Viable parishes have the financial, people and property resources, and are able to mobilize those resources, for their common vision and mission. They have sufficient income streams to resource and grow their mission and to provide and maintain buildings to support the needs of their mission and ministries. Their diverse sources of income enable them to serve their local communities in a sustainable way. They openly share their spiritual, ministerial and material resources with others for the benefit of the whole of the Archdiocese.
The Viable Parish dimension of this Framework is about the effective stewardship of resources in the service of proclaiming the Gospel.
Depending on the circumstances, this may be the most urgent area to address, especially if a parish is experiencing financial challenges. Missionary renewal rests, in no small part, upon the optimal use of resources and assets.
‘And indeed, which one of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if you had enough to complete it?’ Jesus asks his followers (Lk 14:28).
Before any serious planning takes place, it may be a matter of priority to review the ongoing viability of parish assets.
But while the serious consideration of ongoing viability is important for some, this dimension of the Framework has relevance to every community of faith, regardless of their people, property, or financial situation. There is always room to grow in these areas.
The Venn diagram of viability
The three focus areas are:
Financial sustainability
Capable and effective teams
Optimal use of land and property
Like the other dimensions, each aspect of viability, while able to be seen separately, are actually best viewed interdependently:
- Employing a capable and effective team and achieving optimal use of land and property will require financial investment.
- Financial sustainability and optimal use of property is difficult to achieve without a capable and effective team.
- And optimal use of land and property may contribute to financial sustainability which in turn will support the employment of a capable and effective team.
Effective stewardship of these three sets of resources is challenging, as managing each resource requires a unique skill set. While discerning and exploring this dimension of the Framework, there are a number of resources available in the pages below.
We encourage parishes to also draw on the expertise in the CAM Stewardship Team for support in developing management practice.
