Town Hall Meetings Move Diocese Closer To Final Strategic Plan

Over the past four weeks, more than 3,000 parishioners from the Diocese of Evansville sacrificed an evening to become a more active and direct part of the strategic planning initiative within their deanery. A town hall meeting was held in each of the seven deaneries in the diocese, and while some attendees expressed disappointment or concern about specific recommendations, the overall sentiment seemed to be gratitude for being included in the process.

“Certainly this is a very sensitive and emotional issue for many people, and everyone deals with change a bit differently,” said Tim McGuire, chief operations officer for the diocese and the principal presenter at each of the town hall sessions. “But overall, the feedback we have gotten from attendees is that they appreciated being able to express their opinions and concerns.”                 

The purpose of the town hall meetings was two-fold: 1) to provide Catholics within each deanery with a snapshot of their core team’s current proposal, regardless of what stage of completion that proposal happened to be in; and 2) to gather input from parishioners that could be utilized by the core teams to finalize their plan recommendations, which are due to Bishop Thompson by March 31.

Based on all available information from other dioceses, the idea of sharing strategic planning information with parishioners and gathering input during the process is unique to the Diocese of Evansville. In most other dioceses that have undergone strategic planning initiatives, a small group worked through all details in private, then the final plan was presented to the larger community.

“Bishop Thompson was very interested in gathering local input and taking advantage of local knowledge,” explained McGuire. “That’s why we decided to hold the town hall meetings, which is really an unprecedented step.”

During each town hall meeting, McGuire presented general information about the assumptions and guidelines that each core team has been asked to follow during their monthly meetings, which began in October 2012. Immediately following this presentation, audience members were invited to ask questions about these assumptions and guidelines, or about any other facet of the strategic planning process.

Once these questions were addressed as fully as possible, a member or members of each deanery’s core team shared the group’s specific plan. This was followed by a period where members of the audience were encouraged to provide input on the plan to be taken into consideration by the core teams as they move forward.

While each meeting was open to all attendees, members of the media were encouraged not to attend. In every community, local media respected the diocese’s request for privacy.

“We’ve very grateful for the opportunity we were given to work through some of these issues as a Church family, without worrying about people being quoted or photographed,” said McGuire. “Once all plans are finalized, we will be sharing them with all parishioners and with the community at large.”

“We know we are in this together”

Holy Rosary Church, Evansville, parishioner Greg Wathen didn’t exactly jump for joy when his pastor, Father Bernie Etienne, recruited him as a member of the Evansville East Deanery core team. The Tell City native has known Father Etienne and his family for years, and he said that swayed him to say yes, even though he had some reservations.

“My initials thoughts were to run,” said Wathen. “But it was a very quick decision to say yes.”

Wathen said his core team struggled to reach a consensus through the first several meetings before finally experiencing a breakthrough during a late January meeting. He said that during that meeting (the final one before the town hall), the team “realized that over the course of the past few months a great deal of consensus had actually been reached.”

Tom McAtee, a parishioner of St. John Church, Loogootee, and a Washington Deanery core team member, said the initial mood of his group “was one of apprehension as to how exactly we would be able to impact the fate of the parishes within our deanery.”  

“But with the assistance of the facilitators (Alan Hoffman and Gayle Ubelhor), the mood of the meetings became one of truly having the opportunity to have a voice in the fate of our deanery,” he said.

McAtee admitted that he came into the process with “preconceived notions” about what changes should take place. But he said those notions were “tempered and altered by considering and respecting differing opinions from other team members.”

Rebecca Wright, a member of Blessed Sacrament Church, Oakland City, said she felt called to contribute as a member of the Princeton Deanery core team. She also said the members of the Princeton core team “were a little reserved at first.”  “After seeing the data at the first meeting concerning the entire diocese, we all knew that what we were getting into was of dire importance for our deanery,” she said.

Wright said things changed for the better once the core team members from various parishes got to know one another. “We were able to open up our hearts to each other and speak sincerely,” she said. “We know we are in this together, and we banded together quickly to stand up for each parish in the deanery. There was no, ‘what about my parish?’, only ‘what about the deanery?’”

Strengthening our ministry for the future

Now that the town hall meetings have been completed and all information gathered has been turned over to the core teams, it’s up to each team to finalize its plan over the next 30 days. Once all plans are finalized, they will be turned over to Bishop Thompson for his review and approval. After seeking input from several advisory groups, including priests of the diocese, Bishop Thompson will publicly disclose the full diocesan plan in June or July. 

Wathen said he hopes to a see “a diocese better prepared for delivering the liturgy as well as facing the challenges ahead in coming years, along with strong support for the recommendations from members of each parish.”

McAtee, who went through a similar process back in the late ’90s when the churches of Martin County became the first in the diocese to experience linking, expects that some Catholics will initially view the changes in their deanery as a “bitter pill.”

“Over time, though, I think people will realize that (strategic planning) was necessary and that it provides an opportunity for all to continue to practice their faith as members of an extended worship community,” McAtee said.

Wright said she’s eager to see what the final plan looks like. “I think we've poured our hearts into this process,” she said. “Whatever happens, we know that we can deal with it in a positive manner.”

For his part, Bishop Thompson said he is praying every day for the Holy Spirit to guide him and the entire diocese in this process.

“I tell people wherever I go, please pray for me. These are challenging and emotional times for all of us, but they also represent a unique opportunity to bring new life and new vitality to our church, and to strengthen our ministry for the future.”