YEAR 1 FAMILY PATHWAY REPORT

It is recommended that all Family of Parishes share a Year 1 update with their parishes in autumn 2023. This assures that people have returned from summer vacations and settled into a new academic/fiscal year. The update should include a letter from the pastor and a summary of your annual report in both a digital and print form (not exceeding four pages in length

Some examples for a letter from the pastor include:

• Beacons of Light is not only about re-organizing parishes into Families. The true goal of Beacons is about new life in our parishes, greater passion for Christ and our Catholic faith, more fervent missionary spirit. Such lofty goals will not be reached without commitment and a plan for growth.
• For this reason, Parameter #2 states “Families of Parishes must develop a pastoral plan for parish vitality, submitted at least annually, reviewed by the dean, to be approved by the archbishop in conformity with the parameters of the Pastoral Planning Pathway according to the published timeline.”
• Recently I submitted our first Annual Plan Report to Archbishop Schnurr. This report is a summary of what I along with our Family Leadership Team included in that report. I hope that you will read this report with great interest, as it is a reflection of what we have experienced together in the past year and what we hope to accomplish in the year to come.

The summary of your annual report should include the following:

• Highlights of the previous year, general observations
• Acknowledge challenges, express gratitude for patience or acceptance as changes have happened
• Highlight successes
• Include insights from the Disciple Maker Index where applicable
• Where we’ve been, where we’re going – capture progress and plans for each principal of Beacons of Light:
  • Eucharist
  • Church
  • Leadership
  • Stewardship
  • Evangelization
  • Love in Action
  • Administration
  • Financial

Transparency with parishioners can be accomplished in a variety of mediums, attainable for all communicators in the Archdiocese. Understanding the wide variety of communicators and Family communication resources within our Archdiocese, the Center for Parish Vitality and Communication Department staff are ready to support Family communicators as they prepare the report with their pastor and Family Leadership Team. Consider the following ideas as a springboard for planning:

Bulletin and Email:

• Bulletin article/insert     
  
  • Letter from the pastor
  • Key points from the annual report summary
• Mass email to all parishioners
  
  • Letter from the pastor followed by an annual report summary (not exceeding four total pages)

Social Media and Segmented Contact:

• Social media
• Individual staff e-mails to specific parishioner demographics (allows staff people to connect with parishioners that they are directly involved with, builds sense of trust)
  
  • School/PSR families
  • Pastoral/Finance Councils
  • Ministry leaders
  • Sacristans

Website and Continuing Communications:

• Refresh/establish a website for your family of parishes that includes a page dedicated to updates on the Beacons of Light process
• Share stories/quotes from parishioners with color photos
• Have a continuing bulletin article from the pastor or parish leadership team with monthly or quarterly updates on your family of parishes

Here are some helpful links to include in your communications:

• Disciple Maker Index data where applicable
• Parish Vitality Report Link
• Beacons of Light Link
• Archdiocese of Cincinnati Link
• Also be sure to include website links to all parishes in the Family so that parishioners from each parish can explore the other sites.