Mr. Jason Shanks
Secretariat Leader for Pastoral Leadership
1933 Spielbusch
Toledo, OH 43604-5360

Welcome! The purpose of this page is to provide resources, contacts, links and information relating to parish Pastoral Councils and pastoral planning.

The mission of the Office of Pastoral Planning: Conscious of the needs and concerns of the Church of Northwest Ohio and urged by the Gospel imperative to "feed my lambs, feed my sheep," the Office of Pastoral Planning will strive to assist pastors/pastoral leaders and parish pastoral councils to minister effectively to their parishioners by planning realistically to meet the spiritual, formation, sacramental and outreach/service needs of their people. The office will also endeavor to assist, resource and collaborate with deans and deaneries to creatively and realistically evaluate, update and implement the deanery pastoral plans.

Pastoral Councils (or Spanish Version ) for a the 2007 revised Pastoral Council Guidelines as well as other resources for your Council, including:

• processes for selecting Pastoral Council members
• commissioning Pastoral Council members
• blessing Council members
• prayer service for first Council meetings with new members
• orientation for new members
• Pastoral Council Facilitator / Leader Information Form

Enhancing Parish Vitality - learn about the parish vitality assessment process designed specifically for the parish of the Diocese of Toledo by pastoral professionals in the Diocese. This process helps parishes learn about the parishioners' perceptions of the parish and compares them with what is actually going on in the parish. A Peer Review Group made up of parish professionals from outside the parish helps by interpreting the material and making recommendations. This information gives a Pastoral Council solid information to guide the pastoral planning for the coming years.