to serve as pastors or sacramental priests within the Dubuque Deanery. o One recently ordained priest will serve as an associate pastor.
• Recommended plans will likely include fewer masses of convenience than what are offered in 2009. • Recommended plans will include support that will enable Holy Family Schools to remain vibrant and viable. • Plans will recommend parish structures to include any combination of single, linked, clustered, or merged parishes. RISKS
Risks will include and not be limited to:
• Ineffective communication to parishioners and the overall community
• Lack of consensus among primary affected groups • Uncontrolled rumors • Inaccurate reporting from taskforce members and the media CONSTRAINTS 1) Do not plan to use retired priests to alleviate parish priest workloads. 2) The Deanery parishes must continue to support Holy Family Catholic Schools (This can still include a plan to lessen the size of parish subsidies). DELIVERABLES 1) Recommendations that address our current situation and satisfy the mission as described herein. 2) Data to support recommendations. 3) Communication meetings throughout the planning to gather input and establish appropriate and evolving consensus among parishes and relevant councils. 4) Regular reports to parishioners and the greater community on direction and progress of task force. TASK FORCE MEMBERS Dubuque parish priests and lay members, up to 6 per parish/cluster OTHER RESOURCES Dan Rohner, Director of Leadership Development and Pastoral Planning Rev. Msgr. Thomas Toale, Vicar General All members of the Dubuque Deanery Council Community members with specific expertise, e.g., Loras College faculty FINAL SUCCESS CRITERIA Written recommendations accepted by the Dubuque Deanery Pastors, the Deanery Council and submitted to Archbishop Hanus for consideration. SCHEDULE August – September, 2009 The Planning Task Force is formed and launched. September – December, 2009 Gather data, analyze and form recommendations. January, 2010 Interim recommendations for the 2010-2011 fiscal year (July to June) June, 2010 Final recommendations to the Deanery Dean, the Vicar General and the Archbishop APPENDICES Annual parish status reports Parish vitality criteria Information on demographic trends: • population trends in general • parishioner trends • priest trends | |
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