Introducing PORT: Helping Move Our Parish Forward


Over the past several years, Christ the King has experienced a number of changes in parish leadership, staffing, and the way parish teams and committees operate. As a result, some important areas of parish life have needed additional attention and follow-through.


To provide additional support in identifying priorities and moving important parish work forward, the Parish Operations and Response Team (PORT) was formed earlier this year, bringing together parishioners with a range of experiences, perspectives, and areas of expertise.


PORT's role is to help identify priorities, address operational needs, respond to parishioner concerns, and help move important work forward.

We intentionally spent the first several months working rather than announcing another new parish initiative. We wanted to understand the issues, establish priorities, and—most importantly—demonstrate that we could make meaningful progress. We are now ready to introduce PORT to the parish and share some of what the team has been working on.


What has PORT been doing?

In its first several months, PORT has identified and prioritized more than 90 issues and opportunities—some raised by parishioners and others identified through the team’s own review. The team is focused on clearing hurdles, getting stalled projects moving, restoring things that previously worked well, and responding to concerns that affect parish life.

Some of the work completed or underway includes:


Strengthening Parish Finances

  • Rebooted the Finance Council
  • Launched a Stewardship Committee
  • Expanded the Money Counter team and aligned with Archdiocesan guidelines
  • Established an investment policy, reviewed the current investment portfolio, and outlined a path toward greater returns
  • Identified the need to more quickly acknowledge, report, and process financial gifts
  • Ensured that an audit is scheduled for this fall to assess financial, technical, and other areas of parish operations


Strengthening Leadership and Governance

  • Coordinated a parish-wide effort to recruit candidates for key leadership roles
  • Reset oversight of Rekindle the Spirit and established working teams to move the effort forward
  • Established Pastoral Council committee governance to improve visibility into parish activities


What’s next?

There is still much to do. Some of the areas PORT expects to focus on next include:


  • Re-establishing a New Parishioner Welcome Team
  • Shoring up parish IT infrastructure
  • Launching a Parish Suggestion Box
  • Expanding the Parish Life agenda


These are just some of the priorities identified so far. PORT’s role is not to take the place of parish leadership, staff, councils, or committees. Rather, the goal is to provide additional energy, coordination, and follow-through so that good ideas and important parish needs don’t get stuck.


Who is PORT?

PORT is intentionally made up of parishioners with a wide range of experiences, lengths of membership at Christ the King, perspectives, and skillsets:


  • Jeanine Bassett
  • Tim Busse (Parish Administrator)
  • Anita Caskey
  • Mary Langfeldt
  • Tom Lickteig
  • Kris Perry
  • Kerry Schwichtenberg
  • Scott Seim
  • Tim Sellner


We are grateful for the willingness of these parishioners to contribute their time and talents to the parish.


Our goal is simple: to help Christ the King be the best version of itself and to help build a stronger, more responsive, and more sustainable parish for the future.


We welcome your questions, ideas, and concerns. While a Parish Suggestion Box is in the works, you do not need to wait for it to be established. Please feel free to reach out to any member of PORT.


There is more work ahead, but we are encouraged by the progress already underway—and excited about what we can accomplish together.