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Yesterday, in the middle of my fourth Zoom meeting, I had a pastor and a principal from a parish and school in the Midwest exclaim, “You know, by the time this is over, we all are going to be experts in the field of virtual communication! Who would have ever thought that this would be one of the primary ways we would conduct business, build relationships, and reach out to our constituents?” No truer words have been spoken.
With every passing day, there are two dominant thoughts that keep coming to mind: What a wonderful time to be part of a Catholic school faith community! And, what a wonderful opportunity all parishes have to reach out and affirm the faithful and engage the fallen away! Please allow me to explain both of these, and then in this SPECIAL EDITION Newsletter # 3, I would like to suggest some checklist items for Catholic schools and parishes – mostly based upon the best relationship-building practices from many Catholic leaders throughout the country, and from some of our students (principals, pastors, presidents, advancement directors, marketing directors, etc.) taking the ISPD/University of Dayton on-line classes this spring.
We are now branding our SPECIAL EDITION newsletters with the title of From Crisis to Challenge to Change. We all have been/are in crisis mode; we all are challenged on a daily basis; and, we all are forced to change and adapt to new norms (Please see SPECIAL EDITION Newsletter # 2 on the ISPD website – www.ispdconsulting.com). For some, this has been and continues to be difficult. Yet, while we wake up every morning not knowing exactly what the day is going to bring, we all can be proud of the two dominant thoughts I mentioned above. Let’s talk about our Catholic schools first.
In addition to everything that other schools and systems (especially public and charter) are offering to their students, our Catholic schools are offering faith. We are teaching the Gospel message; students (and families) are being led everyday by prayer; lessons plans are intertwined with messages and teachings that are designed to bring people closer to Christ and Christ closer to people. Catholic schools are not only teaching English and Science, but we are also teaching Religion; prayer services and morning prayer are the norm; Catholic values are being reinforced, and now – more than ever – the three dimensions of Catholic education (student – teacher – parents) are alive and connected like never before. What a time to be part of a Catholic school faith community!
I had a principal ask me two days ago, “What am I going to do? We need to address our enrollment for 2020 – 2021. What are my best steps?” While I totally understood the question, my answer was, “How much have you let people know what your Catholic school is doing now, especially in regard to your mission and Catholic identity? In a world where there is so much uncertainty, and we do not know what tomorrow will bring, your Catholic school is offering three things that are so precious – hope, a strong sense of family/belonging, and a solid faith-based education. Promote that the most!
With our Catholic parishes, I had a conversation this past Monday with a pastor of a 2,000-member church in Ohio. While he was concerned over many issues, he said, “Frank, as Catholic church leaders, now is a great time to spread the wonderful teachings of our Catholic faith! Although differently than ever before, we now have ample opportunities to reach people – many who have never connected with us before yet have been in our church database. You know what we are seeing now? People we haven’t heard from in a long while are now participating in prayer services, joining my evening prayer hour, downloading our spiritual growth opportunities, and signing up for spiritual on-line retreats. We are reaching out to them now – in a personal way – by calling and asking how they are doing and can we serve them in these challenging times. We are having a great time building our faith community!”
Here are some relationship-building suggestions for your Catholic school and parish. Perhaps these can serve as a checklist, full-well realizing many of you are leading the way with some of these activities.
Checklist of Relationship-Building Suggestions for Catholic Schools
THEME: NOW IS THE TIME TO BUILD YOUR COMMUNITY!
- Personal phone calls to parents (by principal, faculty/staff, advancement personnel, advisory council members, etc.)
- How are you doing?
- Do you need anything?
- Let me share some positive updates
- Any questions about anything?
- We are here for you! Together, we will get through these times.
- Zoom (or whatever you are comfortable with) meetings with parents by class (one or more classes at a time) by the principal
- For agenda items, please see above
- Student leaders host “SOME GOOD NEWS” sessions via video, Zoom, etc.
- 3-5 student leaders share “SOME GOOD NEWS” every week – closing with an invitation for people to e-mail the school if they would like to serve on an ad hoc team that will reach out to others in the school community to see how they are doing.
- Personal phone calls to financial leaders (by president and/or principal, advancement director)
- All of the above agenda items + THANK YOU for all you are doing and continue to do.
- Brainstorming/Planning Sessions via Zoom Meetings with parents, alumni, parishioners, parents of alumni, benefactors, boards, and councils, etc.
- Positive updates on the school
- Challenges the school is facing at this time
- Open discussion on possible solutions
- Thank you
- Senior/Alumni Connection (members of the Class of 2020)
- Seniors reach out to alumni throughout the country via phone to check and see how those alums are doing
- Talking points
- Introduction
- How are you doing?
- Positive things going on at school
- Let us know if you need anything
- Talking points
- Seniors reach out to alumni throughout the country via phone to check and see how those alums are doing
- Zoom meetings with alumni classes (hosted by class reps and school official like principal, president, alum director, advancement director, etc.)
- Introductions with each class member sharing how they are doing
- Positive things going on at the school
- Challenges the school faces
- Suggestions from the class members on the call on how to solve those 2-3 challenges
- Let us know if you need anything
- Virtual Coffees with Principal
- Same agenda as Zoom meetings with parents
- Calling Tree to Current Parents (by parent leaders)
- Same agenda as parent phone calls
- Virtual Admission Appointments (by principal, admissions director, advancement director)
- Have form on school website where parents interested can connect with someone for information via a virtual tour and Zoom meeting.
- State of the School Webinar Message to All – Bi-Weekly (by president and/or principal) – via GoToWebinar or Zoom Webinar or any other vehicle where two-way communication can be accomplished
- Opening Prayer
- Positive School Updates
- Challenges School Faces
- Ways to Get Involved
- Please Let Us Know How We Can Be of Assistance to you
- Formation of a National/Regional Advisory Board of 8-12 Alumni Who Live Out of Town or Past Parents (by president and/or principal) – meet monthly via Zoom
- Opening Prayer
- Introductions/Thank You
- Positive updates on the school
- Challenges the school is facing at this time
- Open discussion on possible solutions
Checklist of Relationship-Building Suggestions for Catholic Parishes
THEME: NOW IS THE TIME TO BUILD YOUR COMMUNITY!
- Personal phone calls to elderly parishioners (by pastor, staff, parish council members)
- How are you doing?
- Do you need anything?
- Let me share some positive updates
- Any questions about anything?
- We are here for you!
- Zoom (or whatever you are comfortable with) meetings with ministry leaders and members of their ministry by the pastor, deacons, parish staff, etc.
- For agenda items, please see above
- Personal phone calls to financial leaders (by pastor, development director, deacons, etc.)
- All of the above agenda items + THANK YOU for all you are doing and continue to do.
- Parish leaders host “SOME GOOD NEWS” sessions via video, Zoom, etc.
- 3-5 parish leaders share “SOME GOOD NEWS” every week – closing with an invitation for people to e-mail the parish if they would like to serve on an ad hoc team that will reach out to others in the parish community to see how they are doing.
- Brainstorming/Planning Sessions via Zoom Meetings with parish leadership groups and selected parishioners)
- Positive updates on the parish
- Challenges the parish is facing at this time
- Open discussion on possible solutions
- Thank you
- Virtual Coffees with Pastor – open to new parish families within the past year
- Same agenda as personal phone call meetings
- Calling Tree to Current Parishioners (by parish leaders)
- Same agenda as parishioner phone calls
- Virtual New Parishioner Registration (by pastor, deacons, parish staff, etc.)
- Have form on parish website where prospective parishioners can connect with someone for information via a virtual tour of the church and Zoom meeting.
- State of the Parish Webinar Message to All – Bi-Weekly (by (pastor) – via GoToWebinar or Zoom Webinar or any other vehicle where two-way communication can be accomplished
- Opening Prayer
- Positive Parish Updates
- Challenges Parish Faces
- Ways to Get Involved
- Please Let Us Know How We Can Be of Assistance
- Evening Prayer Service via Zoom (by pastor, associate, or deacon)
For years, we have been talking about expanding the ripples (pebble in the pond theory); this is why you need your Core Team, your 120-Day Operational Vitality Team, or whatever you want to call it. As a school and/or parish leader (president, principal, pastor, advancement director, etc.), you cannot do this alone. Please understand the value of people engagement.
Now – in these challenging days — is the time to move forward and build your community. Belonging leads to believing. Right now, more so than ever before, people want to belong. Please invite them. I believe you will be quite surprised at the number of people who will serve.
Here is the link to register for ISPD’s Virtual Catholic School and Parish Development Cohort Session # 4 on Monday, April 13th at 1:00 PM Central: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7686211206826704140
Here is the link to take the third survey which is active now: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LQZJHX5
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