Pastoral Council
The pastoral council is here to listen, learn and communicate with parishioners and each ministry team, as well as with our neighbors outside the parish, to discern the future course of parish life. We are a visioning body that guides the work of the various ministry teams and parish leadership. Our hope is to gain the trust of the entire parish as we pray and work together to continue the growth of Saint Thomas More parish.
Click here to contact members of the Pastoral Council.
A 5- Year Pastoral Plan
In August of 2010 the Saint Thomas More Pastoral Council, under the direction of our pastor Father Don Farnan, forged a draft of a Five-Year Pastoral Plan for our parish.
Click here to read the draft of the Pastoral Plan
Pastoral Council Listening Sessions, 2009
In 2009, the Pastoral Council again offered listening sessions to parishioners to look at the current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats at St. Thomas More. The following is a synopsis of what was shared.
Strengths
It was heard several times that one strength at STM is generous parishioners who are willing to help with time, talent and treasure. Good liturgy, music and the choir were also repeatedly heard. Other strengths shared are the diverse ages throughout the parish, the welcoming at Mass and mass attendance, our charity focus and our Parish school and staff, especially Fr. Don, John O’Conner and Blake Mulvaney. Our ministry teams are a strength, as well as good relationships with other organizations and the community and more young families coming into the parish. Our parish school was also repeatedly cited as a strength, particularly its focus on children and our faith, the technology improvements, the anti-bullying program and the strong numbers in our school.
Our large parish was identified as both a strength in regard to resources and community and a weakness in regard to it being easy to get lost. Active and varied ministries, the pastoral council, Knights of Columbus, That Man is You, Futures Team, Guatemala trips and out reach programs were additional strengths specifically identified.
The capital campaign is a strength with the creation of the narthex, elevator and parking expansion. There is stability in the parish and our location in south Kansas City is seen as a positive.
Weaknesses
Weaknesses in our parish that were identified include the experience that some are not open to change, the gossip, a lack of respect for others, a liberal/conservative polarization and intolerance. It was repeatedly shared that even though STM has made progress on welcoming, there continues to remain a lack of inclusivity and a polarization where some people still do not feel welcome. Families who do not send their children to STM identified often feeling excluded or not welcomed. Despite a strength being a wide range of ages represented in the parish, one weakness is the lack of interaction between them as well as a lack of ethnic diversity in the parish. Parish staff are stretched too thin and priests are over worked.
It was shared that we need better preparation and training for volunteers and we need more volunteers, especially young people. There is a lack of adult education programs and prayer groups, lack of programs for people in crisis (financial, job loss, marriage, health, family problems, life‘s difficulties), as well as a lack of opportunities to deepen spirituality and share with others. Also, some of the activities offered are during the day and people’s work schedules prohibit them from being able to participate.
Additional weaknesses include the current level of tithing and funding for education, our need to keep teachers salaries competitive, a lack of leadership for youth, not enough activities for singles and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is not offered frequently enough. There is an identified need to improve the sound system in the gym and the church and technology in the parish offices need updating. Communication was also consistently heard as a weaknesses throughout many areas.
Opportunities
There were many opportunities identified for our parish that include, improving communication, developing a life skills and job skills program and a program for people to meet other people, bringing back name tag Sunday, develop youth programs and involvement of youth in parish, hire a youth minister, change vacation bible school to the evening for working parents, create a more active singles program, increase Hispanic participation at mass, provide English as a second language, have cantors/ushers ask people to move over in pews to make room for others coming in, proximity to Avila and the Sante Fe Trail, continue our emphasis on inclusivity, grow volunteer base for children’s ministries, create an adult day care program, continue each ministry meeting its full potential and effectiveness, increase home visits by parishioners, review and receive Vatican II views, our relationship with St. Louis parish, to use technology to help educate and communicate with parishioners and providing opportunities for people and couples without children to get involved.
Threats
The threats to our parish that were identified are an aging population, apathy, the polarization among parishioners, negativity toward others and criticisms and complaints. Some expressed a fear of retribution for expressing opinions, the priest shortage and inadequate support for priests and lack of Spanish speaking priests. Over control or interference by the Diocese was also consistently reported. Additional threats were a lack of interest from youth and adults, families loosing connections when children finish school and again, poor communication. The discussion in the dioceses regarding the possible transition to tuition was probably the most often identified threat to our parish.
Items addressed
Following are items identified from the SWOTs that have been addressed:
- Creating a better website. The parish launched a new look to the website in July 2009, and the school followed in August.
- More gathering space and meeting space needed. The renovations at the church created several new spaces for gathering.
- The capital campaign success and progress. The church was reopened the weekend of Sept 12, 2009
- Availability of parking. A new parking lot was built that offers additional parking spaces
- Have all parents who coach attend ethics or sportsmanship meetings. Beginning the 08-09 school year, one parent per family is required to attend a Play Like A Champion workshop.
- Resource teachers in the school need more help. A full time special education coordinator was hired in the school with funding support from STM-for-All fund raising and para professionals are also present to work with specific children.
- Inclusion of new families that start at the school. Buddy family system was organized in the school where a new family is paired with a family who has been at STM. The buddy calls the new family to be sure they know of upcoming events and is available to answer any questions. The formation of the Adult Faith Formation Committee and the many offerings this fall.
- There is a person from Catholic Charities available to assist people impacted by the economic situation.
