Together In Faith Phase II Update

As a participant in phase two of the Together in Faith pastoral planning process, you are among approximately 1,500 parish leaders throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit that have responded to Archbishop Vigneron’s call to develop a plan to strengthen the Church’s presence throughout southeast Michigan. In January, 40 parish and 11 K-8 school planning groups began meeting, officially launching phase two of the Together in Faith process.

Many meetings and much work has been accomplished, and we are nearing the end of the first part of this planning process. By June 30, all of the planning groups will have prepared and submitted their initial, draft recommendations. Planning group members, pastors, and vicars are again urged to communicate the outcomes of the Together in Faith planning meetings in which they participate with their parishes and schools to inform parishioners and parents as well as to obtain feedback as planning continues.

In July and August, the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC) will review the recommendations from each of these parish and school planning groups. The APC will ask questions and make comments on each plan, which will be returned to the planning groups for their consideration in September and October. The planning groups will refine and resubmit to the APC their final recommendations in the form of a draft plan. The APC will then review and submit plans to Archbishop Vigneron by the end of November.

Fulfilling the Archbishop’s commitment to transparency, the data, maps, and other documentation used by the Together in Faith planning groups is published on the archdiocesan website (www.aodonline.org/TogetherInFaith) LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/?p5m49835t5pny I encourage you to review the notes from your planning group, especially the data regarding your parish. This will give you a good overview of the progress to date. Please share and discuss this information with others in your parish, planning group, and vicariate.

Together in Faith planning group members are taking their responsibilities very seriously, putting in many hours of analyzing data and engaging in honest and, at times, difficult discussions. Some exciting and challenging plans are beginning to emerge. Whether you have been directly or indirectly involved in this second phase of the Together in Faith II pastoral planning process, I want to thank you for your prayers and participation. With your continued support, I am confident that we will accomplish our ultimate goal – to strengthen our parishes and schools, to better serve the faithful throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit, and to Share Christ in and through the Church.