I'm on the Pastoral Council We want to engage the whole parish! We need the know-how and the tools with which to do that. We already have the will. |
| Laypeople who take up ministerial work should be well trained and prepared both in knowing doctrine and in adapting to the needs of [today]. Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity #28 from Vatican II in Plain English |
| Dear Parish Leader, Welcome to the web site which supports you in your work as you do pastoral planning for your parish! Thank you for everything you offer your parish. The church now depends on lay leadership from people like you. In fact, we need more of you! We know that many Catholics today simply are no longer fully engaged with their parishes. There are many reasons for that, but all of them point to a huge need, which is for each parish to develop a pastoral plan which
So you see, it's no small thing we're doing! The role you play is essential in establishing a pastoral plan for more effective lifelong learning. To help you, this web site is loaded with resources. First of all, if you're getting started with pastoral planning for lifelong formation as a parish, begin here. This is a FREE pastoral planning tool, complete with worksheets, a step-by-step process, and a powerful "listening prayer" to help you be guided by the Spirit. This is also the web site which supports Dreams and Visions: Pastoral Planning for Lifelong Faith Formation. Every link mentioned in that text is found here. So once again, thanks for everything you do for your parish. We're glad you're making use of this support web site, and please let us know if there are other ways in which we can help you! Good wishes for your ministry, Bill Huebsch and the Pastoral Planning Crew |
| Resources offered on this site |
| Share your parish story! If you have been working with whole community or lifelong catechesis or faith formation and you have a story to tell, we want to hear it! Go to this page and send us your story! Give us the link to your parish web site at the same time, please. And thanks! |
| Pastoral Planning A step-by-step guide: Dreams & Visions: Pastoral Planning for Lifelong Faith Formation by Bill Huebsch A new book which includes a chapter outlining those all-important Planning Team Meetings. Sold in bundles to save you 20% New Book! Welcome the People! Ways to Gather & Nourish Adult Catholics by Jim Smith A parish team workshop-in-a-book. Helps you create the team you want for lifelong formation. Sold in bundles to save you 20%. New book! Good News Parish Leadership Trust-Building Guidelines, Tools, Ideas by Michael Papesh This rich resource helps you form your parish team with the very same pastoral theology in which we all believe. Sold in bundles to save you 20% Training How to teach your parish about lifelong formation including excellent PowerPoint presentations to download and use, complete with presentation notes. A series of FREE articles Reproduce these to put in your bulletin or to use for team & committee training. They're all in plain English! Into the Fields: Catechist & Ministry Formation Create a "religious community" with formation, prayer, & study right in the midst of your parish. This is the engine of lifelong faith formation, the foundation in your parish. Implementation How to start and sustain faith sharing throughout the parish using the Question of the Week With free prayer sheets and suggestions for training and use. A guide for using Growing Faith A powerful resource for doing adult faith formation in the parish. It's the Catechism in plain English! También es disponible en español. Communal Prayer for Parish Councils & other groups to accompany faith sharing. You can download and use these in 5 minutes! Rooted in the Second Vatican Council. Outlines for adult or intergenerational Faith Gatherings linked to your children's textbook series. Outlines for adult Bible Studies which are in plain English! Download each session and get all you need in one item. Complete plans for Parish Based Retreats in several practical scheduling formats. |