Philadelphia Archeparchy Is Embarking on The Process of Creating Its Pastoral Plan
In the spirit of the Pastoral Planning 2030 in the global Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) mandated by His Beatitude Sviatoslav and the Synod of Bishops, the Philadelphia Archeparchy is embarking on the process of creating its specific pastoral plan.
“This journey, which started during our Sobor, will take several years. As we try to strengthen the spiritual life of our parishes and each person among us, we will be applying proven management concepts to address the current challenges in our archeparchy including evangelization and catechesis, youth and family ministry, vocations, social outreach, and temporalities. Our goal is to continue and strengthen the mission of the Church confident that it is the Body of Christ and that the Holy Spirit is working in our midst,” wrote Archbishop Borys Gudziak in his letter announcing the process of the strategic planning.
The reflection and dialogue started during the Archeparchial Sobors held throughout October 2019 – January 2021 when the delegates from different deaneries and parishes gathered together for offline and online meetings. They discussed the legacy, the present challenges, and the future of the Archeparchy. The Archeparchy invited volunteer сonsultants Guy Camarata and Chuck Newbecker. They have been previously working with the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation (Chicago), Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv), the Patriarchal Curia of the Ukrainian Catholic Church (Lviv), as well as with other Church and non-profit organizations.
For three days (August 11-13), the Archepachy held a series of meetings to launch the process of planning. Archbishop Borys shared the general framework for UGCC 2030 Pastoral Development Strategy. Chuck and Guy shared their strategic planning methodology. Clergy, religious, laity of the Archeparchy, and representatives of different organizations participated in person and virtually.
