Strategic Planning

St. Pius X Parish Strategic Planning Vision

Achieve a strong and energized culture of discipleship in St Pius X that, built on the strong foundation of our parish history and utilizing our physical campus, creates an environment in which God’s presence is evident in our day to day lives, throughout our communities, and which invites people to the Church and to Christ.

St. Pius X Parish Mission Statement

We, the members of St. Pius X Parish, are a Roman Catholic family of faith rooted in the Eucharist, nourished by God’s Word and faithful to the sacramental life of the Church. We are committed to welcoming every person we encounter with the love and mercy of Christ. We strive to imitate Christ in all that we say and do. We are committed to teaching and sharing the Gospel, to supporting one another in prayer and action, and to reaching out to those in need, so that, as a community of disciples, we can embrace our parish patron’s call to “restore all things in Christ.”

Five Global Challenges of the Fourth Diocesan Synod

  1. Liturgy and Worship
  2. Family Life
  3. Evangelization
  4. Leadership
  5. Catechesis and Education

Global Challenge to be addressed: Catechesis and Education

Rationale for Choosing this Challenge

  • A direct response to issues/concerns highlighted in the Disciple Maker Index. People of the parish report that they do not feel sufficiently equipped to have conversations about their faith with family and friends and are often uncomfortable sharing their personal witness story.
  • We at St. Pius X believe that this Synod objective is critical — to lead ourselves individually and as a community to a deepening relationship with Jesus in and through his church.
  • It is important to energize all ages and demographics through lifelong education and multiple opportunities for faith formation, resulting in a growing and sustainable faith community.

Statement of the First Goal

To strengthen and renew the ministry of faith formation in our parish through multiple forms of education, ministries, and witness, so that parishioners are empowered to share their faith and feel equipped, confident, and comfortable in the work of evangelization.

Action Steps

  • Action Step #1
    The Strategic Planning Task Force will review programs available for faith formation, especially adult faith formation, such as “Alpha,” and “Forming Intentional Disciples,” make a recommendation for parish use, and oversee the implementation of the program.
  • Action Step #2
    We will hold a “Living in Love” marriage enrichment weekend, which will help married couples to grow in the gift of their marriage, and simultaneously invite and equip them to participate in a marriage-preparation ministry to the engaged.
  • Action Step #3
    The Strategic Planning Task Force will work to develop a plan which will offer resources for growth in faith, both in person and remotely (e.g. multimedia electronic resources, literature, ministry activities). This plan will take into account the existing physical campus and utilize our buildings to their fullest potential.
  • Action Step #4
    We have established Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on the first Friday of every month, inviting parishioners to deepen their spiritual life.

Global Challenge to be addressed: Leadership

Rationale for Choosing this Challenge

  • For a parish of the size of St Pius X, we need many leaders to achieve our goals and objectives today and into the future.
  • As Bishop Caggiano has highlighted: it is so important to staff our “army of leadership” in order to work with our parish communities in a spirit of collaboration to drive results.
  • It is essential to develop a “pipeline of leaders” so there is always a constant flow to “step into” leadership positions and to help support and mentor current leadership within the parish.

Statement of the Second Goal

To foster a model of parish leadership based on developing a pipeline of leaders from the parish to grow and enrich our faith community and offer a sustainable way to address our needs and the needs of the surrounding community.

Action Steps

  • Action Step #1
    Make current parish leadership known and visible throughout the parish.
  • Action Step #2
    Research other approaches and best practices in leadership development, including what is being done at other parishes.
  • Action Step #3
    Hold a ministry fair to invite wider participation in parish ministries and offer information about existing ministries to all parishioners.
  • Action Step #4
    Connect with the Diocese of Bridgeport Leadership Institute to understand services currently and prospectively offered and encourage a forum to share best practices.
  • Action Step #5
    Create a map of current ministries to the demographics and life stages of our parishioners. Perform a fit/gap analysis to identify demographics not currently served by existing ministries.

Temporalities and Administrative Challenge to be addressed: Buildings and Facilities

Rationale for Choosing this Priority Area

The Faith Center construction project begun in 2012 remains incomplete. Additionally, ongoing building maintenance is needed. With the new efforts of the Diocesan Real Estate office to encourage energy efficiency, it is a good time to examine ways in which our facilities can be completed and functioning for the service of our parishioners and the broader community to grow spiritually.

Statement of the Third Goal

To maintain all buildings in such a way that they are welcoming, efficient, and available to support all parish needs and our long-term strategic goals.

Action Steps

  • Action Step #1
    We will complete the Faith Center Offices.
  • Action Step #2
    We will, in conversation with the Parish Finance Council and in conjunction with the Diocesan Real Estate Office, implement recommendations from the Energy Audit so that our facilities can be more energy efficient and up-to-date.
  • Action Step #3
    We will examine the feasibility and scope of restoration/repair work to be done in the Church building.

In addition to goals corresponding to two of the Diocesan Synod challenges, Strategic Planning teams were asked to answer the following question:

If you had the ability to respond to a third pastoral challenge, which would you choose and why?

We believe, based on our discussions and initial thoughts about our detailed action plans for the two pastoral challenges, that some of our results should have an impact on the other three pastoral challenges — in different ways and degrees. It is our plan to keep track of this as we move forward with our plans and measurement requirements.