These planning suggestions are organized by the month in which the task should be started, generally 6-8 weeks before the actual program or activity takes place.

March | April | May | June | July

March

1. Have parish elementary students draw Happy Easter cards to be distributed to the local nursing/retirement facility and also the local hospital. Provide photos to the diocesan newspaper and local community newspaper of children delivering the cards.
2. Host a community wide Easter Egg Hunt and invite other faith communities to provide easter eggs. Provide photos to the diocesan newspaper and local community newspaper.
3. Host a parish community pot-luck dinner for the RCIA Candidates, their families and sponsors prior to Holy Week to celebrate their journey to full Communion in the Church.  Post a collage of pictures that can be displayed at the Reception following the Easter Vigil services.
4. Plan a Mass of Healing that coincides with World Day of the Sick (March 11).  Advertise the celebration of the Mass throughout your community.
5. Use the resources in the Parish Resource Guide to prepare your parish for the 2010 Catholic Relief Services Collection (national collection date is March 13-14.)
6. Using Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers, ask parish organizations to focus on a different prayer each month over the course of a year.
7. Plan a study day around the document Stewardship:  A Disciple’s Response as a resource to introduce the parish to our call to Stewardship.  Include Stewardship and Young Adults and Stewardship and Teenagers in the discussion and planning.
8. Determine if your diocese benefits from the annual Home Missions Appeal Collection or if a neighboring diocese has benefited in the past.  Ask the diocesan newspaper to highlight a story on how their funding has changed the life and mission of a diocese.  Promote the April 25 annual collection and if your diocese is a designated home mission diocese, invite someone to speak of their personal experience with the appeal.
9. If your parish hosted a gathering for college students during spring break (February), plan a follow up gathering of organizations, parents of college students and key parish leaders to discuss next steps on how the parish can support young adults while they are away at college.
10. As a continued celebration of the Year for Priests, contact the diocese for a list of retired priests along with their current address as well as birth dates and ordination dates in order to send cards and notes to them during the year.
11. As a follow-up to the Ecumenical Lenten Prayer Breakfast, discuss what your parish discovered about local community needs and develop a prioritized list.  Schedule a follow-up gathering with other faith communities on creative ways that these needs can be addressed.
12. In preparation for summer vacation, meet with local school district officials and community leaders on how many children in your area live below the poverty level.  Discuss options for providing one meal a day and/or activities for these children during summer vacation.
13. Order the newly published statement, Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan, and distribute to parish staff members.
14. Promote the March 14 Catholic Relief Services Collection by highlighting ways your dioceses has been served by Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., (CLINIC), and the USCCB offices of Migration & Refugee Services, Justice, Peace & Human Development, and Cultural Diversity in the Church..
15. Visit the Catholic Home Missions website to determine if your dioceses or neighboring dioceses are designated as a Home Mission Diocese, and discover the services that are available to Home Mission dioceses.  Promote the annual collection (April 25) in the parish bulletin.

April

1. Plan a staff or leadership follow-up gathering to discuss the results of the study day (Stewardship:  A Disciple’s Response) and begin to determine the direction the parish can move in the coming year.
2. Plan a parish celebration of Earth Day (April 22) that highlights our roles as Catholics in being faithful stewards of our planet.  Invite children, young people and parish organizations to partner in order to promote different aspects of Earth Day and commit to a follow through during the coming months.
3. As a parish, consider planning a summer study group around Catholic Social Teaching, utilizing the Faith Sharing Booklets.
4. Contact the diocesan Vocations Office for a current list of seminarians that includes birthdates in order to send notes and cards to them.
5. Plan a weekly staff luncheon to discuss Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan, and ways your parish can celebrate married and family life.
6. Conduct an inventory of parish resources and update your parish library by contacting the USCCB Publishing Office at publications@usccb.org. 
7. In preparation for the May 9 celebration of Mother’s Day, research prayers for mothers in Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers or purchase Prayer for Mothers cards that will be presented to all mothers, along with a special blessing during all liturgies on Mother’s Day weekend.
8. Plan a parish Memorial Day picnic after Sunday liturgies to pay tribute to all who have served our country.  Involve children in the planning and encourage their input on how to honor those who have served.  Involve parish organizations in food planning.
9. As part of an ongoing discussion on parish young adults, check with parish families to see which college students will be home for the summer.  Discuss ways on involving them in the life of the parish (musicians, cantors, lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, hospitality ministers).  Set up mini-training sessions for lectors, Eucharistic ministers, etc. that will fit their schedules.
10. Following Easter services, take easter lilies and other flower arrangements to local nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
11. List the names of all catechetical personnel in the bulletin, along with a parish thank you for their efforts during the year.  Invite them to stand and be recognized at one of the Sunday liturgies.
12. Plan an early summer “thank you breakfast” during the early part of the summer for all those who serve the parish in some volunteer capacity.  Ask them to share why their service is important to them, and ask them to name other parishioners who can be invited to serve in various ministries.
13. As a parish staff, discuss the cultural makeup of your community and parish.  Utilize the resources available through the USCCB Secretariat for Cultural Diversity to determine discussion questions.  

May

1. As a parish, get involved in the popular May 5 Hispanic celebration of Cinco de Mayo.  Invite Hispanic members of the parish to share their family and community celebrations of Cinco de Mayo and host a luncheon or evening meal and include traditional Mexican foods, desserts and let the children have fun with piñatas.
2.  For the May 6 National Day of Prayer, host an ecumenical prayer breakfast for community leaders.  Invite parish organizations to send representatives and provide the meal.  Invite young people of the parish to facilitate the prayer service.
3. Invite college students home for the summer to a pizza dinner and evening of discussion on life in college.  Discuss needs of college students that the parish might address.  Invite parish organizations to provide pizza and dessert.  Extend an invitation to those who might be willing to serve the parish on some form of ministry.  Invite recent college graduates to help facilitate the discussion.
4. Utilize several catechetical documents from the USCCB Publishing Office to review and evaluate your current catechetical program.  Invite several key catechetical leaders from the parish to review the documents and work together to plan programming for the coming year.
5. Compile the information from the April staff discussion on culture.  Invite each staff person responsible for a particular ministry to reflect on the information.  As a staff, gather again to share from the perspective of various parish ministries and then determine next steps during the coming months.
6. Use  Pope Benedict XVI ‘s reflections on Mary as a resource to learn more about Mary and her role throughout history and in our lives today.
7. For your parish celebration of Mother’s Day, highlight the lives of diverse women in your community.  Honor culture, generations, achievements, service, and role within the family. 
8. Research how your parish has historically celebrated Mary, honoring her various cultural images throughout history.  What statues/icons of Mary are present in your parish today?  Invite children into the sanctuary to reflect on and learn more about the parish’s devotion to Mary.
9. On the two Sundays prior to the May 16 (3rd Sunday in May), the Catholic  Communication Campaign collection is taken up. Use selected quotes from Pope Benedict XVI from his 43rd message for World Communication Day in homilies, reflections, and small groups.
10. In preparation for Father’s Day (June 20), research prayers for fathers in Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers. Present these to all fathers, along with a special blessing during all liturgies on Father’s Day weekend.

June

1. Following the evaluation of your current catechetical programs, invite diocesan personnel to visit with parish leaders regarding the theme for the upcoming catechetical year, Matrimony: Sacrament of Enduring Love.
2. Utilize Order for the Blessing on the Fifteenth Birthday: Quinceaneras as a resource for families celebrating this Hispanic tradition
3. Provide parish families with information from the USCCB Office for Film and Broadcasting to help parents determine appropriate movies and television opportunities for their families.
4. Use the bulletin inserts and other resources on Faithful Citizenship  throughout the summer months in preparation for the Fall 2010 elections.
5. As a staff, study the bishop’s document, Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan in order to prioritize resources that the parish can provide for married couples during the coming months.
6. Buy copies of the abridged version to hand out to each engaged couple as they begin marriage preparations.
7. For your parish celebration of Father’s Day, highlight the lives of diverse men in your community.  Honor culture, generations, achievements, service, and role within the family. 
8. As a follow-up for your staff discussions and meetings on culture, publish priorities and next steps that the parish will be involved in during the coming months.
9. Celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christ (The Body and Blood of Christ) for the weekend of June 5-6
• With a procession around the parish church or through the adjoining neighborhood.
• With exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the days before the Sunday masses
• By hosting a Holy Hour of Prayer for Life, for Vocations, or Prayer for Peace (texts are available in Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers).
10. Make the beginning of summer a time of blessing using recommended prayers in Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers.
• Lead all students in the Prayer to End a School Year.
• During your last session, bless all of your students using the Blessing of Travelers. Or encourage families to use the blessing before they leave for vacation during the summer.
• If you have young people who are going on a mission trip this summer, invite your pastor or deacon to bless them using the Blessing of Those Going on a Mission Trip before they leave and the Blessing of Those Returning from a Mission Trip after they return.
11. Encourage parishioners to celebrate Father’s Day with block picnics or barbeques.  Invite everyone in the neighborhood, especially the elderly.  Invite children and teenagers to take meals to homebound neighbors.  Use the time to meet new neighbors, renew old friendships and determine some of the needs of families living in the neighborhood.  Consider forming a small committee of neighbors who can begin discussing the needs and possible options for help.
12. Check out the Catholic Campaign for Human Development’s online information on Poverty in America.  Use this resource to learn more about poverty in your community in order to actively advocate for change in your local area.
13. Provide copies of Communities of Salt and Light: Reflections on the Social Mission of the Parish and follow the suggestions on Building Effective Parish Social Ministry Teams.
14. Publish bulletin reminders of the Peter’s Pence Collection, June 27, which unites us in solidarity to the Holy See and its works of charity to those in need.
15. Reflect on the model of Sts. Peter and Paul as we celebrate their solemnity on June 29 by reading about their role in the early Church (Paul, Peter) and further reflecting on St. Paul through the eyes of Pope Benedict XVI.

July

1. Pray the Prayer for Independence Day from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers  at Mass the Sunday prior to July 4th.
2. Research the work of Catholic Home Missions to determine dioceses within the United States, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico who are challenged to provide basic pastoral services to their people.  As a staff, discuss ways your parish might partner with them to support the work of Catholic Home Missions in a particular area.
3. Use the Faithful Citizenship Resources for Parish and School leaders to identify how to address mid-term election issues during the coming months.
4. Send an annual letter of thanks to all businesses and individuals whose advertisements provide funding for parish bulletins.  Publicize those whose ads have provided funding for several years.
5. Honor all parish staff members (including key volunteers) and their families with a dinner to thank them for their valuable contribution to the life of the faith community.
6. Identify which parishioners are residents in assisted living centers and nursing homes in your area. Invite various parish families to create cards for their birthdays and appropriate holidays. Schedule a small group of parishioners to visit each month to deliver the cards.
7. Provide catechetical and religious education leaders with Stewardship and Teenagers and Stewardship and Young Adults to read. Include stewardship with this age group in your catechetical planning for the coming school year.