Abstract
The purpose of this project was to respond to an
urgent need within the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.
Over several years an attempt had been made to provide
an umbrella (i.e. diocesan standard) formation program
for parish volunteers engaged in various pastoral and
liturgical ministries. This effort appeared to reach
fruition as "The Volunteer Ministry Institute" when
the part-time employed Coordinator resigned. Shortly
thereafter, during a review of annual budget
priorities, it was determined that the Coordinator
position could no longer be funded by the Diocese. A
promising program appeared to be at its end.
The present endeavor is an attempt to resolve
this situation. It encompasses a three phase plan, of
which the first phase - development of an Individual
Handbook for Formation - is addressed in this writing.
