MERRILLVILLE – A stronger partnership between the Diocese of Gary and the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI) will provide the diocese with important data leaders can use to better define a path forward. The initiative, “Called for More,” looks to strengthen confidence in ministry, enable leaders to articulate a vision for the future and create more vibrant faith communities rooted in Christ.
Bishop Robert J. McClory announced in January the start of the Called for More initiative while taking the opportunity to thank the priests in the diocese for their continued pastoral care to the faithful. He stated the project with CLI was “a tremendous opportunity to begin a two-year revitalization process using data and analysis of ministry to provide Church leaders with focus and courage to engage the culture with an apostolic mindset.”
The Catholic Leadership Institute is a national apostolate that has been serving the Church’s leaders for 30 years. The Diocese of Gary has already been working with the institute in pastoral planning initiatives and will continue partnering with CLI as it conducts a pastoral planning process across the diocese in the months ahead.
“The goal of this engagement is that diocesan leadership will grow in ongoing clarity; the presbyterate will grow as happier, holier priests; and parishes will thrive through growth in faith and community,” explained Bishop McClory.
During this season of Lent, as one of the first steps, the diocese will conduct the Disciple Maker Index in all parishes. The DMI parish survey tool has been used since 2013 in more than 90 dioceses across the country. It gathers feedback, asking parishioners where they are in their journey of faith, both as disciples and as disciple-makers. This data will create a benchmark for the diocese’s community’s faith life.
At the same time, the diocese is inviting priests to reflect on leadership and opportunities for growth. Each active priest is also being asked to complete an online inventory to gain insight into the successes and challenges they face in their ministries and priestly life. .
“I am excited for the potential fruit of these tools,” said the bishop.
As the diocese begins to move into a pastoral planning process in August, Bishop McClory has asked Father Christopher Stanish, vicar general, Father Jeffrey Burton, North Lake dean, and Deacon Brad Hendrickson, of St. Matthias in Crown Point, to work closely with consultants from CLI to facilitate the endeavor. Each parish has already started to identify three key leaders who will assist in the discernment process.
Led by those key leaders, parish members will take a closer look at the issues that face parish communities and begin to develop plans to provide for the ongoing spiritual and pastoral care of the Catholic faithful across the diocese.
Father Stanish shared his appreciation for all those helping to gather sacramental data and other information from the 2024 calendar year. He said the statistics are invaluable to leadership, significantly aiding pastoral planning and implementation.
“We appreciate your assistance in collecting this data,” he said. “Your timely and accurate input is invaluable to us as we strive to better understand and serve the needs of our diocese.”
Father Burton worked with Jim Luisi from CLI for the better part of the last year on the Northlake Pastoral Planning Process. He said the team they’ve assembled includes people with backgrounds in pastoral ministry at both the parish and diocesan levels and also disciples with executive leadership experience. He has been impressed with how they mesh their data-based approach with pastoral sensitivity and sensibility.
“As pastors, we have plenty of anecdotal data about our parishes and our parishioners,” said Father Burton. “This will hopefully give us some empirical data to work with and help us develop meaningful plans for the future.”
He continued, “The pastoral planning process is also necessary. As the present pastor of three distinct parish communities, I’m exhausted and I don’t want that to happen to future generations of priests. It’s very difficult to grow in that sense of spiritual fatherhood when you’re juggling multiple families, and it’s hard for families to share a spiritual father. I really believe a solid pastoral plan will help create stronger parishes and more energized and joyful priests, which will ultimately foster vocations to the priesthood and build stronger disciples for the future.”
