MICHIGAN CITY – Nearly 40 people gathered for the St. Stanislaus Asset-Mapping Event as an opportunity to explore ways that the parish and community can better partner.
The Jan. 23 event was part of the parish’s Sacred Places Capital Campaign.
The event began with groups of participants touring the parish facilities, including the school, church and resale shop.
During the three-hour event, St. Stan parishioners sat down with community leaders in businesses, education, government, social services, faith and philanthropy from throughout Michigan City and LaPorte County.
Sarah Jones, of Sacred Places, explained the importance of asset mapping as a win-win for the parish and the community.
Jones pointed out that parish property is used more than just for Sunday Masses; they have a civic value. A study revealed 81% of the people who use sacred places do not worship there – they can be seen as community centers.
She also shared the financial impact a parish has on the community. According to Jones, St. Stan’s contributes roughly $4.5 million to the community, including salaries, services used, goods purchased, etc.
Participants broke into groups and were given six broad areas of assets to brainstorm ideas, including physical, economic, and individual (people, professions) assets of both the parish and community. Ideas were written down on individual sticky notes. The groups then took individual assets and paired them to spark valuable new ideas, initiatives, and community partnerships. One such idea was a basketball fundraiser which would include students, teachers, police and firefighters.
Sacred Places will compile all the data and meet again with the parish. The parish will then start to reach out to the community and begin putting some of the ideas into action.
Caption: Participants write down asset ideas during St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish’s asset-mapping event on Jan, 23. (Deacon Bob Wellinski photo)