This was recently located on the internet. It is interesting to see how parish planning was handled 10 plus years ago.
St. James Church of Belvidere
Pastoral Plan
With a Heart Renewed
Mission Statement
The community of St. James in the Spirit of hope and joyful love unites to provide
a Catholic Model of serving God, by worshiping, evangelizing, educating, and ministering
to the needs of all.
All parish plans in this document should be reviewed within the context of the Indicators of
Parish Vitality and our parish mission statement. This mission statement was approved by the
parish Mission Statement Committee after considerable consultation with parishioners.
Introduction
This pastoral plan was developed by the Parish Consultations Committee. It is the result of the
following steps.
1. In September 1997 the With a Heart Renewed survey was administered at all parish
Masses to people age 16 and over. A total of over 750 surveys were completed. The Parish
Consultations Committee studied the results, paying particular attention to those areas where the
parish was not strong but parishioners had high expectations.
2. From October to December 1997 the parish staff and the Consultations Committee
completed a parish evaluation, using materials provided in the With a Heart Renewed manual.
The parish was compared to the ideal parish, as defined by the Diocese in their report “Indicators
of Parish Vitality.”
3. Using the survey date and the results from the parish leaders’ evaluations, the first
draft of the pastoral plan was written. Parishioners were given opportunity in February 1998 to
comment on the plan via a parish meeting or written comments. The plan was revised in March
1998 in light of parishioner suggestions. This became the second draft.
4. Between April and October 1998 three people from the parish met with seven other
parishes in our geographical area to discuss our parish plans and look for ways to strengthen our
faith. Representing St. James were: Father Mullane, pastor; Billie O’Malley; and Chuck Popp.
5. The Parish Consultations Committee revised the second draft of the pastoral plan in
light of discussions with our neighbor parishes. This third draft was then presented to the
parishioners. Like with the first draft, parishioners had opportunity to comment on the plan via a
parish meeting or written comments.
6. This final plan is a result of suggestions made by Diocese representatives. The
complete Parish Plan is on file at St. James and with the Diocese for those who may wish to
review it.
Parish Priorities
Priority 1: to provide future expansion of the parish building and grounds.
(Indicator of Parish Vitality #1: Growth)
Providing for the future needs of the parish is listed as the top priority because the Mass
surveys indicated that this was the top concern of Parishioners. This fact was already known to
the parish leadership from the parish meetings held to formulate the Mission Statement.
The following objectives are identified.
Objective 1-1: secure additional office space by January 1, 1999. This has been accomplished
by the conversion of the old convent into the Evangelization Center.
Objective 1-2: secure additional parking near the church and school by July 1, 1999. This has
been accomplished by the purchase of the last two homes located on the school block.
Objective 1-3: secure land for a future St. James campus by November 1998. This has been
accomplished by the donation to the parish of prime land, ideally located on the corner of
Townhall and Squaw Prairie Roads, Boone County.
Objective 1-4: conduct a parish-wide “Townhall Meeting” on or before June 1, 1999 to
discuss possible uses of the donated land. This was accomplished on May 19, 1999.
Objective 1-5: establish the “Art and Architecture” committee by July 1, 1999 to begin the
process of reviewing potential designs for a church that would seat 1,200-1,500 at a given Mass.
This has been accomplished with the appointment of parishioner Jerry Kenney as Chairperson.
Objective 1-6: by July 1, 1999 provide training for parish leadership in meeting the space
needs of the Assembly. This was accomplished by registering Billie O’Malley to attend the
National Conference on Environmental Art for Catholic Worship in October 1999.
Priority 2: to provide a high-quality youth ministry program for our parish high school
students, so that their faith might be strengthened and an experience of Christian community be
developed among them. (Indicator of Parish Vitality #2: Youth)
Youth ministry is listed as the second most important priority because the Parish Mass
surveys indicted it was the next most important subject after growth issues.
Objective 2-1: appoint an active, aggressive youth ministry director by January 31, 1998.
This has been accomplished with the appointment of parishioner, Larry Steinke.
Objective 2-2: provide space by January 1, 1999 for the Youth Ministry Director’s office.
This has been accomplished with the creation of the Evangelization Center.
Objective 2-3: by July 1, 1998 establish a regular system to disseminate information on
Youth Ministry Programs. This has been accomplished with the mailing to parish members a
three month Youth Ministry Activity Calendar.
Priority 3: to reach out to non-practicing Catholics and the poor and disadvantaged so that they
might live out their faith supported by the parish. (Indicator of Parish Vitality #3:
Evangelization)
Evangelization to the needy is identified as the third most important priority as this was
indicated in the Mass surveys. This is confirmed by the Parish leadership’s day-to-day interaction
with the people of our faith community.
Objective 3-1. : by January 1, 1999 hire a vibrant talented Music Director to stimulate interest
in the Mass and provide a positive image to the guests of our parish. This was accomplished with
the hiring of Betsy Muraski.
Objective 3-2: by January 1, 1999 provide office space for all active parish offices so that the
individuals may adequately plan and prepare their department's activities. This was
accomplished with the establishment of the Evangelical Center.
Objective 3-3: by July 1, 1999 regularly place notifications in the parish bulletins advising
parishioners of the parish food pantry and other available resources. This has been accomplished.
The leadership of St. James believes that this pastoral plan will benefit the parish greatly by
outlining specific ways in which we may better seek the reign of God and practice gospel values.
At the same time we realize that either parish priorities or, more likely, some objectives may
change over the next year. Therefore we intend to annually review our complete pastoral plan to
maintain its relevance to the parish. In particular, the needs of space created by growth will be
monitored closely. Any changes to the plan will be communicated to all parishioners.
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