Fr. Phil Ackerman, pastor of Holy Family Parish in the Diocese of Fargo, wants to get his parishioners moving. “I want to call people forth from the pews. I want people to get involved in parish life that have never been involved before,” said Fr. Phil.
But first, Fr. Phil knew he had to get himself moving. “I knew there were things I needed to learn in order to grow as a pastoral leader,” he said. After 31 years in the priesthood and 19 years as a pastor, Fr. Phil enrolled in Catholic Leadership Institute’s Good Leaders, Good Shepherds in July of 2008. He was moving.
Fr. Phil was quick to begin implementing the skills and practices he was learning in Good Leaders, Good Shepherds. The curriculum guides participants through a process to define the key responsibility areas (KRA’s) for their particular role and construct SMART goals to increase their effectiveness. “A top priority for me was to move parishioners away from viewing themselves as volunteers, to seeing themselves as disciples,” he said. Fr. Phil set pen to paper and defined the launch of a parish stewardship council as a key responsibility area for the faithful of Holy Family parish. He coordinated a 15 member council which included representatives from almost every present committee and ministry in the parish.
The difference between this council and others he had established in years past was his well-thought out preparation and organization. He recalls, “the council seemed extremely surprised at how well prepared I was and that I was firm in the capacity I needed them to function. I have Good Leaders, Good Shepherds to thank for showing the value of being well prepared and the steps necessary to get to that point,” said Fr. Phil. Through the council’s efforts, Fr. Phil hopes that parishioners will feel a greater call to serve the parish with their own gifts and talents and like a domino effect, their example will inspire others to serve and the cycle will continue. “We want to foster stewardship by example. It is our hope that others will be inspired to come forth when they see those already involved, living out their ministry with joy and enthusiasm, just like the first disciples.”
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