Deanery Planning Brings Opportunity:An unprecedented opportunity to create a vision for the future is underway in the St. Petersburg Diocese.
Launched in the fall of 2008, the Deanery Planning Process was prompted in light of anticipated shortages of priests, shifting demographics and the challenges of accessing and utilizing resources. This diocese sees it as a means to better position deaneries to serve the faith community.
The diocese is divided into seven deaneries: Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, East Hillsborough, West Hillsborough, Upper Pinellas and Lower Pinellas. Deanery Planning is being piloted in the parishes of lower Pinellas and Citrus. Eventually, all deaneries will participate.
Deanery planning started when each parish underwent a self assessment. Through a survey, parishioners provided input on different aspects of parish life and ministry. A parish leadership team compiled the survey results, and then presented those results to the parish through various communication tools, including town hall meetings where parishioners were provided a platform to ask questions and discuss the information.
Using information from the meetings, parish teams then submitted recommendations to the deanery that addressed the key issues: declining number of priests, shifting demographics and accessing and utilizing resources.
Similar initiatives have been taking place in dioceses across the United States for more than two decades. While this diocese isn’t dealing with many of the circumstances of many of those older metropolitan dioceses, even here, one-third of our pastors are over the age of 65, Burns said. This makes the priest shortage a growing concern that the diocese is choosing to address now.
“We may not be in crisis mode today, but in another 5-10 years we may be in a different position,” Burns said. “We asked ourselves what can we do now to position our deaneries to better serve our faith communities?”
To get to know other parishes within their deanery, pastors and parish representatives are visiting their “neighbor” parishes. The visits will help the deanery team to come together and discuss potential strategies.
“In taking these first important steps, we hope through lay and clergy dialogue and input, recommendations will be coming forth that will help shape the vision that will guide our local church in the years ahead,” Burns said.
-Janet Shelton
