St. Luke Parish

Strategic Plan

Fall, 2006

Purpose:

A) Who Are We NOW?

1) A community of faith,

1. Believing Christ Jesus is our Lord and Savior,
2. And that His work continues through us,
3. This part of the Church He founded,
4. Under the shepherding guidance
5. Of our Bishop and Holy Father

2. Our mission is Christ’s mission:
   1. To proclaim: tell the story
   2. To manifest: show how it works
   3. And to make possible: open the doors to the kingdom of

God here on earth.

3. We do so by the programming presented in and through the parish church, school, and their facilities.

B) WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO?

1. Respond to opportunities to expand our programming and services within the human and material resources available.

2. Increase the school’s enrollment with incentives to potential students and increase the religious education enrolment.

3. Increase the parish and school’s financial bases by creating additional revenue resources, eg:

   1. Increased giving – sense of stewardship and ownership

   2. Automatic bank transfers from individuals’ to parish’s account,

   3. The Star Foundation

4. Remain virtually debt-free while retaining financial stability through fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets.

5. Maintain the buildings and grounds at a high level of serviceability.

6. Re-pave the large parking lot in 3-4 years.

CORE MISSION

A) WHY DO WE EXIST?

1. Established by the Bishop of the Erie Diocese in 1954,

2. To be a Catholic community of believers in the living presence of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

3. We strive
   1. Within an atmosphere of prayerful worship,
   2. To be welcoming and evangelistic,
   3. So that Jesus Christ may be known and loved by all.

B) HOW WILL WE SERVE?

1. Understanding, evaluating, and tallying the needs of our parishioners and potential-parishioners.
2. Engaging in greater Erie community involvements: eg: pastoral chaplaincies
3. Sponsoring and participating in ecumenical events, eg:
   1. Our Thanksgiving Ecumenical Service
   2. Participation in Inter-Church Ministries of Erie County
4. Good service, good speech, good music, good hospitality, good environment.
5. Providing a superior organizational staff and facility
6. Sunday night radio program: Magnify

C) WHAT VALUE DO WE ADD?

1) Benefiting the educational needs of children in the center of the greater Erie area,

2. Long-term planning, as much as possible, in the acquisition and allocation of human and material resources,

3. Support services to parishioners through:
   1. hospital and home-visits to sick and shut-ins,
   2. bereavement funeral planning
   3. school athletics,
   4. scouting,
   5. cafeteria meals to the school’s students,
   6. meeting spaces for the parishes 30+ organizations,
   7. food pantry

4. Partnering with neighboring Christian congregations,

5. Providing leadership in Inter-Church Ministries of Erie County,

6. Developing public and private financial resources,

7. Creation and follow-through of ideas and responses to new opportunities, eg:
   1. Updating and expanding minor ministries,
   2. Getting our St. Luke Religious Education Program accredited by the Diocese of Erie

8. Fostering a greater experience of parishioners “taking ownership” of St. Luke’s ventures.

D) WHAT ARE OUR PRODUCTS/ SERVICES?

1. Church liturgies

2. Personal guidance and spiritual direction

3. Preparation programs for baptism, first reconciliation and eucharist, confirmation, and marriage

4. A Middle-States Accredited Grade School Education with:
   1. Pre-school classes
   2. And before- and after-school care
   3. Athletics
   4. Scouting
   5. Guidance and counseling

5. A Religious Education Program on Sundays for public school students and those home-schooled in religion.

6. Bright, up-to-date, and serviceable meetings spaces

7. All in a reasonably secure and safe environment operated by qualified and experienced personnel.

E) WHOM DO WE SERVE IN CHRIST’S NAME?

1) The registered parishioners of St. Luke’s, including

            a. Their children still at home or away at school

            b. Their loved-ones temporarily or permanently residing in their homes

 

2) Canonically, all God’s people living within St. Luke’s parish boundaries:

            a. From the east side of Cherry Street,

            b. To the south side of 34^th Street,

            c. To Perry Street southward to Lake Pleasant Road on the west sides of those     streets,

            d. To the north side of I-90 from Lake Pleasant Road to Cherry Street Ext.

3) The public-at-large in so far as our Church services are open to the public.

F) WHAT ADDITIONAL SERVICES ARE WE LIKELY TO OFFER IN 5 YEARS?

1. Increased school enrollment of students outside our usual boundaries.

2. Continued upgrading of facilities and technology as affordable in order to accommodate existing programs and be an incentive to attract others to St. Luke’s in any way that would be satisfying.

G) HOW DO WE WANT PARISHIONER, EMPLOYEES, AND THE PUBLIC TO VIEW US?

1. As responsible stewards of our given resources.

2. A catholic Caring Community for over 52 years,

3. Hospitable and welcoming,

4. Competent,

5. Open to new ideas and suggestions,

6. Encouraging others to participate, even taking leadership, thereby taking ownership within the canonical structure of a Catholic parish.

CAPABILITIES:

A) WHAT ARE OUR MOST IMPORTANT STRENGTHS IN TERMS OF SKILLS?

1. Open mindedness

2. Dedicated operational staff

3. Commitment to personal presence to the community of the parish and the community-at-large

4. Reasonable and responsible flexibility

5. Ability to respond to needs quickly

6. Sound financial asset management

7. Ability to collaborate with other groups in mutual support

8. Attractive public image with good Church service, good speaking, good music, and good hospitality and good environment

B) WHAT ARE OUR SKILL WEAKNESSES?

1. Limited long-term financial resources

2. Diminishing population and jobs in northwest PA

3. Corresponding decrease in school enrollments

4. Uncertainty about how low the population and enrollment figures will drop

5. Costs of school operations could rise beyond what the student market and tuition rate can support

C) VULNERABILITY

1. Continued loss of jobs in Greater Erie, especially professional positions

2. Rising costs of living and consequent drop in charitable giving

3. Decreasing church-attendance as generations get older and pass no-Sunday-Church attendance practices on to their children

4. The potential down-sizing of priest-staff due to shortage of priests

5. Increasing costs of maintaining facilities

D) HOW DO THE ABOVE COMPARE TO THE CORE COMPETENCIES NEEDED IN THE FUTURE?

1. Generate more revenue

2. Consider hiring a “development director”, at least for the school

3. Maintain balanced budgets by not spending what we don’t have

      4) Try to fill the void of our current lack of an affordable youth ministry to high school students

5) Get our parish Religious Education program accredited by the diocese

E) WHAT IS THE PARISH GOING TO LOOK LIKE IN 5 YEARS?

1. Finances will still be a concern

2. Opportunities for development will have been pursued progressively and enthusiastically

3. Parish registration and school enrollment will have begun to look more predictable

4. Maximal return on financial investments within the guided conservative asset management now in place

5. Our parish’s Religious Education program will be accredited by the Erie Diocese

6. Attempt(s) will have been made toward reviving a youth ministry for high school-aged students

OPPORTUNITIES/CHALLENGES

A) TRENDS, OPPORTUNITIES, ROADBLOCKS

1. The law of third’s (only 1/3 of those who say they belong to a Church actually go, and only 1/3 of that 1/3 support the parish in major ways) will continue

2. More and more unchurched people will be moving into our parish’s boundaries thereby presenting definite opportunities to evangelize them

3. The challenge will be to sustain a set of enough small communities, organizations, clubs, etc., within the larger parish community that will attract people to St. Luke’s and away from competing alternatives

4. Cooperation among existing organizations

MEASUREMENTS OF SUCCESS

1. Balanced budgeting

2. Financial operation in the black

3. Buildings and grounds remain in good repair

4. How new opportunities are
   1. Identified
   2. Strategized
   3. Developed

5. Parishioners/public opinion and perception
   1. need to feel shepherded:
      • Personal recognition (birthdays)
      • Personal talk after mass about someone’s hardship
      • Moral spiritual guidance
      • Having been engaged in prayer
      • Guidance on how to worship (e.g. Say the rosary)

TASKS TO DO:

1. The pastor, with the help of his staff, shall prepare a list of all the project needs and opportunities identified in this document, adding to this list those which emerge as time goes on

2. Items will be:
   1. Calendarized to completion
   2. Assigned person(s) to be in charge
   3. Costed out in terms of expense, income, and affordability
   4. And integrated into the overall parish or school budget as needed

3. Progress reports on the itemized projects will be subjects of future monthly staff meetings and Pastoral Council meetings

4. Modifications to completion dates will be made as needs and realities dictate