The Office of Parish Support exists to serve, resource, and accompany pastors, their staffs, and their pastoral leadership teams in the work of parish renewal.  We support, equip, and accompany each parish as they implement their own strategic plan.  

To learn more about our diocesan strategic planning, watch the most updated video that tells the whole story.  This video is also broken into small 'chapters' for easier viewing.  Click Here to be brought to that video.

 

The primary focus of our diocesan strategic plan is the renewal of parish life. Our parishes impact each of us in a very personal way. Our church parish is meant to help us connect with others, encounter God, and grow in our relationship with him. The ease at which this is able to happen in a parish impacts the lives of parishioners. If we desire great things to happen in the lives of parishioners, it will demand commitment and better support for our parishes. 

Through the strategic planning process, it became clear that the diocesan office structure as it existed was no longer able to support the changing needs of our parishes. Previous structures included separate offices for adult faith formation, religious education, youth ministry, and family ministry. Each of these offices held their own area of expertise and specialty. And, each pastor, parish staff, or volunteer interfaced with each separate office to address each specific need. 

We are most grateful for all those who have served these diocesan offices in the past. We are grateful for the many graces received through the efforts of these offices and the many lives that were impacted. We are grateful for the very good work that has allowed our parishes to get to where they are today. 

While this previous diocesan structure served the parishes for many years, it is also to be noted that in the past decade we have seen a tremendous difference in the needs and demands of the parish. Culture, new forms of communication, and the pace at which people live are a few of the realities that every parish is facing. These realities have demanded the need for parishes to adapt in order to continue to successfully engage people in the faith and assist them in growing in their relationship with God. Simply put, as the needs of our people have changed, so too have the needs of our parishes.

The concept of a new diocesan office structure to better serve the current needs of our parishes emerged during our diocesan strategic planning process. In 2017, Bishop Fabre assigned liaisons to our parishes to assist pastors and their implementation teams in their efforts of parish strategic planning. Initially, the liaison team consisted of four priests, one deacon, and one lay person.  Each parish was assigned a liaison. The role of the liaison was to meet with each pastor and parish implementation team at least monthly, to offer support, and assist the pastor and his team through the planning process. This new way of assisting priests and parishes proved to be very fruitful. The liaison had to become familiar with all aspects of the parish and to offer support through the planning process in an ongoing, relational and individualistic way. This trial of utilizing a parish liaison made way for a more permanent configuration of supporting parishes with a new diocesan office structure.

Thus, in January 2019, the diocesan Office of Parish Support was officially established. This new office now replaces the previous Offices of Adult Faith Formation, Religious Education, Youth Ministry, and Family Ministry. The newly established Office of Parish Support will comprise of a team of parish liaisons who will assist parishes in the implementation of their individual parish strategic plan and serve as a support and resource for the pastor, his staff, and lay leadership teams. 

Each liaison will assist the priests and their parish leadership teams in all aspects of parish life. Rather than focusing one area of expertise, the liaison now becomes the expert in the parish. They will be experts in getting to know and understand the dynamics and individual needs of the specific parishes they are working with. All parish liaisons will be able to assist parishes with any area of the parish’s priorities: Adult formation, youth formation, Sunday, and outreach. This allows the priest, his staff, lay leadership, and volunteers the ease of working with one person, rather than having to contact and work with multiple people depending on the need.  Additionally, the Office of Parish Support will continue to develop and provide resources for the priests and parishes.

 

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