Pastoral Planning, Parish Vitality & Mission Integration

The Office of Pastoral Planning, Parish Vitality, and Mission Integration supports the bishop and diocesan leadership in the disciplined evaluation and long-range planning of parish life throughout the Diocese of Portland. It provides a consistent framework for examining pastoral, demographic, financial, and organizational realities so that parish communities can be strengthened, remain mission-focused, and stay rooted in the Gospel and the mission of the Church. 

In collaboration with other diocesan offices, pastors, and parish teams, the office assesses parish and cluster conditions through careful analysis, broad consultation, and informed discernment. It integrates data with pastoral context to help align diocesan and parish resources with pastoral priorities, and generate practical outputs such as parish/cluster profiles, planning assumptions, decision frameworks, and recommendations for next steps. The goal of the office is to support constructive dialogue and decision-making by clarifying options, and strategic pathways forward, especially when questions of sustainability, capacity, and mission impact arise. 

Overall, this office helps the diocese steward its temporal and pastoral resources responsibly, strengthens parish vitality, and promotes coherent mission integration across the state—so that parish life can remain a faith-filled, vibrant, and missionary presence for years to come.