Immaculate Conception Parish is charting a new course! Parish leaders have identified the need for our parish to engage and involve more members into our parish family. We need to establish ways that we can identify, invite and actively involve a greater number of our parishioners in parish life here at Immaculate. Our focus as parish leaders will be to create a Plan to Welcome, Engage and Affirm our parishioners at Immaculate.
As we begin this new chapter in our parish’s history, the theme that we will follow is: the future vision we establish for our parish must come from the input, ideas and recommendations of the people who make up the parish community.
"The meaningful involvement of people in our mission and vision for the future."
The Parish Engagement Process began in September 2008. A Core Team of people started meeting with archdiocesan leaders and with the company that is working with us on this cultural change – the Institute of School and Parish Development. In fact, if you wish to read more about it, you can go to their website at www.ispd.com and click on “Resources”.
A theme of involvement took place throughout 2008 through the following initiatives.
1. The continuation of the Core Team with approximately 10-15 people representing many areas of the parish
2. Input Sessions -- held in the winter of 2008
3. Parish wide data base update in the spring. Over 300 parishioners volunteered their time and talents!
4. Nearly 1000 parishioners completed a survey in late summer of 2008
5. General Parish Meeting in the fall of 2008.
a. Review survey results (published in the Oct. 19th bulletin as well)
b. Prioritize parish needs for 2009 fiscal year
c. Develop the Parish Engagement Team.
The Parish Engagement Team (PET) consists of 4 teams (Adult & Youth Faith Formation, Welcome, Outreach) of 10 to 15 committed parishioners to focus on the 4 top parish issues that were prioritized at the parish general meeting in October.
The parish engagement teams co-chairs presented their engagement initiatives and subsequent action plans to the Pastoral Council on January 20th. Each team presented two objectives that will be implemented over fiscal years 09 and 10 with little to no budgetary impact. The objectives were approved and assigned an internal parish staff member to provide support and assist with the coordination of their efforts. The engagement initiatives and their objectives are as follows:
Adult Faith Formation
Objective 1: Engage adult parishioners in faith formation, targeting three levels of interest groups.
Objective 2: Develop one adult faith program for each of the 3 levels of interested groups.
Youth Faith Formation
Objective 1: Invite and encourage youth opinion, by conducting a youth survey, open forum and adding youth to the committee.
Objective 2: Designate, further develop and promote the 5:30 pm mass as "the" youth mass.
Outreach
Objective 1: Increase visibility of outreach initiatives and opportunities, by communicating activities via web, bulletin, pulpit, displays etc.
Objective 2: Increase volunteer activity, by initiating outreach fair and speakers at various parish events/activities.
Welcome
Objective 1: Promote and enhance a welcoming spirit at ICC, by enhancing and promoting greeter program.
Objective 2: Enhance the welcoming spirit of the parish through personal contact and friendly spirit, by establishing a welcome fair and personal contact to new parishioners.
These committee's co-chairs become an integral part of the Pastoral Council and will be represented at all PC meetings moving forward by providing progress updates on their engagement initiatives.
We invite ALL of you to participate and become even more involved in the life of Immaculate Conception Parish. We welcome your input and ideas and look forward to creating a plan for the future of our faith community that will invite, involve and engage more people into the life of our parish. Please contact Patty McCarty if interested in any of the above PEP Teams.
