Date of Award/Publication

5-2000

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MS in Human Resource Development

Department

Education

First Supervisor

Jane LeClair

Second Supervisor

David Baronov

Third Supervisor

Marilynn Butler

Abstract

In 1996 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester embarked upon a self assessment planning and re-structuring process, involving all the faith communities. The Diocese undertook this change planning-process because of a number of pressing issues. The number of active priests was declining and has continued to decline. This decline has had significant impact on the parishes' life and on their organization. A planning process was created that addresses this issue, entitled ''Pastoral Planning for the New Millennium"(PPNM). The purpose of this study is to examine whether the PPNM is responsive to the needs the parishes in the Diocese of Rochester are facing. The Data were collected by examining the PPNM document, meeting minutes, and correspondence to the Pastoral Center. This information was generated at the beginning of the Pastoral Planning process. Each parish and faith community went through a needs assessment process and developed a set of major issues and concerns. A Planning Group was formed and charged with determining areas of common need in order to establish categories. These categories would determine where collaborative efforts would be appropriate. The four common needs of the parishes according to this study were found to be 1) Increase revenue, 2) Faith formation programs, 3) Volunteer recruitment and retention, and 4) Leadership development. At least three parishes identified these priority needs. One or two of the four parishes identified the other needs. However, the results of the gap analysis have shown that the final plan did not adequately address the common needs in the parishes. The lack of alignment between the final plan and the common needs of the parish may result in lack of commitment in the implementation of the plan.

Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."

Included in

Education Commons

Share

COinS