Mar 9 – Acceptance of the Strategic Plan

 Today, in the place of our monthly conversation groups, we held a community meeting to voice acceptance of our Strategic Plan. At the meeting, we were invited to ask questions for clarification of this final draft of the plan. We then went around the room stating our acceptance. A majority of us supported the plan and/or were willing to invest what is asked of us to move forward. A few did not support the plan and gave the reasons for their position. A handful of brothers chose not to comment. Finally, we discussed a few particulars related to how we got to this point and the going forward implementation and immediate action items.

The acceptance of our Strategic Plan marks the end of a planning process first proposed by Fr. Mark in 2015. We held several workshops and conversations over the past year. We worked through several drafts before arriving at this final version. Many of the action items are tentatively set to begin in the coming months. Several initiatives will last for months and a few will stretch into the coming years.

For details on previous steps in the process see Jan 12 – Responding to Strategic Planning, Dec 14 – Strategic Planning – Strategies and Initiatives, Nov 30 – Strategic Planning – The Issues, Oct 26 – Focus on Strategic Planning, and July 25 – Strategic Planning Process Kickoff.

about Strategic Planning Process

The purpose of this initiative is to facilitate a highly interactive strategic planning process that will enable New Melleray Abbey to study its current environment; reflect on its mission and core values; convene its community to develop a strategic plan; discover a greater sense of direction (vision); design an action plan for the first year; and ensure that the plan is implemented over the next 3-5 years.