LumenUs Report
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An Ending, a Beginning: A message from the LumenUs Team, May 2015
Dear Lumen Christi and Highland Catholic School Member:
After two-plus years of researching, interviewing, discussing, debating, discerning and praying, the LumenUs Strategic Planning Team completed our charge and delivered a starting point to what will become a parish-wide conversation and, perhaps, transformation.
The LumenUs effort was never intended to provide all the answers, more to ask the right questions and discern who we are as parish and what we are called to be for each other and in the world. The planning effort produced several important elements that a new implementation team—made up of members of the Parish Council and the LumenUs team—are working to introduce in the parish beginning this fall.
A New Organizational Structure
As we wrestled with issues and opportunities facing Lumen Christi, we realized our parish and school are blessed with incredibly gifted people, committed to doing the work of the Gospel. We saw that people find relevance, share gifts and resources, learn, and share faith when they are in communion with one another. And so we set out to leverage that giftedness and commitment by developing an organizational structure that:
- builds networks of relationships and connects people to people;
- relies on servant leadership and creates clear channels for decision-making and communication;
- Ensures that the majority of decision making happens where it should—with the people doing the work in the ministries and task groups around the parish;
- introduces a clearer path for visioning and better communication across our various ministries.
In short, we’re creating a structure that brings us all into the life of our faith.
The structure also offers many more opportunities to participate in parish leadership as well as training and orientation to ensure leaders understand their roles, expectations, and other factors critical to their success. We will be offering a discernment process for leadership positions this fall.
Detailed report on the Ministry Council Leadership structure.
Other elements of the LumenUs Plan will guide our new leadership team and all parish ministries. They include:
Parish Mission
How powerful it would be if each of us began our days, our Mass, our prayer, our meetings reflecting on this one statement! Our new structure and everything we do as a parish will help us live out this mission.
Guiding Values
The values define the essence of Lumen Christi and are intended to provide a foundation for all our actions and decisions. Some values are deeply imbedded in our culture and unique to our community, while others we aspire to. These values include Compassionate Listening; Gratitude; Life-long Faith Formation; Prayer; Respect; Service; Transparency; and Welcoming Community.
Descriptions of how Lumen Christi is guided by these values
Overarching Goals
In setting the parish’s focus for the next three to five years, the LumenUs team recommended three cross-ministry outcomes to help align resources, inspire involvement and guide leadership decisions and annual planning. They include:
- Build the new Leadership Structure
- Create a Culture of Welcoming, Belonging and Service to Others
- Integrate Parish and School Community
Detailed report of Overarching Goals
Consistent Themes and Demographics
These 14 trends and issues identified through information gathering and analysis, present key challenges to Lumen Christi over the next three to five years and formed the basis of the Strategic Plan.
Click on the theme for a full description.
1.) Belonging
2.) Communication
4.) External Community: Highland Park Demographics
5.) Forming One Parish and School Community
6.) Leadership
8.) liturgy
10.) Parish Finances
11.) Pastoral Care for an Aging Population
12.) Property Management
14.) Youth Ministry
And so we begin
As we said, all of this work, documentation and planning bring us not to an end, but a starting point. The details will never be completely worked out, the process never perfect. So we will trust the spirit and the people of this parish and simply begin. An implementation team under the guidance of Fr. Paul is tasked with preparing for this beginning, with the goal of inviting parishioners into the new leadership structure in Fall 2015. The team, made up of the members of the LumenUs team plus Parish Council Members John Krenik, Deb Mauer and Kari Tierney, is focused on five charges:
- Leadership Orientation and Training
- Communication
- Leadership Discernment Process and Forming the First Leadership Team
- Annual Planning and Budgeting
- Breaking Bread—Preparing the environment for all parish leaders to gather monthly for a simple meal and information sharing before they convene their own Ministry Council Meetings.
There is so much more to share. Our intent is to give you a sense of where we’re headed as a parish and connect you with more detail if you desire. It’s time now to expand beyond a planning team and draw the entire parish into the conversation. We hope each parishioner will open your heart to consider your role in living out the mission and values of Lumen Christi. The invitation to leadership and continued community participation is coming…
With blessings and gratitude,
The LumenUs Planning Team
Ann DeGree, Kevin Franklin, Mike Harley, Margaret George, Bill Leary, Anne Maley, John Morin, Amy Murphy and Tom Schumacher
