VAIT= VISION AREA IMPLEMENTATION TEAMS

This acronym has evolved from the work being done as a result of the consultation and visioning efforts of our parishioners over the past year. The twelve vision statements that surfaced and were approved at the Parish Council meeting this past June are now being worked with by VAITS that will be responsible for the implementation of the data/feedback, ideas and concerns that surfaced in each Vision Statement. Each VAIT is made up of staff representation, a Parish Council liaison, representation from standing committees in the different areas of ministry and representation from the parish. Over the past three weeks, I have seen the following Vision Statement Areas announcing meetings and/or requesting interested parishioner participation. I would encourage your participation and ongoing interest in following developments as they unfold.

Strategic Area: Prayer & Worship

Vision: Weekly Mass attendance will increase because parishioners are invited to better understand the theology and obligation of worship of God. Good planning of weekly worship will reflect solid Catholic liturgical principles and reach out to parishioners who manifest a variety of liturgical styles and preferences.

• As an initial step, the Prayer and Worship Committee will be reactivated, revitalized, and educated in liturgical norms.

• Next the musical styles and selections that we currently utilize will be reviewed and adjusted as appropriate.

• Concurrently, we will improve our level of catechesis so our members better understand the significance and importance of the Eucharistic celebration.

• Our welcoming efforts for both new and current parishioners will be strengthened through focused programs and family mentoring. 

• We will strive to develop a profound culture of prayer among the parishioners and expand the prayer chain through the use of e-mail and our web site.

• Necessary improvements to our worship space will be identified and prioritized in concert with the work of the ongoing Building & Grounds Committee efforts.

• Finally, we will review our current Mass and prayer service offerings and determine if changes are necessary, in both type and frequency, to best support the spiritual and educational needs of our growing parish.

Strategic Area: Parish-Wide Faith Formation

Vision: Life long faith formation will be achieved by strengthening and integrating all educational programs and offerings to provide a strong, energetic, and inspiring growth in faith.

• Begin by performing a gap analysis between our current religious curriculum and the Archdiocesan guidelines, and moving to narrow any gaps in our programs.

• Continue by developing surveys to determine what types of in-service opportunities would be helpful and of interest to catechists and parish leadership.

• Develop annual parish-wide themes that tie to our Catholic identity and develop offerings across all of our programs that place emphasis on that theme. Within these themes, develop new and non-traditional ways to involve parishioners of all ages in faith and community building events.

• Initiate a new series of seasonal events, possibly featuring guest speakers and/or performances, or emphasizing parish spirit of community.

• Review current small group offerings and identify ways to improve these programs; with emphasis on using technology to make more information available to more parishioners.
  

Strategic Area: Young Adult Ministry

Vision: Our Young Adult Ministry Program will be recognized as a leader in attracting and retaining active participation with vibrant ministry and faith sharing programs and opportunities.

• Begin by creating a Young Adult advisory team to help identify and develop programs of interest to this age group. Renew this team annually to insure current relevance of the programs.

• Develop a directory of young adults and utilize things like e-mail and “Facebook” to communicate among the group- promoting programs and activities.

• Initiate programs during the summer months, such as in-service projects and an end-of-summer liturgy and BBQ to promote community during the time when college students would more likely be available.

• Over the 5-year period, survey the young adults to continually identify spiritual and social needs and interests for the group. Tailor programs to address these needs.
  

Strategic Area: Formation Programs

Vision: Our educational programs, from pre-school through high school, will impart a solid foundation in our Catholic faith and include creative worship, service, and social opportunities to make them attractive to the children, youth, and their families.

• To focus the attention on formation being a life long effort, begin to address our programs as LFF (Lifelong Faith Formation) rather than CFC.

• Review all of our programs in relation to the Archdiocesan guidelines for the curriculums of children from kindergarten through Confirmation, with the goal being to close the gap where identified.

• Develop and implement surveys of current teachers and instructors to generate ideas and suggestions for improving the quality and consistency of our teaching. Use this information to develop job descriptions and expectations as well as to develop catechist’ training programs for all grades.

• Develop specific class outlines to insure consistency of training.
  

Strategic Area: St. Dominic Grade School

Vision: St. Dominic Grade School will be the leader in providing excellent academic, spiritual, and personal development formation to its students in a faith-based environment supported by the Catholic parish community of St. Dominic. By accomplishing such, the parish school will have established a steady growth pattern in enrollment.

• To support the academic vision, establish a Curriculum Support Committee to review the current 7-year curriculum review process with an eye towards annual enhancements.

• Identify areas for improvement in the current curriculum and develop plans to address any issues (e.g., enrichment programs).

• To enhance the spiritual programs within the school, identify a liaison between school staff and parish staff to identify guidelines for additional worship opportunities.

• Actively inform the parish community about school programs to promote an appreciation for the role of our Catholic school.

• To increase the awareness of enriching the personal development of students, define characteristics important for students’ personal development and create a program to nurture students in a consistent manner in all grades.

• In order to assess the school’s strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement, conduct annual surveys to obtain feedback. Review our use of technology vis-à-vis other schools and improve as needed.

• Develop a focus on the financial aspects of the school; working closely with the Finance and Human Resources Committees, and undertaking new fund raising efforts to supplement the school budget.

• Finally, to review and improve the communication between the school and the larger parish community, continue actively promoting the school and finding additional ways to leverage our cooperation with the Quad parishes.
  

Strategic Area: Building & Grounds

Vision: Our parish campus will be appealing and inviting, well-maintained, and updated to meet the needs of our mission and programs.

• A review of the current campus (Church, Parish Center, Rectory, School, and grounds) will determine the long-term maintenance needs of our facilities. The team will gain an understanding of the current and anticipated needs for space.

• Project teams will develop options that best utilize and enhance the current space, investigate potential major remodeling projects, and analyze potential building projects.

• All projects will be evaluated and prioritized based on their costs, available funds, and their ability to enhance the worship experience and faith education of all parishioners as well as attracting new members to our Faith community.
  

Strategic Area: Financial Strength

Vision: Our parish’s annual operation and expanded spiritual, educational, and formation programs will be supported by a strong financial commitment of our parishioners.

• Current financial responsibilities are spread among a variety of committees and staff. These roles will be reviewed to determine the best organizational structure to meet future needs. Of particular importance is the need for closer relationship between Finance, Stewardship and Endowment Marketing.

• Evaluate the potential for improved effort among the Quad parishes for leveraging developmental activities.

• Improve the communication of financial information to the parish members. Give particular emphasis to identifying and communicating parishioner giving trends, and reacting proactively to early identification of possible demographic changes which could impact our financial picture

• Place emphasis on learning “best practices” for Stewardship programs and incorporate these to improve our parishioners’ understanding of the Stewardship model and responsibility for parish financial support.

• Re-energize the Endowment Marketing Committee with emphasis on more closely integrating the Endowment Fund growth into overall financial plans of the parish. Identify new and unique ways to grow the Endowment Fund
  

Strategic Area: Time & Talent

Vision: The great majority of our parishioners will embrace the concept of Stewardship by sharing their time and talent on a regular basis so that we can continue to offer enriching programs and effectively manage and administer our parish.

• Organize a Service Fair in conjunction with the Time & Talent solicitation drive so that parishioners can understand the various opportunities for service. To further support this education, offer short term “try it on” opportunities so parishioners can be exposed to what is involved in those programs that might be of interest to them.

• Identify a way to survey the parish and to capture appropriate information on family make-up, parish involvement, career specialties, special skills, hobbies, and interests, so we might better identify and leverage these many skills.

• Utilizing weekly/monthly bulletin features, participant testimonials, and mentoring, develop a strong culture of service in the parish.
  

Strategic Area: Human Concerns

Vision: There will be opportunities for all parishioner age groups to be involved in Human Concerns and Outreach programs.

• Develop a master list that defines all programs and opportunities that exist throughout the year for parishioners to participate in Human Concerns and Outreach programs. Indicate ages and time commitments for each. Communicate opportunities through a comprehensive list and/or conduct a “Volunteer fair” to inform volunteers of opportunities.

• Revitalize and strengthen the Human Concerns Commission.

• Modify programs to allow for programs appropriate for all age groups and interests. Include whole family events / opportunities. Establish programs that provide for interaction of our school, CF, and Young Adults to work together toward a common goal.

• Determine a methodology for tracking participation in the programs and coordinate with Time & Talent team.

• Investigate the possibility for a Quad Parish Human Concern project that would promote interaction among the parishes and the opportunity for a project of significant impact.
  

Strategic Area: Lay Leadership

Vision: A vibrant Parish community will include lay leadership (both staff and volunteer parishioners) that is faith filled, energized, and well-educated in the faith.

• Begin by assessing the current scope of lay leadership, evaluating the needs, and the possible shortfalls against those needs. Extend personal invitation to potential lay leaders.

• Develop methods to actively promote the available lay leadership training programs within the Archdiocese.

• Encourage all key parish committees to define specific leadership development sequences and term limits to diffuse the concern of too lengthy commitment.
  Invite all ministry areas to incorporate a training component to their programs for both current and new members.

• Borrow ‘best practice’ ideas on ways to teach people about the call to serve and develop a parish wide plan to encourage parishioners to ‘answer the call.’
  

Strategic Area: Communication & Marketing

Vision: Parishioners will be fully informed about Archdiocesan, Quad Parish, and St. Dominic events, programs, news, schedules, and educational opportunities through effective utilization of technology.

• A Parish Marketing committee will be created to develop programs to enhance communication to current parishioners, broaden our presence in the Brookfield community, promote the many services offered at St. Dominic, promote opportunities for members to answer the call to serve, and encourage people to join our faith community.

• Multiple communication vehicles will be analyzed including the parish bulletin, website, newsletters, e-mail, direct mail, blogs, community publications and boards, etc. to determine effective communication methods.

• The committee will develop programs to engage inactive members with the goal of increasing Mass attendance, formational programs, stewardship participation, and social activities.

• A workflow solution and approval process to ensure a consistent communication plan will be explored.

Strategic Area: Vocations

Vision: St. Dominic Parish will have active programs in place to encourage and support religious, church related, marriage, and single-life vocations.

• Begin by increasing catechetical awareness to the broader parish community of the true nature and scope of the vocational life of the Church. Evaluate the current functionality of the Vocations’ Committee relative to this.

• Re-evaluate the effectiveness of current vocation awareness programs in children’s youth, and school ministry programs.

• Continue to actively seek to have seminary interns assigned to our parish to enrich vocation awareness.

• Create a five-year program, focusing each year on a different aspect of vocational life: marriage, religious life, single life, priestly life, and lay ministry.

Vision 2012 - Michael Ricci - Parish Council Chair

Parish Council commissioned a Parish Planning Project called Vision 2012 to develop the principles that will guide us into the future. Based on feedback from our parishioners and thanks to the help of dedicated Staff members and many volunteers, 12 Vision Statements and corresponding Action plans were presented and subsequently approved by the Parish
Council. The Vision statements may be viewed below.  A synopsis of the action plans for each vision is being developed and should be available by November 1. The implementation phase of the process has begun. We are called to serve one another and there are many chances to get involved. Teams that will work on the action steps are being formed. Standing
committees could use additional members. As you review the Vision statements, won’t you prayerfully consider whether you are being called to help? Some opportunities are short-term projects and others will be longer commitments. Simply stated, the ability to move forward will require the involvement of many volunteers. One point made loud and clear on the surveys and during visioning sessions is that we have a very strong and vibrant Parish. Some changes will be subtle. Some changes will occur right away while others will take planning and time. Remember, Vision 2012 was designed to help determine what we should look like 5 years from now. Don’t know whom to contact? Have an idea or comment. Please either call Rich Harter at 262-781-3480, Ext. 253 or e-mail parishcouncil@stdominic.net and we will ensure you are put in contact with the right people.

 

The VISION 2012 Steering Committee: Co-Chairs: Kathy Pelto, Brian Pankow, and Gerry Monday Parishioners: Mike Moritz, Chris Farley, Kristin Boffeli, and Don Jones Staff: Rich Harter, Kathie Beuscher, and Luke Strand Ex-Officio: Fr. David Reith, Jay Lauck, and Pat Mattern

We sincerely hope you share our enthusiasm for these Visions and the impact they can have on all of us as we move forward. Should you have any questions or just want to discuss them, please feel free to contact any of the committee. Thanks to all of you who took the time to offer your ideas and comments in either the survey of the Visioning sessions. Without your help, these Visions could not have been developed.