Here is some more noteworthy work carried out by the Pastoral Center in FY 2022.
Evangelization and Family Life Ministries
The Office of Evangelization and Family Life Ministries provides ministerial support for English and Spanish-speaking Catholics in the Archdiocese of Denver. Below are a few highlights from the variety of retreats, workshops and initiatives that were carried out last year:
- The Family Ministry team hosted numerous workshops for marriage preparation leaders throughout the archdiocese.
- Launched a new formation program for marriage preparation leaders in the Hispanic community called “Diplomados” and look forward to introducing a similar program to the English speaking community this upcoming year.
- Developed plans to increase the availability of NFP training in the Spanish-speaking community by introducing a brand new NFP method with the Family of the Americas. Over 30 lay people are in the process of being trained to offer this important resource to couples. Additionally, the family ministry team continued to meet with and support children’s faith formation and family ministry at our parishes.
- The Youth and Campus Ministry team continued to offer life-changing and world-class conferences to the youth of our archdiocese. This year, the annual Mountain Madness retreat served 1,000 middle school youth, while the Steubenville of the Rockies conference served 1,700 high school youth.
- The Youth and Campus ministry team also offered a number of formation and retreat opportunities to local youth ministers.
- Hosted Encuentro events for middle school, high school, and young adults serving around 300 young people.
- The evangelization team hosted trainings for RCIA leaders this year, with an emphasis on reaching Spanish-speaking leaders.
- The evangelization team also hosted a number of evangelization workshops for lay leaders.
- The office also continued to provide close support to a number of lay ecclesial movements operating within the archdiocese.
Marketing & Communications
The Office of Marketing and Communication (MarComm) continues to equip, inform and inspire the various parishes, ecclesiastical organizations, schools and other Catholic entities within the Archdiocese of Denver.
Last year, the MarComm team spearheaded a total re-branding of the Archdiocese of Denver and its various entities. The re-brand included a sleek and modern new logo, uniform design elements and a completely re-designed main website. Additionally, this new look has extended to other archdiocesan ministries such as Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services, Centro San Juan Diego, the Office of Catholic Schools and others. This co-brand initiative seeks to not only unify the archdiocese’s branding but also de-silo the various ministries across the archdiocese and facilitate a greater sense of teambuilding.
Another huge accomplishment from last year was the execution of the Archdiocesan Synodal Process. This included the planning and design of both web and print collateral which was distributed to all parishes, as well as communicating key information related to the synod to pastors and parish representatives. Further support was provided at the Archdiocesan Discernment Event, including the design of presentations, banners and handouts.
This past year also brought exciting additions and new features to Mission Support for parishes, which remains a top priority for the archdiocese. When a parish is seeking Mission Support, the process is now much more streamlined thanks to the Mission Support Concierge role, who ensures a parish’s request gets where it needs to go. Furthermore, the Mission Support website now features a new and improved Knowledgebase featuring important documents, processes, information and more for parishes to access at any time.
Last but not least, the archdiocese’s flagship publications Denver Catholic and El Pueblo Católico continue to deliver high quality, authentically Catholic content that informs, inspires and engages through their beautifully-designed print magazines and websites. In addition to printing 14 magazines that were delivered to 80,000 locations, the publications also experienced substantial growth in digital readership last year with nearly five million pageviews collectively as well as considerable growth in social media audience and engagement.
People Support
The Office of People Support maximized efficiency in 2022 with the hiring of four roles to optimize operations and continue offering critical support and services to the employees of the Archdiocese of Denver and its various entities, most especially parishes. These roles included a Benefits Administrator, Talent Coordinator (to help invest in talent efforts-recruiting, hiring, professional growth), Employee Relations Specialist and a new Business Systems Administrator in IT to support and enhance key systems.
Last year also brought a number of exciting new benefits for current employees and new initiatives to help attract new candidates. A paid parental leave policy was officially launched for employees who welcome a new child into their family. The team also developed a fresh New Hire process to attract, hire and retain candidates and streamline the overall process internally.
In an effort to provide ongoing education and formation to employees, the Offie of People Support began to co-lead monthly training days for business managers to help build community for mission and present relevant and timely information to help them succeed in their jobs and assist parishes. Additionally, they launched weekly communications to business managers with similar relevant and timely content. Furthermore, they were able to retain a new retirement plan consultant to invest in education for employees on their retirement plans and offer better support in administering retirement plans, as well as begin the process of pension plan conversion to 403(b).
Office of Design and Construction
The Office of Design and Construction witnesses the continued vitality of the Archdiocese of Denver through the multiple design and construction projects at our parishes, schools, and cemeteries with their repairs, remodels, and new construction.
The office assisted various parishes and ecclesiastical organizations in completing several major construction projects totaling over $16 million, including: parish hall remodels and additions at Light of the World, St. John the Evangelist (Yuma) and St. Vincent parishes; a building addition and new rectory at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Loveland; phase one of a remodel at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Classical School; and a new playground at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School.
Moreover, there are several major construction projects that began in 2022 with a total starting value of over $8 million which the office is actively involved in around the archdiocese, including: school remodels at St. Stephen and St. Louis (Englewood) Catholic Schools; phase two of the remodel at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Classical School; a parish center remodel at St. Dominic Parish; a parish hall addition at Ascension Parish; a new rectory at Our Lady of the Mountains Parish; and repaving the parking lot at Our Lady of Fatima Parish.
To date, between 96 and 122 projects are being managed with a total estimated project value of between $140 million and $160 million. The office continues to advise the parishes, schools and cemeteries in being good stewards of their resources by providing tools and practical expertise in best-value project management practices.