Parishes

Turning the corner in this holy season

December 15, 2021

Sunday, December 12^th we celebrated the third Sunday in Advent. This week is often a turning point in this holy season of waiting and preparation. The tree goes up in many homes, the cookie baking begins in anticipation of Christmas celebrations, the hallways and classrooms at our Catholic schools are adorned with signs of two holy seasons evidenced by the juxtaposition of an Advent wreath alongside a Christmas tree. Our holy yet impatient waiting.

For those of us who mark Advent and make our final preparations in anticipation of Christmas our hearts and minds pause to praise God for the gift of life, the gift of our church, the outreach, the children in Catholic schools and religious education and all those who serve as missionary disciples. Our Savior came to us as a small child. In our Catholic schools we are privileged to experience Christ over and over again in the face of a child, to see the myriad ways in which Christ is present to us in their beautiful faces. In our churches we are privileged to experience Christ in the ways in which we serve the last, the lost, the least and the lonely. And together we experience Christ in one another. And, at this holy time of year, mindful of the deep heartache of many in our nation and world, we pause in a spirit of gratitude. Gratitude for the gift of Christ Jesus as a child and for the many ways we are able to experience the Christ child.

As a faith-based organization, it is a privilege to serve in a setting where the joy of the Gospel is at the heart of our work. Thank you for trusting us, the Meitler team, to accompany you and your school, parish and diocesan communities as your chart the best way to educate, nurture and share the love of Christ with all those your serve.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13)

Jackie Lichter, Ph.D.

Building an Effective Parish or Pastoral Council

December 8, 2021

In the early years after the Second Vatican Council, many dioceses required the establishment of parish councils. These early manifestations of councils looked to the model of local civic councils and tended to focus on dollars and cents issues rather than ministerial ones. Let’s face it: it is much easier to decide the size of the parish budget or the color the hall should be painted rather than strategize about groups of people the parish is not reaching.

In 1983, when Canon Law was revised, the finance council was mandated and each parish was to identify members who would assist the pastor with and monitor parish funds. The pastoral council, often referred to as the “parish council,” was identified as an “elective” council at the discretion of the local bishop in consultation with the presbyteral council to establish. Most dioceses required pastoral councils in addition to the mandate for finance councils. The role of the parish pastoral council – not necessarily the practice – has changed. The pastoral council is to assist the pastor with planning for pastoral activity.

An effective council can be assisted by attention to three areas: organization, operation, and outcomes. Organization has to do with how the council is organized to act. Operation focuses on the scope of the council’s activity. Outcomes deals with the results and impact of the activity of the council. Let’s explore each area in closer detail.

Organization

Every diocese which requires councils has statutes or guidelines for the organization of the council. These should be followed and implemented carefully. After years of working with councils on the parish and diocesan levels, there are several organizational practices which I maintain are essential to an effective council.

Council election or selection should take place every three years rather than annually. Most councils that have annual turnover and elections spend much of their yearly schedule filling vacancies, planning elections, and orienting new members. The council should be a working group that is trying to accomplish some action over a five-to-six-year period. Members can hold up to two consecutive terms.
Council officers should also be chosen for three-year terms.
Nominees for the council must have at least one-year of experience serving on a parish committee or ministry team. It is essential that council members have some understanding of the inner workings of the parish as well as an appreciation for ministry. Not identifying qualified nominees has frustrated many a pastor about the wisdom of even having pastoral councils.
Strongly consider having an all-parish meeting night which begins with prayer, is followed by meetings of the pastoral council and committees, and then leads to reports on highlights of each group’s meeting, and concludes with a social. Finance councils can meet at another time but its members are also welcome to attend.
If the parish is clustered with another or shares a pastor, strongly consider forming a combined pastoral council or, at minimum, meet periodically during the year. The mission of the church is the same. Working together on mission is far more effective and efficient. Pastors also appreciate having fewer meetings each month.

Operation

Too many councils meet regularly but struggle with what they should be discussing and doing. Here are the major areas of focus for a pastoral council.

Must know the present and future realities as well as the parish data. Finance councils have the monthly financial statement and pastoral councils have demographics and annual parish ministry reports. How can a council plan for pastoral activity without know what is going on in the community and the parish itself?
Pastoral councils are to monitor ministerial activity in the parish. Councils should meet at least annually with each committee or ministry group which is leading ministries in order to discuss what is going well and what needs greater attention.
Councils should develop a vision or master plan for future ministry in the parish. Too many parish councils have been watching their parishes decline in membership and ministerial involvement and basically done nothing other than affirm budget cuts and a longing for “the good old days.” The next installment will focus on strategic planning.

Outcomes

God bless the many good and faithful council members who have served without feeling anything was accomplished during their time of service. Pastoral councils need to have accomplishments and outcomes which are significant. Here are some general examples.

A new building project or renovation. Parish leaders and parishioners get very excited about a project that unfolds before their very eyes. The same can be true about developing a new staff position or beginning a new ministry. People can see before their very eyes direct results of a common effort. Fund raisers tell us that parishes should think about a capital campaign every 7 to 10 years.
Much more difficult to assess as well as achieve are the qualitative improvements in parish ministries. There is a big difference between doing something and doing it well even when it comes to ministries. Councils need to work with leaders and parishioners to provide every parishioner with access to quality ministries.
A vision for the future. Too many parishes are locked in their pasts and either want “the pendulum to swing back” or “things to come full circle.” Our faith tells us to look to the future with hope. Parishes need a strong sense of where they are heading and what they are striving to become. Parishes that fail to plan for the future are planning to fail.

Councils will become more effective when leaders and members are committed to improve their parishes into becoming living signs of Christ’s presence.

Change your thinking: Tuition Assistance is a Source of Revenue

November 9, 2021

Tuition-dependent schools, by and large, budget funds to help families afford the tuition. In my experience working with elementary and secondary schools throughout the United States, these funds are usually considered an expense, targeted to the poor, with the poorest receiving the largest grants. This makes sense from a purely social justice viewpoint. But what if tuition assistance was viewed as both a social justice expectation and a revenue producer?

If your school’s enrollment is at capacity with mostly full-paying families, then this article is not for you. For the rest of us who are trying to stabilize or increase our enrollment, or those trying to alter the racial/economic/geographic/academic profile of the student body, let me present something to think about.

I wrote an article in 2010 for Momentum Magazine titled Saving Money Foolishly that still holds true for today. I reprised the main concepts in a Meitler video in 2020. Yet I believe it is a concept that needs to be repeated as often as possible in order to help schools increase enrollment and their revenue stream. The premise is tuition assistance (aka financial aid) is a revenue producer, not an expense, and simultaneously provides access for many families to experience a faith-based education.

When I was an assistant principal in a large, urban Catholic high school, I learned much from the principal, a wise and widely experienced academic leader. One of his viewpoints was that as a Catholic school, we must be compassionate and serve the poor whenever we can. But, he added, we also have to manage that compassion. I learned that part of managing compassion was considering the various audiences that make up our schools. I learned poor families were priced out of my school by thousands of dollars. That they hesitated to even dream about enrolling their child. I also learned that many middle-class families were also priced out. Their gap was less, but still unmanageable. They saw wealthy students and poor students gaining admission but felt left out. I remember attending a conference during which one of the speakers predicted that Catholic schools would soon be composed only of the upper and lower ends of the economic stratum. That we were about to lose the middle-class.

For years as a Meitler consultant I have been preaching about strategic tuition assistance. I have encouraged schools to use their funds to build enrollment at all economic levels. Typically, schools budget a certain amount for tuition assistance then the school provides grants, often to the most needy families, then move up the economic ladder until funds run out. This is not strategic.

To be a revenue source, tuition assistance must increase enrollment. If a school is 20% or more below its staffing capacity, that is, additional students can be admitted to the school without hiring additional teachers, then there are empty seats that produce no revenue. Tuition assistance can help fill those empty seats, albeit at a discount. But in a school with a $10,000 tuition, isn’t $7,000 better than $0? Isn’t $5,000 better than $0?

Tuition assistance becomes strategic when the school directs its funds to maximize the enrollment increase. While we are duty bound to support the poor and least favored in our community, we do not have to dedicate all of our funds to this imperative. A poor family might need $5,000 to attend your school, but 5 middle class families might need only $1,000 to make the tuition affordable.

Here is another way tuition assistance can build enrollment and revenue. I worked with a Catholic high school in the Midwest that wanted to increase enrollment. When we mapped out the attendance area, it became clear that no students from a particular suburb were enrolled. Most likely these families could afford the tuition, but still did not enroll their child. Some quick market research determined that parents in that suburb did not know much about the school because – no one in their neighborhood attended the school! We quickly developed a scholarship for residents of that particular suburb and soon developed a presence in those neighborhoods.

The underlying premise here is that tuition assistance funds are your money. You should spend that money to benefit the school, in this case by increasing enrollment. We have a moral obligation to help the poor, but we also have an obligation to maintain a financially viable school. My specific suggestion is to take your budget for tuition assistance and segment it to maximize enrollment. The largest portion of funds should go to those least able to afford the tuition. The next x% of funds should go to those who need a little help, that is: middle class families. If there is a specific segment of the population you want to attract, that would be your third allocation. It could be for families from a specific geographic area, or students with a skill you want in order to develop an academic program (science, math, fine arts etc.) or students who balance the overall student body (boy/girl, racial/ethnic diversity, etc.).

With strategic applications of tuition assistance funds, you should have fewer empty, non-revenue producing seats, more vibrant classrooms filled with students and more money to continually improve your facility and programs.

Staff as Parish Planning and Leadership Team

November 3, 2021

Parishes need to be organized to function on a daily or operational level. How are phone calls, emails, and office visits processed? Who handles the responsibilities for the various parish administrative and ministerial tasks? How are ministerial activities scheduled and coordinated throughout the year? Most parishes today, in addition to the pastor, have staff members who have been hired to assist with the ministerial responsibilities. All are hired for their skills, including some who may have extensive academic and professional training and experience. Those staff members who are responsible for specific areas of ministry make up the pastoral staff because they assist the pastor with responsibility for these important areas of mission. Other paid staff are often referred to as support, maintenance, or administrative staff because they provide direct assistance to pastoral staff members. These people make the parish operate effectively and efficiently on a daily basis.

Staff positions should correspond to the areas of the Church’s mission. For additional reference, look to Avery Cardinal Dulles’ Models of the Church. These are the areas of mission:

Worship and Prayer
Faith Formation and Evangelization
Outreach to Those in Need
Community Building and Communication
Finance and Facility Administration

Dioceses and parishes use various titles and job descriptions for positions but all parish staff falls under these five areas. Not every parish provides staffing in each area.

Who is ultimately responsible for all the operations of the parish? Canon Law and common sense tell us it is the pastor. Effective pastors realized some time ago that serving a parish cannot be done alone especially if the membership is large. The question about leading a parish and planning for its operation as well as future comes down to “who has influence on the pastor?”

Decades ago, many church-goers would have suggested that the most influential person in the parish was the housekeeper. The housekeeper spent more time with the pastor than anyone and often interacted with more parishioners than the pastor himself. Housekeepers were adept at telling the pastor, “this is what the parishioners are thinking.” Every aspect of parish planning has a group of people who should be the “influencers.” Housekeepers have influence in household matters.

The influencers in daily and operational planning are the parish pastoral staff. There are voices in the church who suggest that pastors should choose a “leadership team” from people he deems to be leaders in the parish. Embrace the resources but not the concept. There are other ways for parishioners to become influencers through councils and committees or ministry teams. The most effective leadership team for a parish is a good pastoral staff. These are the professionals in ministry who often have experience working in other parish settings. They are the ones who should have the pastor’s ear when it comes to establishing daily and operational practices. Staffs should do all the things which leadership teams are asked to do but staffs are present on a daily basis. Staffs not only provide daily support and counsel, but are much better suited to assist the pastor with crisis or emergency situations.

What happens if a parish has no staff members? The easy answer is “very little.” Without a staff, a parish will struggle to adequately provide for a full range of ministries let alone offer them in a quality way. Parishes without staff should take the initiative to join with other parishes to share staff positions and ministries.

What happens if the staff has ten or more members? If a parish staff is going to be most helpful to a pastor, it needs to remain in the five-to-seven-member size. Ministries should be organized into departments or areas of ministries. The departments should have pastor’s staff level “leads” or directors who meet with him regularly and then also meet with those in their ministry areas. The areas of ministry should also include support staff or administrative assistants. There can be quarterly meetings of all the staff with the pastor which includes prayer and socializing.

Good organization in a parish allows for parishioners to have influence on parish ministries and the future direction of the parish through councils, committees, and ministry teams. The staff does not “run” the parish; they lead it in collaboration with the pastor. That is why councils and committees or ministry teams are not responsible for hiring or evaluating staff members. The staff is the pastor’s staff. The pastor undoubtedly wants parish assistance in the hiring and interview process but the final decision on hires rests with the pastor.

Next time, we will explore the role of the pastoral council and how that body can become more effective in leading your parish and planning for the future.

One Year Reflection

October 15, 2021

“Live and do everything in such a way so that if you look back in time, you shouldn’t say that if I had a time machine, I would’ve done it better.” – Immanuel Mohan

As I reflect on the past year, and more specifically, celebrating one year as Managing Director at Meitler, I am filled with a deep sense of gratitude and excitement for what is to come. To say things have changed since September of 2020 would be an understatement. I stepped into this role when our company had been most affected by the pandemic. To some, this would not be the ideal time to step into a leadership position. To me, I saw it as a great opportunity, albeit challenging. The thought of long-range planning was not at the forefront of people’s minds as we all tried to navigate and understand one day at a time. Our company had to be very intentional and remain focused on steering through the crisis. This led to an increase in our marketing efforts, making sure everyone knew we were still around and ready to step in and help. We also had to think differently about the types of services we offer and how we partner with dioceses, parishes, and schools.

Considering the monumental challenges we faced in the past 12 months, I am enormously grateful for where we are today. I appreciate my team within Meitler as well as my partners within Collegium. I’ve valued the conversations, ideas, brainstorming, guidance, and trust of everyone on my team when the path forward was most uncertain. Most importantly, I am so grateful to the entire Meitler team for their support of each other and our clients throughout this intense period. They delivered on important strategic goals, while learning new skills and facing tremendous uncertainty. I am impressed by, and proud of, their grit, creativity, and care, all of which helped pull Meitler through the worst of the pandemic.

The already existing partnerships within Collegium were brought to a new level when Meitler and Ruotolo Associates formed a strategic alliance. Early on we experienced many benefits of forming this strategic alliance, especially for our clients who gain so much from the almost 90 years of combined expertise and service. I am excited as we explore even more opportunities together.

In reflecting on the past year and celebrating our 50th anniversary as a company, I am filled with hope. We continue to uphold the core values and mission that have gotten us to where we are today. We continue to reflect on our current services and find ways to enhance and improve. We have a team that is extremely committed to the Catholic faith and serving others in the best ways we know how. I am beyond blessed for those that surround me, support me, challenge me, guide me, and most importantly, put their trust in me. I will continue to commit myself to furthering the mission of the Catholic Church and cannot wait to see what the next 50 years has in store for us.

Parishes

Organization

Operation

Outcomes

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