Weekly THIS AND THAT for July 6, 2008: Our Parish's Strategic Plan, Part 1: Responsibilities, Strength, and Challenges

This and That:
Our Parish’s Strategic Plan, Part 1: Responsibilities, Strengths, and Challenges


Dear Friends,

This past May our Pastoral Council approved a Strategic Plan that will shape who we are and where we are going as a parish. The plan became effective July 1, 2008 and will run through June 30, 2013. During that time many changes will come to Our Lady of Grace, including my own departure as your Pastor in June 2010. We thought it was very important to have a plan in place through the challenges and opportunities we will be facing in the years ahead.

The Pastoral Council supported the publication of the new Plan as a four-part series in the “That and That” column of our Sunday bulletin. In the near future a booklet format of the entire document will also be available.

As you read each of the four parts this week and the ensuing three, your impressions, feedback and comments are always welcome and can be shared with any Council member. Remember, they are the parishioners wearing the red ribbon and pin at Sunday Masses. You are also invited to email your comments and thoughts to the Council Chairperson, Bill Campbell at Bill.campbell@milliman.com.

Fondly,
Father Nicholas



Celebrating Life through Worship and Service
Strategic Plan
Our Lady of Grace Parish
2008 through 2013
Approved by Pastoral Council May 12, 2008


Parish Vision

“God calls the people of Our Lady of Grace Parish to be a welcoming, worshiping community of faith, hope and love. Through His Spirit, the Lord Jesus lives in those who believe and reaches into our world with His saving message and His healing love.”

Mission Statement

“We see ourselves as the heralds of God’s love for people and believe we are called to serve those in need. We commit ourselves to knowing Jesus Christ in the Breaking of the Bread and from this central experience we live that faith among others as the Body of Christ in Northern Baltimore County. We believe that “faith without good works is dead,” (James 2:26) and therefore, that worship without service cannot be true worship. Worship and service are at the very heart of our mission; they constitute who we are.”

Purpose

Our Lady of Grace Parish has developed this Strategic Plan document to add structure to our process of planning for the future and to focus our efforts on accomplishing our mission. During our strategic planning process we critically examined who we are as a parish and we defined where we are going by identifying our parish responsibilities, our strengths, the challenges we are facing, and the opportunities we can pursue to help meet those challenges. Those responsibilities, strengths, challenges, and opportunities follow:

Responsibilities

• Assist all parishioners in their faith journeys through worship services, religious education, pastoral care, and opportunities to serve others
• Provide religious education for all ages
• Operate and maintain Our Lady of Grace campus in a fiscally sound fashion
• Serve those in need within Our Lady of Grace parish family and beyond

Strengths

• Strong Pastor, Assistant Pastor, and Pastoral Staff
• Welcoming faith community
• Vibrant youth program
• Beautiful, spacious campus
• Sound fiscal practices (Our Lady of Grace lives within its means)
• Some very generous parishioners (to Our Lady of Grace and community)
• Many volunteers who help the needy (giving time, talent and/or treasure)
• Accredited school offering grades K through 8

Challenges

• Grow our congregation (fill the pews)
• Be relevant to youth, competing successfully in today’s culture for their attention
• Mentor youth in their faith journey – they are the parishioners of tomorrow
• Meet rising operation and maintenance costs in the face of difficult economic times
• Find other clergy to cover short term needs (complementing Father Nicholas)
• Plan for Father Nicholas’s change in assignment in 2010
• Motivate more parishioners to become more deeply involved in parish life
• Increase our Parish School enrollment to capacity
• Study the possibility of a pre-school for 3 year olds and 4 year olds as a feeder for our Parish School Kindergarten
• Study the needs of our people as they relate to the use of our Parish Middle School.