Clergy Convocation

Pastoral Message aired on KNXT-TV during March 2007

Bishop John T. Steinbock

My dear people of God,

Each year at the end of January, we have a four-day gathering of the Clergy for Continuing Formation at a hotel in Visalia. We had 127 Priests present and 42 of our Permanent Deacons. This year we began a strategic planning process to eventually form a five-year plan for pastoral ministry.

I began the meeting reviewing where we have been in the last fifteen years, looking at the many goals, projects and programs that we have achieved over those years, both on the parish level as well as the Diocesan level. We have so much for which to give thanks to God.

We then looked at where we are and where we hope to be in five years from now, and how we can work towards that vision. The priests and deacons came up with four main areas to place our emphasis in these next five years: Catechesis, Lay Ministry, Vocations and Youth Ministry. The goals of Our Faith, Our Family and Our Future Fund Drive will be integrated into this strategic plan.

At the Priest Council held after the Convocation, five committees were set up, with a priest being put in charge of each committee. Each committee will be made up of priests, deacons, Religious and laity, with a co-chair other than a priest. We will begin soon a listening process in the different areas of the Diocese to get the input of all those who would like to contribute their ideas for this pastoral planning.

After each committee has finalized its work setting up objectives and goals, the five committee chairpersons will come together to integrate the different objectives and goals of the five committees, prioritize them, and set up a schedule over the next five years for putting these objectives and goals into practice. The Priest Council will review this, and present to me a pastoral plan for my approval for the following five years.

Two of the most exciting committees will be the committee for setting up the Lay Ministry Institute to give certification for all our ministries and to give degrees for theology and scripture and the committee for setting up a program for Parish Life Coordinators. Sad to say we are coming to a point in our Diocese when we will not have sufficient priests to staff all our parishes and we will have to have Permanent Deacons, Religious, or Lay persons trained to lead a parish community. This is already happening in many of our Dioceses, even here in California, and it is coming soon to our Diocese. In our nation there are seven dioceses that half of their parishes have no resident priest.

Pray for the success of this planning to enable us to respond to the many challenges ahead to bring God’s love and truth to our young and to our many parish communities. God bless you all.