I have some sad news–the Pastoral Planning Office of the Diocese of Cleveland has been closed. David DeLambo, a contributor to this blog and most recently the Associate Director of that Office, confirmed the news to me in a personal e-mail:
At the end of the day on April 26th we were told by Bishop Richard Lennon that the Pastoral Planning Office of the Diocese of Cleveland was being closed due to diocesan budget reductions as of Monday, April 30.
The Diocese of Cleveland opened the Pastoral Planning Office in 1970. It was one of the first in the country. The office convened the first national meeting of pastoral planners, which evolved over time into the Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development (CPPCD). We are proud of the history and legacy of our office.
I have given 15 years of dedicated service to the Diocese of Cleveland and have loved it; Rick has given 32 years. It was an honor for us to serve our local church.
We are now in the process of redesigning our lives and seeking new opportunities to continue living our vocational call to serve the Church with the gifts and experiences with which God has blessed us.
We look forward to exploring new generative possibilities to be of service in the Church as well as the wider community.
-David
David, I have no doubt that God still has important work for you, and I’ll quote Michael Cieslak…“Both David DeLambo and Rick Krivanka are giants in pastoral planning and research.”
If people are looking to pick up some talent, here’s a golden opportunity—David’s e-mail address is ddelambo@gmail.com. Rick’s e-mail is rkrivanka@gmail.com
This is unfortunate. One assumes that the tasks of this office will be passed to a few priests and/or a committee of lay men and women who might or might not have the statistical and sociological training that the office staff had. God willing this is the far extreme in a pendulum swing and more such offices will start to come back in upcoming years.