Evaluation of Facilities Is Key Component of Pastoral Planning
 

As the Diocesan-wide pastoral planning project continues, parishes are making arrangements for professional evaluations of their churches and other facilities.

This evaluation is part of Called to Holiness and Mission: Pastoral Planning in the Diocese of Scranton, the project that will result in a reconfiguration of parishes.

Since the project began in January, parish Core Teams have evaluated their demographics, finances and ministries. More recently, Cluster Core Committees – comprised of the Core Teams from several parishes in a geographic area – have studied this information and made a preliminary recommendation for how the parishes in their clusters might be configured in the future.

The Diocesan Planning Commission is reviewing those recommendations and will provide a response to each Cluster Committee. The Committees will review the feedback over the summer and into September.

As these conversations continue, parishes will undertake the evaluation of their facilities currently in use. This adheres to Criteria #19 of the planning project, which states: “The parish has adequate and well maintained facilities to carry out its mission.”

“This is a very important component of the project. Before any final decisions are made, you have to know the condition of all buildings,” said Monsignor Vincent J. Grimalia, V.G., project director.

He also stressed that the evaluations must be performed by professionals. “You can have a building that appears to be in great shape, but then you find that it actually requires substantial repairs or renovations,” he said.

Monsignor Grimalia also noted that “these evaluations will assist the pastor and parish finance councils with the preparation of parish budgets, which should include future facility preventive maintenance costs.”

To assist parishes with this process, the Diocese has provided a list of professional architectural/engineering firms that have agreed to work within the directives and standards established by the Diocese for these evaluations.

Parishes can also recommend additional firms to be considered. To ensure consistency, the pastor must refer the firm to the Diocesan facilities manager for a review and discussion of the directives and standards.

In any case, the pastor must obtain two or more bids from the firms that have agreed to participate in the process.

Each parish is to complete the facilities evaluation by the beginning of September.

“When this part of the planning project is completed, we will have a better overall view of our parish infrastructure throughout the Diocese,” Monsignor Grimalia said.