Please keep in prayer members of the Diocesan Planning Commission as they participate in a retreat Oct. 18 through 20 as part of the Faith in Our Future pastoral planning initiative for building stronger parishes.
During the retreat, the Commission will participate in Mass, plenary sessions and county groups with the goals of building upon its June Commission retreat. It also will review and make final recommendations regarding the 25 Cohorts based on all the input it received in late Septemberafter a summer-long consultation both on the parish and Cohort levels.
In light of the goals and criteria for Faith in Our Future, the Commission will prepare final recommendations of models and ministries, including campus ministry, hospital chaplaincy and jail and prison ministry, along with a rationale.
The final recommendations will be sent directly to Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., by Oct. 31 for his prayerful review as he consults with the diocesan Curia, Episcopal Council and other consultative bodies at multiple levels before making his final decisions. He is expected to announce his final decisions by January 2017 with planning for implementation to follow.
Once the responses are submitted, the work of parish core teams is completed. The next phase of parish-level work will be that of implementation, to begin after the final decisions are announced by the Bishop.