Strategic Visioning Update: February 17

by Katie Ong, Strategic Visioning Consultant

The Strategic Visioning Committee continues to meet every Saturday to work on the visioning plan for the diocese. They are currently re-writing the mission and vision statements, and they expect to ask for feedback on a draft at some point in March.

In addition, they have interviewed a number of people across the diocese to test whether the information collected in the Bishop’s Search two years ago is still relevant. Despite some changes in the diocese due to the pandemic, most of the conversations confirm what they learned in 2019. So, in a slight change to the original plan, the committee will re-examine those surveys and listening session notes in order to determine the areas of focus for the plan. At that point, they will ask for feedback and invite additional people to develop the goals and action steps for each of those areas.

As part of learning what is possible, the committee is researching ministries, programs, and organizations across the country that do some of the work that we are considering for The Diocese of Missouri. They are asking, “Why did these groups make these ministries a priority, how did they bring others along with them, and what particular conversations did they have with community partners?” The committee will use this information to inform the working groups as they develop goals for the plan.

Finally, once these groups have drafted goals (about the end of April), the committee will host a series of listening sessions throughout the diocese, as well as send out surveys, asking for feedback and additional input. The committee will use the information collected in that final round of data gathering to finalize the goals and write the strategic visioning plan in June.

Please look for updates on the strategic visioning process on the website and in future editions of iSeek.