Administration Pillar

There are 5 organizational functions within the Administration Pillar that require discussion and decisions prior to Activation. (As a reminder) the Activation Phase refers to when parishes begin to work together developing a transition plan working to form parishes into a Family. Development of a Family Pastoral Council (FPC) and Family Action Plan (FAP) are the most important outcomes of this phase, which lasts until Inauguration.

For all six Pillars, the Family needs to determine not only its overall goals, but its annual goals for each Pillar for years 1, 2 and 3 of operating as a Family of Parishes. Once all pillar discussions have concluded, fill in all of your annual goals.

The Family Action Plan is a compilation of all of the goals and decisions made by the 6 Pillar Groups:

It determines how the Family will function in all areas of being Church through the duration of the plan’s life. 

The following is a list of the pertinent information needed for your Family of Parishes Administration Pillar Group. 

Parish Form: This Form should be completed by a parish group to “take inventory” of what the parish currently has in place, I.e., its strengths, limitations and what it’s lacking within this pillar. This completed form prepares each parish for its first Pillar Group Meeting.

1. Communications
   • Who is your current parish voice and data vendors? (i.e. telephone, internet)
     • Prepare copies of all communications and invoices with description of services
   • Does your parish have a website? 
     • Who is your current parish website plan through? What do you pay monthly/quarterly/annually?How often is the website updated? 
     • Do you have a regular website maintenance person? 
     • Do you analyze your website’s traffic?
       • How often? Are there reports generated?
       • What do you use the information for? 
     • What is the current bandwidth available for your parish?
       • Wifi throughout your campus? 
       • Do you live stream? 
       • Zoom? TEAMS?
       • Do you have remote workers? 
2. Central Office Logistics
   Every FoP will need to have a “Hub” parish, which is a parish that is using diocesan payroll already. The “Hub” parish will handle the financial aspect of shared expenses for the Family, including payroll. The “Hub” parish does not necessarily have to be the Central Office location if better options are available. 
   • Is your parish currently on Diocesan payroll?
   • Do you think your parish would be a candidate for the Central Office location? (Y/N)
     • Why or why not? Describe the advantages of your parish location.
     • Are there any disadvantages of being a Central Office location for the Family?
3. Finances / Budgeting
   • What finance and budgeting reports do you monitor and analyze on a monthly basis?
   • Are you operating in a deficit or a surplus at this moment?
     • How long has your parish been trending in this direction? 
4. Parish Plans
   • Do you currently operate using a parish plan? 
   • If not, what current goals is your parish working on? How far along are you in accomplishing those goals for the year?
     • Does your parish have any major events coming up in the next 3-5 years that need to be celebrated? (Parish anniversaries or other milestones)
5. Human Resources/Principles/People/Positions/Functions 
   • Human Resources/Principles
     • Does your parish have an HR department? 
     • Does your parish have a handbook? Has it been distributed? Is it utilized? 
6. People/Positions/Functions
   • How many staff members are currently employed at your parish? 
     • Do you feel you are understaffed or overstaffed? 
     • Are there necessary functions or ministries that aren’t available?
   • Create a list of all staff members with the following characteristics:
     • Name, position, main responsibilities, full or part time, onsite or remote