The Bishop’s Committee on Diocesan Pastoral Planning is ready to move to the next phase now that it has completed its overview of the Pastoral Planning Phase I – Assess. This phase was dedicated to the gathering of information and conducting Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis to determine the strategic point of the Pastoral Plan. The next phase will begin with the Pastoral Planning Forum set on May 18, 2017 at San Antonio Parish Social Hall.
On February 23, 2017, Bishop Ryan Jimenez established the Pastoral Planning Executive Committee to develop the pastoral plan for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chalan Kanoa. Pastoral planning is referred to as the act and process of discernment of what God desires for, or of, a parish and/or Archdiocese, described in documents, structures, and plans (Archdiocese of Hartford, 2012).
To begin the work of the committee, Bishop Ryan Jimenez laid out the framework of the pastoral plan which is expected to include the following: 1) Vision Statement, 2) Mission Statement, 3) Core Values, 4) Ministries/Priorities and 5) Action Plan. The bishop also called upon the members of the committee to keep in the forefront of their planning that our mission is that of God’s people, using the discernment process that honors God’s will, and acknowledging information and data that will help strengthen our faith and the diocese.
The planning process is expected to engage the clergy, the religious sisters, the parish councils in each parish, and members of our communities such as the youth, the elders, the various catholic organizations and ministries, and others. As we journey in the development of the pastoral plan for the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, it is the hope of the committee to engage active participation through planning, consultation and leadership of the diocese communities.
Thus far, the work of the committee centered around information and data collected from all 13 parishes on Saipan, Tinian and Rota. The information was provided through listening sessions hosted by Bishop Ryan, through documentation recorded at the Diocesan Office, and through consultation with parish members and individuals within our island communities.
After two months of collection and compilation of information and data, the committee performed a SWOT analysis to determine the strengths (what our diocese does well), weaknesses, (refer to any limitations within the diocese), opportunities (situations that exist but must be acted on if the diocese is to benefit from them), and threats (external conditions or barriers that may prevent the diocese from reaching its objectives) that exist in our parishes and are experienced by our parishioners.
This report provides the first phase of the planning process which is referred to as ASSESS. This phase includes information on sacramental reception over a 10-year period, the Parishes, the Commissions formed and their purposes, the various non-Catholic faith-based denominations, the Religious Sisters, and the vocation/ordination(s) within our diocese. The report also includes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis to help determine the strategic point of the Pastoral Plan.
STRENGHTS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS (SWOT) ANALYSIS
