Please be sure to visit The Church Engaged website to read a very nice letter published in The Criterion from Fr. Frank Kordek, OFM, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Indianapolis:

Parishes across the archdiocese [of Indianapolis] are using the Clifton StrengthFinder (SF) and Member Engagement Survey (ME-25), which are two research-based assessment tools developed by the Gallup organization, to help parishioners identify their talents and enhance engagement in their faith communities.

By Sean Gallagher

It’s not uncommon for parish leaders from one faith community to another to share the same concern: They depend too much upon too few regular volunteers.

Several parishes across the archdiocese are currently using two programs developed by the Gallup organization—known worldwide for decades for its skills in accurate polling—to determine how to enhance parishioner engagement by helping them to utilize their God-given talents and “do what they do best.”

Gallup analysts review the results of a simple 25-question survey called the ME-25 completed by parishioners. Their analysis will indicate to parish leaders the percentage of parishioners who are actively engaged in the life of the parish, are only minimally engaged or are actively disengaged from the faith community.

Using those survey results, parish leaders are encouraged to develop two or three modest but concrete objectives with action steps to be implemented over a 12-month period. All objectives are designed to meet the goal of strengthening parishioner engagement.

The StrengthsFinder assessment tool helps individuals learn their top five God-given themes of talent. Parishioners are then encouraged to reflect upon and begin to discern how to use those talents for growth and service.

Holy Spirit Parish in Indianapolis began using both programs last fall.

Steve Day, a member of the parish’s stewardship and development committee, sees a lot of positives coming out of the programs.

“We’re hoping that it’s going to make people stronger spiritually and enjoy the ministries they participate in more because they’ll be more tailored to the strengths that they have been given by God,” Day said. “As a result, they’ll do them more enthusiastically and with more fervor than they may have in the past.”

Last fall, some 1,200 Holy Spirit parishioners completed the ME-25 survey. Albert Winseman, who helped develop the Gallup programs, spoke to parish leaders in November. And during Lent this year, several groups of parishioners completed the 20-minute StrengthsFinder assessment and met regularly to learn more about their talents and how they relate to their life of faith.

“They can use the results of the [StrengthsFinder] survey in a lot of ways in their lives,” said Father Joseph Riedman, Holy Spirit’s administrator. “We try to encourage them to use them here. And they can use them in other ways in their lives. You could use it when you’re looking for a job.”

Lynda Miller, a member of St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in Indianapolis, has helped oversee the use of StrengthsFinder in her faith community. She thinks it can be especially useful in reaching out to new parishioners.

“We’d like them to do the StrengthsFinder before they get too heavily entrenched in something that may or may not be working for them,” she said. “If you’re not happy with the [volunteering] job you’re doing in the parish, you may stop or you may leave the parish. The important thing is to find something that satisfies people and suits their skill set.”

Suzie Didat, the business manager of St. Mary-of-the-Knobs Parish in Floyd County in the New Albany Deanery, thinks the Gallup programs can help Catholics overcome a way of looking at themselves and at service to the Church that was common in the past.

“I’ve always been taught that if you’re not strong in one area, you need to look at ways to change and grow and adapt to that,” Didat said. “This comes from the opposite end. You discover what your strengths are and then gear your activities more toward those strengths.

“That will empower you to draw more people into the community and be involved.”

Staff members at St. Mary-of-the-Knobs Parish and several of its lay leaders have taken the StrengthsFinder test. A daylong workshop on the program in the parish is set for May.

“I am so hopeful that it will just jump- start volunteerism,” Didat said. “We have a lot of volunteers now, but it’s the same volunteers.”

Father Daniel Mahan, executive director of the Indianapolis-based Marian College Center for Catholic Stewardship, helps parishes use the Gallup programs in the context of stewardship of talent and time. He sees great potential in the programs.

“Those who are engaged are the ones who are serving much more,” said Father Mahan. “They’re inviting others to participate in Church activities. And they are giving, to the tune of three times as much as those who are not engaged or who are actively disengaged.”

He also thinks that the Gallup programs are good because, from the start, they are focused on being able to measure accurately their rate of success. It’s very much tied to outcomes.

“We’re looking for real outcomes in terms of service: The hours that people are spending in service in the parish and throughout the community, how many people have invited someone to participate in a Church activity over the last month, and giving as a percentage of income,” Father Mahan said.

But beyond the tangible ways in which the program’s success can be measured, he also emphasized the positive influence they can have on parishioners’ souls.

“When you get a person to become engaged in the parish, … it’s amazing how much more open they are to the spiritual counsel that’s offered in homilies, the extra programs that are offered in the parish,” Father Mahan said. “ … Engagement leads to spiritual commitment in many, many cases.”

(The Marian College Center for Catholic Stewardship is sponsoring a summit on strengths and engagement on Oct. 22. For more information on it or the center, call   317-955-6152  or log on to www.marian.edu/stewardship. For more information about Strengths and Engagement programs, log on to www.allaboutchurchengagement.com.) †

http://www.archindy.org/criterion/local/2009/04-17/gallup.html

Fr. Daniel Mahan talks with Patrick O’Meara of O’Meara, Ferguson, Whelan and Conway about why we have reason to hope amidst this difficult time in our economy.

Click below to listen to the podcast.

http://omearaferguson.com/blog/economy-building-projects-and-capital-campaigns-hope-amidst-difficult-times

Fr. Daniel Baraca, OFM shepherds the parish community at the Mission of Santa Barbara.  Since 1783 the Franciscans have sown the seeds of faith in this beautiful part of the world.  Thousands of visitors and pilgrims make their way along the mission trail to Santa Barbara each year, and I count it as a singular blessing to have had the privilege of leading a Lenten mission there March 28 – 31, 2009.  

On the plains of eastern Nebraska stands the parish church of St. Joseph.  This Lincoln parish has been learning about and practicing stewardship for many years.  The pastor, Msgr. Liam Barr, is a firm believer in the the practical spirituality of stewardship.  This large suburban parish supports many thriving ministries, including a school that is solidly focused upon its Catholic identity.  The school children reverently participate in Holy Mass every morning of the school year.  I had the privilege of preaching a Lenten mission for the parish March 21 – 25, 2009. 

On March 14 – 17, 2009 I presented a Lenten mission for the delightful parish of Our Lady of Mercy in Harborcreek, PA, just outside the city of Erie.  Hospitality is a trademark of the parish, and St. Patrick’s Day did not come and go without a proper celebration.  Msgr. Gerald Ritchie is pastor.

The Lenten season typically keeps me on the road.  I am scheduled to preach parish missions every week during this season of penance and renewal.  Here are some photos from my recent stops:

 Offering a Day of Reflection for pastoral ministers of the Diocese of Lafayette (Louisiana, USA) at Assumption Catholic Church in Mire, LA.

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church was the site of the parish mission that I gave to begin the Lenten season.  Fr. Gil Dutel is pastor there and was a wonderful host.  Dining on seafood in Louisiana hardly counts as a Lenten penance!

St. Helen Catholic Church is a thriving parish in Georgetown, Texas. (Georgetown is just north of Austin).  The parish is focusing upon stewardship as a way of life during 2009 and the Lenten Stewardship Mission fits perfectly into this emphasis.  The Mission talks will be given at 7:00pm each evening, March 9 – 11.  All are welcome to attend.

Several years ago during a trip to Los Angeles I had the opportunity to visit Azusa Pacific University.  The campus shows much evidence of its Christian identity and the students whom I met seemed genuinely committed to their faith.  A key part of the Azusa Pacific experience is the opportunity for each student become a steward of the unique gifts that he or she has received from God.  Stewardship of talent involves the following:

• Awareness of the gift of talent, which leads to a profound sense of gratitude;
• Taking responsibility for the gift by acquiring  knowledge and skills that turn raw talent into strengths; and by
• Sharing ones strengths by living a life that makes a difference in society and in the Church.

A video from Azusa Pacific describing the strengths-based approach to education is found on the website of The Church Engaged.  Please take a look at the video and leave a comment.  Can you see the connection between what Azusa Pacific is doing for students and what the Church can do for its members?

“The Church Engaged” website features today a post that links to an important paper on how parishes can survive these difficult economic times.

http://all-about-church-engagement.com/six-ways-to-think-about-church-finances-during-difficult-times

I am grateful for the invitation to participate in last weekend’s Conference for Religious Educators of the North Region of the Diocese of Lafayette (Louisiana, USA), held at Our Lady of the Angel’s Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana.  Pictured with me is Msgr. Robert Romero, pastor of St. Landry Catholic Church in Opelousas (center) and the bishop of Lafayette, the Most Rev. Michael Jarrell.

The conference participants were enthusiastic and receptive in learning about the Spirituality of Stewardship, especially in how it relates to the recognition of the gifts of talent that the Lord so generously bestows upon each of us.  I discussed with the group the ways in which one can recognize his or her own talents, with a special focus upon the Clifton StrengthsFinder instrument.  Many of the participants purchased a copy of the Catholic Edition of Living Your Strengths and told me that they were looking forward to learning more about their God-given talents.  (See the bottom of this webpage for more information about Living Your Strengths).

If you are in Acadiana and would like to participate in a similar conference, please mark your calendar for Saturday, February 28, 2009.  I will be speaking in Mire, LA at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church.  You may contact Janeth Harrington for more information:  337-258-0073.  The public is welcome, the registration fee is $5.00.