Make the Most of the Return to Mass – Releasing Talents in the Parish

I have had many recent conversations with Bishops and priests who are planning to return to the regular celebration of Mass on Sundays. I have been inspired by their hope, courage, and focus.

What strikes me most is their passion to see COVID recovery through the lens of opportunity, “What does the return to Sunday mass make possible?” Rather than focusing on the problems such as sanitizing, organizing, and uncertainty, these leaders are re-framing COVID recovery into a positive opportunity for tremendous good.

Rather than focusing on the problems such as sanitizing and organizing, Pastoral leaders are re-framing COVID recovery into a positive opportunity for tremendous good. Share on X

Last week, I started a three-part series on this blog to share a selection of ideas and strategies I am hearing from Pastoral leaders around the world. In the first week, I shared three key insights: Prioritizing the Kerygma, Make Every Sunday Testimony Sunday and Parish Reset. If you missed that post, you could find it here.

This week, I want to share some of their insights on “Releasing Talent”.

COVID restrictions shut down the public celebration of Mass. This created an acute need to do live stream liturgies. Parishes were forced to purchase equipment, learn how to use it, get YouTube accounts set up, solicit subscribers, etc. Some parishes did not go to live stream because it involved a lot of work. Some parishes did live stream very well. A few parishes set it up in April 2020 and never improved production over the course of 14 months. From what I hear, 100% of the parishes that executed live stream Mass well and improved it over time, did so because a small group of laypeople were invited by the Pastor to take responsibility. 

It was a classic case of talent recruitment gone well. Pastors 1) identified the opportunity to conduct live stream Masses, 2) recognized the gap in their own experience and expertise, 3) identified a few parishioners that can take on this important work, 4) made the pitch and secured the talented volunteers. Finally, the Pastors allowed these volunteers to enhance the production over time through a series of brainstorming sessions asking, “How can we make this better?”

By tasking the lay volunteers with the responsibility to execute live stream productions and by giving the lay volunteers the authority to make changes, the Pastoral leaders released talent in their parish for the sake of building the Kingdom. 

By tasking volunteers with the responsibility to execute Livestream productions and the authority to make improvements, the Pastoral leaders released talent for the sake of the Kingdom. Share on X

Here is the key point. Parishes were forced to engage a talent management process to get live stream Mass up and running. However, talent management should be standard practice for all areas of parish life. Pastors should never experience the isolating burden of being the only producer in any area of parish life.

Parishes were forced to engage a talent management process to get live stream Mass up and running. However, talent management should be standard practice for all areas of parish life. Share on X

Talent recruitment of competent laypeople should be employed everywhere: strategic planning, facilities management, financial oversight, construction projects, volunteer training, sacramental preparation, marriage mentoring, etc. The role of the Pastor is to equip the saints for the work of ministry. He is like a quarterback, putting the ball in the hands of the right person, at the right time, for the benefit of the entire team. 

Pastoral leaders equip the saints for the work of ministry. Like a football quarterback, putting the ball in the hands of the right person, at the right time, for the biggest gain. Share on X

I believe with all my heart that there is an untapped reservoir of talent in every parish, that if mobilized, could lead to transformational impact.

I believe with all my heart that there is an untapped reservoir of talent in every parish, that if mobilized, could lead to transformational impact. Share on X

Here is a four-piece model for releasing and managing talent at the parish.

Assess. Identify the competency gaps. Thoroughly analyze every program and area of parish life. Does the leader lack the competency necessary to move the program forward? If so, can the leader be developed to bear more fruit or moved into another area of ministry? But it might be time to allow others to rise into leadership.

Acquire. Once the competency gaps are identified, new leaders must be recruited and retained for service. Fr. Bob Bedard, founder of the Companions of the Cross and one of the pioneering leaders in the parish renewal movement, was famous for his ability to recruit talent. He called it “waiting on the Lord.” He was confident that if the Lord was inviting the parish to launch a new program or continue something that had been declining for years, the Lord would make it obvious who could take it on and thrive.

Develop. Even the best leaders need on-going formation. It is never enough to solicit a volunteer and let them lead a parish program for years without making an investment in their personal development. Even the best leaders will become stale, with no further growth.

It is never good to let a volunteer lead a parish program for years without any investment in their personal development. Even the best leaders need further growth to stay sharp and effective. Share on X

Transitioning. It is important to develop a leadership Pipeline in the parish. This means committing to a process of continual assessing, acquiring, developing, and transitioning leaders. Too many pastoral leaders leave their best people in place too long. Catholic tertiary institutions have term limits for the most senior positions. For example, a Catholic College president rarely serves longer than 10 years. Parishes should embrace that same mindset. Leaders should be re-assigned to new areas and room should be created for new leaders to step up.  

Parishes should embrace the same mindset. Leaders should be continually re-assigned to new areas and the room should be created for new leaders coming in Share on X

Parish communities can introduce talent management practices by helping parishioners understand their strengths, spiritual charisms and personality types.

• Clifton Strengths Finder is an excellent tool to help increase self-awareness.
• St Catherine of Sienna Institute’s Spiritual Gifting Inventory is another tool.
• Finally, the Myers-Briggs Personality Type indicator is another tool that helps people understand the way they lead, interact with others and process information.

When parishioners know themselves well and are known well by their leaders, they can be released into areas of responsibility to flourish and bear much fruit. 

When Winston Churchill said, “Never waste a good crisis,” he wasn’t speaking about temporary adaptations to get through a tough time. It is about leveraging the momentary crisis as a burning platform to bring about deep, transformational, organizational change. The coronavirus has created this kind of crisis for the Church. The lockdown has been an interruption to the celebration of public Mass, but a disruption – and hopefully a transformation – to the sense that co-responsibility is necessary to move from maintenance to mission. 

Opportunities like this are rare. The crisis is forcing us to innovate and align to what was envisioned by St. John Paul II when he called for a new evangelization – “one that is new in its ardour, new in its methods, and new in its expression.”