Parish Social Ministry: From Getting Started to Running Smoothly

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Parish Social Ministry From Getting Started to
Running Smoothly
Social Action Summer Institute July 20, 2005

• Donna Grimes, Catholic Campaign for Human
  Development
• Rachel Lustig, Catholic Charities USA
• Christine Smith, Catholic Relief Services
• Andy Zampini, Catholic Charities of Wilmington

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Overview

• Goal
• This workshop will help parish social ministry
  organizing committees to harness their efforts in
  ways that support a shared, sustainable parish
  vision and commitment to the Churchs social
  mission.

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Overview

• Definition
• Parish social ministry is the empowerment of the
  parish as the people of God to fulfill the
  Churchs mission of love, justice, freedom, and
  peace by responding as a faith community to
  societal and individual needs.

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Assumptions

• You are parish leaders (or you work with parish
  leaders) engaged in social ministry.
• You understand and believe that parish social
  ministry is the work of the whole parish.
• You view parish social ministry as a constitutive
  element of the parish mission.

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Objectives

• You will have a process to focus on a mission,
  vision, and organizational structure for your
  parish social ministry efforts.
• You will know how to build this ministry using
  on-going recruitment and planning.
• You will know how to apply the techniques of
  effective meetings to a mission driven ministry
  committee composed of volunteers.
• You will understand the importance of identifying
  opportunities for on-going formation for the
  committee.

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Part I Mission, Vision, and Organizational
Structure

• Objective
• You will have a process to focus on a mission,
  vision, and organizational structure for your
  parish social ministry efforts.

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How to organize a team of leaders?
Step 3 Organize and execute parish analysis .
Step 1 Find 3-5 allies who want to start a
ministry.
Step 2 Meet and discuss what you want to do
why.
Step 5 Recruit and train people on CST.
Step 6 Act from original plan and create
evaluation process.
Step 4 Clarify committee structure and purpose.
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Getting Started

• Once there is a group of committed parishioners
• Conduct a half-day planning day
• Use personal invitations
• Have a set agenda
• and stick to it!

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Getting Started

• ST. MATTHEW PARISH
• SOCIAL CONCERNS COMMITTEE PLANNING DAY
• November 6, 2004
• 9 915 a.m. Opening Reflection
• 915 925 a.m. Introductions
• 925 945 a.m. Video Communities of Salt
  Light
• 945 1000 a.m. Review of Styles of
  Ministry Quadrant
• 1000 1015 a.m. Elements of
  Success for Parish Social Ministry
• (see attached handout)
• 1000 1045 a.m. Developing a Mission
  Statement for Social
• Concerns Committee
• (see attached worksheet)
• 1045 1100 a.m. Break
• 1100 1145 a.m. Developing a Vision
  Statement for
• Social Concerns Committee
• (see attached worksheet)

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Setting the Stage

• Provide a foundational model for the discussion
• Communities of Salt and Light Reflections on
  the Social Mission of the Church
• Styles of Ministry Quadrant

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Setting the Stage
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Getting Grounded Developing a Mission Statement

• A Mission Statement
• Communicates the essence of the Social Concerns
  Committee to the parish community and to those it
  serves.
• States
• who we are
• what we do
• what we stand for
• why we do it
• Is brief a couple of sentences
• Describes the big picture

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Getting Grounded Developing a Mission Statement

• Some Suggestions
• Use Brainstorming technique
• Do not try to craft the Mission Statement during
  the Planning Day
• Capture the essence of the discussion
• Draft a version for the Committees review and
  modification its theirs not yours!
• Be available to provide assistance

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ImagineeringDeveloping a Vision Statement

• A VISION STATEMENT
• Describes the possibilities that the Social
  Concerns Committee might achieve in the future
• Creates a compelling image of what the Social
  Concerns Committee can become
• Touches deeper values and hopes
• Is real, attainable and believable
• Can be translated into actions that can be
  implemented over time
• WHAT WORDS OR PHRASES DESCRIBE YOUR VISION OF THE
  SOCIAL CONCERNS COMMITTEE?

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ImagineeringDeveloping a Vision Statement

• Some Suggestions
• Use Brainstorming technique
• Do not try to craft the Vision Statement during
  the Planning Day
• Capture the essence of the discussion
• Draft a version for the Committees review and
  modification its theirs not yours!
• Be available to provide assistance

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Ta - Da!!!

• St. Matthew Parish Social Ministry Committee
• MISSION STATEMENT
• The mission of the St. Matthew Parish Social
  Ministry Committee is to integrate the message of
  the Gospel into the life of our parish. We do
  this by
• Providing educational opportunities on the social
  ministry dimension of our faith,
• Informing parishioners of opportunities to help
  others and engaging them to do charitable works,
• Promoting a just society by raising awareness of
  issues that are unjust, and by advocating for
  fair and just solutions,
• Developing an understanding that our parish is
  the world and to engage the parish in
  opportunities for solidarity.
• Our ministry is rooted in prayer and guided by
  Catholic Social Teaching.

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Ta Da!!!

• VISION STATEMENT
• It is the vision of the St. Matthew Parish
  Social Ministry Committee that the principles of
  Catholic Social Teaching will be integrated into
  every aspect of the parish. This vision includes
  providing opportunities for all parishioners to
  serve in the areas of charity and outreach,
  advocacy, community organizing, and solidarity.

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Getting Organized Developing an Organizational
Structure

• Some Suggestions
• Reflect the current structure based on the
  Mission Statement
• Consider a future structure using the Vision
  Statement
• Define purpose of each committee
• Encourage filling Leadership Roles ASAP!

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(No Transcript)
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Another Example
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Defining the Structure

• Each committee has a defined purpose.
• For example
• HOLY CROSS PARISH SOCIAL CONCERNS COMMITTEE
• OUTREACH MINISTRY
• For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was
  thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger
  and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me. I
  was ill and you comforted me, in prison and you
  came to visit me. (Mt. 25 35- 36)
• Holy Cross Outreach Ministry provides
  opportunities to provide direct care for those in
  need to provide assistance to others in times
  of social and economic crisis.

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Keeping it Goin

• Recruit Leaders
• Recruit Committee Members
• Setting Goal
• Not too many to start
• Need some early wins
• Accountability is key
• Leadership Training
• Becoming A Community of Salt and Light
• Keep at it
• Manage with lots of care attention!

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Take a Break!

• Stretch your legs.

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Part II Parish Strategy From Vision and
Mission to Action

• Objective
• You will know how to build this ministry using
  on-going recruitment and planning.
• You will learn
• To recruit and train members in order to create
  continuity and build membership.
• To assess the needs of your parish and community
  for the changing situation of your parish and
  build your plans accordingly.

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After Core Team Organized

• Recruit members
• Orient new people to vision/purpose, structure,
  theology and CST
• Plan actions
• Evaluate actions and purpose
• Make sure everything is centered in prayer
• Celebrate accomplishments

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How to Recruit Membership

• Enlist support from the pastor or parish council
• Give a personal invitation by phone, email, or
  face to face over coffee after Sunday mass
• Witness talk from a core committee member
• Bulletin announcement/insert

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Recruitment (cont.)

• Article in the parish newsletter
• Pre or post liturgical opportunities- wear a pin
  with the committee name ask me..
• Focused homily
• Information session after liturgy or a night
  meeting recruit.
• Be real on the invitation to join ministry with
  dates, the length of session, where to meet.

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Train Members Keep Continuity

• Train members on Catholic social teaching to
  keep action in context to faith, pastoral cycle
  for theological reflection, analysis and action.
• Look for next new leader to train and pass on
  knowledge and experience before leaving position.
  Ministry should not die when you leave.

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PSM Strategic Planning

• Primary Tasks organize food pantry, promote
  global solidarity
• Major sub-tasks the who, what, where, when, how,
  why of making that primary task happen
• Who do you need to collaborate with to accomplish
  task. Get this info from resources survey.
• Cost budget needs
• Outcomes and evaluation of tasks

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Strategic Planning What are your parish needs?

• Assessments
• Parish needs
• One-to-one random or targeted visiting
• Parish survey mail (costs not full yield),
  telephone (time consuming), or during liturgy
  (cannot reach non-practicing Catholics)
• Visiting community leadership people
• Develop parish and community resource survey

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Strategic Planning What does your whole parish
look like?

• Develop a parish profile
• Investigate what are the current ministries and
  committees
• Investigate in-house and outside resources-
  people and agencies with similar vision and goals
• Investigate the parish budget
• Investigate the structures of the parish and how
  things work
• Find the number of families and people in your
  parish, the ethnic make-up, the age distribution,
  the average household giving, the numbers of
  current lay volunteers and leaders from the
  parish staff or diocese.

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Strategic Planning The Survey

• Develop a Needs Assessment Survey
• Who is the targeted audience (the whole parish, a
  particular ministry etc.)?
• What is purpose of the survey?
• What questions will you develop?
• How will you deliver the survey? (phone, mail,
  liturgy)?
• When will you execute the survey?
• Who needs to be consulted in this process
  (pastoral council, parish staff, Catholic
  Charities PSM)?
• Who will follow-up with collating the
  information?
• How will you use the information?

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Part III Keeping Parish Social Ministry Running
Smoothly

• Objective
• You will know how to apply the techniques of
  effective meetings to a mission driven ministry
  committee composed of volunteers.
• Process
• Common Definition
• Draw on the expertise in the room.
• I will share a couple of ideas.

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Definition

• Mission Driven
• Assumption the (people in the) committee believe
  in what they are doing
• Implication the committee must feel that the
  work they do for the committee has real
  connections to the mission
• Composed of Volunteers
• Implications
• Participants have busy lives outside of the
  committee
• Participants want to be involved in the ministry

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Your Ideas

• 1.

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Strategies for Efficient Meetings

• Have a clear purpose for the meeting.
• Tie this purpose to faith and to the mission.
• Take the agenda seriously.
• Get started and end on time.
• Encourage discussion, while staying focused.
• Appoint a scribe who will take good minutes and
  send them out quickly.
• Evaluate the meeting.
• Be responsible for your own involvement.

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Most Importantly

• Anything that is decided must be carried out.

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Part IV Incorporating Formation into Ministry

• Objective
• You will understand the importance of identifying
  opportunities for on-going formation for the
  committee.

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Parish Social MINISTRY

• Personal Transformation
• Parish Development
• Abundant Opportunities

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Thank you.

• Any questions?