Jon Delano, president of the Diocese of Pittsburgh’s Diocesan Council, describes the work of Project CREED:
What is God calling us to do here in the Diocese of Pittsburgh in the 21st century, and how can we redesign the tools in this diocese that can most effectively help us answer that call?
In a very real sense that is the mission of a Diocesan-wide task we are about to undertake in Project CREED — “Committee to Re-Envision the Diocese of Pittsburgh” — sometimes referred to as our Mutual Ministry Review.
Under the leadership of Bishop [Dorsey] McConnell, the three leadership groups of the diocese — the Board of Trustees, the Diocesan Council, and the Standing Committee — have embraced a process that could, if we choose, lead to substantive change in this diocese. That change could affect all of us in a number of ways. Because of that, every member of this diocese is invited to be part of this review. In the end, whatever recommendations are made will be presented for debate and approval by your deputies at the 2019 Diocesan Convention next November.
The Bishop has asked me to serve as Team Leader with the expert skill and guidance of an outside consultant, Judy Stark, from St. Petersburg, Florida. Judy, who has consulted on 16 bishop searches across the nation, brings a wealth of knowledge of the broader Church and how dioceses approach the issues we confront.
Let me be clear. We are not undertaking a study to be filed away in some church archive. This is a comprehensive review that will lead to an “action plan” for consideration at our next Convention.
We have identified four target areas:
Governance — Rightsizing the Structures of the Diocese
Mutual Ministry Within — New Initiatives for a 21st Century Church
Mutual Ministry Outreach — Reaching Out to Our Neighbors
Communications — Strengthening Trust Through Contact
