July 23, 2023
The pastoral planning process, including the Disciple
Maker Inventory that many of you completed earlier this year, is happening in
parishes across the Diocese of Pittsburgh. There are three tracks for this program
- Next Generation Parish, Virtual, and Self-Directed. Each parish follows their own
timeline, but all will deliver a parish pastoral plan to Bishop Zubik on or before
February 14, 2024.
The Next Generation Parish (NGP) Track is a four-year experience that includes
accompaniment and guidance from the Catholic Leadership Institute as the pastor
and his community assess the parish’s greatest opportunities and strengths;
develop a plan to move into the future with hope; and cultivate a deeper missionary
spirit throughout the community. Twenty-three of our parishes have elected to
participate in the Next Generation Parish.
Parishes participating in the Virtual Track receive four individualized virtual
tutorials from the Catholic Leadership Institute that assist parishes with
understanding the DMI results and creating a pastoral plan with priorities and goals. In this track, parishes will be
responsible for creating their own implementation strategies. Fifteen of our parishes elected to participate in this
track.
Parishes participating in the Self-Directed Track have been participating in group webinars to assist with reviewing
and understanding the DMI results. Through the use of templates, these parishes will self-direct the writing of their
pastoral plans and be responsible for creating implementation strategies. Twenty three of our parishes elected to
participate in this track.
DMI Results - Regardless of what track your parish is following (NGP, Virtual, or Self-Directed) we know that many
parishioners are requesting to see the Disciple Maker Index results. While it is encouraging that so many are
interested in seeing the results, we must also keep in mind that it takes time for the pastor and key parish leaders to
learn how to navigate the CLI portal and assess the information that is voluminous and detailed.
In order to give ample time for all parishes to prepare for the distribution of results and to ensure that all parishes
are receiving information in a consistent manner, a universal distribution date for DMI results has been established
for the weekend of August 19/20, 2023. All parishes in the diocese will use a common template to publish their
individual results, and the aggregate results for the entire parish will be published in parish bulletins during the
weekend of August 26/27, 2023.