Implementation Teams Prepare To Begin Work
 

Parish and Cluster Implementation Teams are preparing to begin the work of implementing Bishop Martino’s directives for Called to Holiness and Mission: Pastoral Planning in the Diocese of Scranton.

Every parish has formed an Implementation Team, and an Implementation Team has also been formed for each of the 50 clusters. These teams will collaborate and work together to ensure that the parish restructurings are completed according to their particular timetables, and that the Bishop’s directives are followed.

Eight regional orientation sessions were held last week (Feb. 16-19) to train the teams. Representatives of The Reid Group, the national consulting firm that is facilitating the process, were present to provide information and answer questions. All team members received an Implementation Binder containing all of the directives, forms and other materials needed to undertake the process.

The contents of the Implementation Binder are posted on the Diocesan website at www.dioceseofscranton.org (see the Called to Holiness and Mission section).

Each Parish and Cluster Implementation Team has a chairperson and a secretary with particular duties. Each Parish Team will designate one member as the parish liaison to ensure effective communication is maintained within and between the parishes in the cluster. In addition, a pool of Parish Facilitators is available to assist the Implementation Teams.

Each cluster must submit an Annual Cluster Implementation Plan and Evaluation Report to the Diocesan Implementation Commission by May 15 of each year.

Following is general information about the Implementation Teams: 
 

ROLE OF THE PARISH IMPLEMENTATION TEAM 

WHAT IS THE PARISH IMPLEMENTATION TEAM?

The Parish Implementation Team is made up of the pastor, and four parish leaders whom he selects to implement the Bishop’s Directives at the parish level and the cluster level. Ordinarily, the four parish leaders will include one Parish Pastoral Council and one Finance Council member, one staff person and one at-large member. The Parish Implementation Team works as part of the Cluster Implementation Team to implement the Bishop’s Directives.
 

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE PARISH IMPLEMENTATION TEAM?

The Parish Implementation Team has four primary roles. These include:

1.      To participate with the cluster in planning for and implementing all the Bishop’s Directives for the cluster.

2.      To take leadership at the parish level to ensure the implementation of the Bishop’s Directives for the cluster.

3.      To be responsible, if the Bishop’s Directive calls for a consolidation, that all the steps are taken in collaboration with the other parishes involved to ensure an effective consolidation process.

4.      To recruit others to work on subcommittees as appropriate to implement the Bishop’s Directives.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF PARISH IMPLEMENTATION TEAM CHAIR?

1.    Schedule parish meetings as needed.

2.    Insure that there is a working agenda.

3.    Convene the group and lead prayer or ask someone to be prayer leader.

4.    Act as a communication link with other parish leadership groups.

5.    Insure that the parish implementation team accomplishes its task in a timely manner.

6.    In cluster meetings, work with other the Cluster Implementation Chairs to facilitate the work and accomplish the tasks needed to produce a Cluster Plan for Implementation.

7.    Work with Cluster Implementation Chair to ensure the implementation of the directives according to the plan developed by the Cluster Implementation Team

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE PARISH IMPLEMENTATION TEAM SECRETARY?

1.      Keep parish notes or minutes from each meeting and distribute them appropriately.

2.      Insure that cluster minutes are distributed appropriately.

3.      Oversee on-going communication with the parish on appropriate aspects of the work of the Parish Implementation Team, especially if there is a consolidation in process, and the Cluster Implementation Team.

 

ROLE OF THE CLUSTER IMPLEMENTATION TEAM
 

WHAT IS THE CLUSTER IMPLEMENTATION TEAM?

The Cluster Implementation Team is made up of the pastor and four leaders from each parish in the cluster who have been appointed by their pastor. At least one appointee should be a Parish Council member. The Cluster Implementation Team’s role is to ensure the cluster implementation of the Bishop’s Called to Holiness and Mission directives. One committee member from each parish is designated as the “liaison” for his or her own parish.

MAY THE CLUSTER IMPLEMENTATION TEAM HAVE SUBCOMMITTEES?

Yes. For instance, a subcommittee may be formed to work on cluster youth ministry activities, liturgical celebrations, adult formation, catechesis of children, Catholic schools, Respect Life, human concerns, leadership formation etc.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE CLUSTER IMPLEMENTATION TEAM?

The Cluster Implementation Team has six primary roles. These are:

5.      To lead the parishes in the cluster through the implementation process based on the Bishop’s Directives.

6.      To be responsible for the Annual Cluster Implementation Plan and Evaluation Report to be submitted to the Diocesan Implementation Commission in the spring of each year.

7.      To be accountable for setting up appropriate subcommittees with manageable goals, resources and processes for accountability.

8.      To be present to subcommittees as needed, to offer support and suggestions.

9.     To ensure that effective communication about implementation efforts happen within each parish in the cluster and among all parishes in the cluster.

10. To engage in timely communication with the parish pastoral councils and to consult with and obtain support from the councils when needed.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF PARISH LIAISON?

§         Be the primary “connector” between the Cluster Implementation Team and each parish.

§         Ensure effective communication with the parish.

§         Assist the Cluster Implementation Chair upon request.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF CLUSTER IMPLEMENTATION TEAM CHAIR?

8.         Schedule meetings.

9.         Ensure that there is a working agenda.

10.           Convene the group and lead prayer or ask someone to be prayer leader.

11.           Keep the group on task.

12.           Ensure that the group accomplishes its task according to the timeline.

13.           Work with the Parish Liaisons to develop and ensure good communication with parishioners in all parishes in the cluster and with other cluster parish leadership groups.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE CLUSTER IMPLEMENTATION TEAM SECRETARY?

§         Develop and distribute a membership contact list to the members.

§         Keep notes or minutes from each meeting and distribute them appropriately.

§         Ensure that the various forms are properly filled out and presented in a timely way to the appropriate groups.

IF PARISHES ARE TO CONSOLIDATE AND THESE PARISHES ARE PART OF A LARGER CLUSTER HOW CAN THEIR CLUSTER MEMBERS PREPARE FOR THE CONSOLIDATION AND BE PART OF THEIR CLUSTER AT THE SAME TIME?

If your directive from the Bishop is to consolidate you will need to spend a lot of time and energy on that process. A consolidation committee made up of the pastor and four members from each parish being consolidated should be established. One or two members of this committee should attend cluster meetings in order to report on the progress of the consolidation. Once the consolidation is completed, the newly consolidated parish’s pastor and four parishioners are to represent the parish in the cluster.

This will ensure good communication with the cluster. The cluster should not have unrealistic expectations of the consolidating parishes’ involvement in the cluster process until after the consolidation.

PARISH FACILITATORS’ ROLE IN IMPLEMENTATION 

The process of diocesan reorganization will present many opportunities for the blossoming of parishioners’ faith and an increase in the holiness of parish communities. To ensure that Called to Holiness and Mission can continue toward a successful conclusion it will be necessary to have persons available who are both capable and qualified to facilitate discussions between different groups, be it pastors, implementation committees, cluster teams, or the implementation commission. These persons should be good communicators and to some extent a ‘cheerleader’ for the implementation.

There is a pool of Facilitators who are both geographically spread out throughout the Diocese but also spread out in terms of their pastoral focus; for example, worship, stewardship, or evangelization. When needed, they would be asked to facilitate a meeting, be in communication with certain leaders, answer questions about the implementation process, refer parishes to diocesan resources, and give their impression of Called to Holiness and Mission as it is occurring throughout the Diocese. These Facilitators will be a liaison between persons, the parishes, and the Diocese as they are pulled from one of two sources: the local area or diocesan staff.

Trained Facilitators can create agendas, run small group meetings, and help groups accomplish their goals with enough local and diocesan knowledge to understand the situation and bring forth a reasonable solution to the issues presented. The Facilitator’s role is not to make decisions or pass judgments but to ensure that there is mutual understanding and where possible, to help groups come to consensus about the issues in question.