| Pastoral Planning Update June 2008 |
In this issue:
--first-ever Pastoral Rural Ministry Day and second round of rural ministry sessions
--web seminar on reaching inactive and alienated Catholics available to download
--one parish's new effort to engage parishioners and build stewardship: St. Patrick's, Victor
--update on priestly vocations in the Diocese of Rochester
--new tools for your planning available through Percept
--Emerging Models of Parish Leadership: best practices that have emerged among parish leaders and their parish experiences
--parish re-structuring in Camden, NJ
--a different interpretation of the recent Pew U.S. Religious Landscape Survey
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RURAL PASTORAL MINISTRY -- UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES
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Mark your calendars for the Rural Pastoral Ministry Day
at the newly built Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel on the south end of Seneca Lake
Saturday, November 15, 2008
8:30 am - 2:30 pm
with Bishop Matthew H. Clark and Paul Wilkes (author of "Excellent Catholic Parishes")
More information and registration materials will be forthcoming in the early fall.
This past winter and spring a first round of rural ministry sessions was held. These were devoted to listening and describing "who we are" as rural parishes. The compiled notes from those sessions are attached:
The second round of sessions will take place in September (dates and locations to follow). This second round of gatherings will be working sessions to accomplish the following:
--compile "best practices" for rural parishes in maintaining presence and ministries in local areas, including those where clusters or single parishes with multiple worship sites have formed and where particular churches have closed or no longer have weekend Masses
--brainstorm ways to link rural parishes and identify the kinds of support rural parishes need from one another and from the diocese as a whole
--identify the specific needs for ministry in our rural villages, towns, and communities.
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WEB SEMINAR ON REACHING INACTIVE AND ALIENATED CATHOLICS
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You can now download for free the recent session of the Paulist National Catholic Evangelization's "Catholic Speakers Online" series featuring Lorene Hanley Duquin speaking on "Fishing Nets and Fishing Poles: Reaching Inactive and Alienated Catholics." Just visit the PNCEA website (listed below).
Lorene Duquin, an author and speaker on evangelization topics, explores fishing with nets (broad-based evangelization techniques) versus fishing with poles (targeted evangelization outreach to specific groups). Both techniques have plusses and pitfalls. Effective fishermen and fisherwomen know the difference!
The PNCEA was founded by the Paulist Fathers in 1977 to equip Catholics to evangelize. To learn about the PNCEA and its ministries, visit http://www.pncea.org.
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ENGAGING PARISHIONERS AND BUILDING STEWARDSHIP: ST. PATRICK'S, VICTOR
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TIES (Together Inspiring Every Spirit) is a newly forming ministry of St. Patrick's in Victor and its pastor, Fr. Tim Niven. Here are some highlights:
--TIES will ensure that every household in the parish will be personally contacted a couple of times a year (how many has not been decided yet) with no other purpose than to say hello, see how things are going, and ask if there is anything St. Patrick's can do for them. This ministry is not about soliciting anything from parishioners. It will always be "low pressure," an invitation extended.
--All households and especially those that may have gradually slipped away unnoticed from involvement in the parish, will now, through this ministry, receive loving attention from their parish.
--Parishioners who never were involved will receive simple and sincere contacts through TIES.
--The parish census will be continually updated and kept current.
--While the ministers of TIES will not be expected to respond directly to the needs of parishioners, they will be able to put parishioners in touch with the many resources of the parish which can offer them support in whatever they are going through.
--TIES will give this large parish (over 1600 families) a "small church" hospitality.
St. Patrick's TIES is only in its formative stages. It is viewed as an extension of the parish's work with stewardship and as an expression of the discipleship of all parishioners.
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UPDATE ON PRIESTLY VOCATIONS IN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER
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(adapted from an article by Fr. Timothy Horan)
The Diocese of Rochester will joyfully celebrate the ordination to the priesthood of Edison Tayag this June 28. On May 31 Brian Carpenter was ordained a transitional deacon and, God willing, he will be ordained to the priesthood in June 2009. Good news for the Church of Rochester.
Unfortunately, though, there will be no priestly ordinations in our diocese for at least the next three years (2010, 2011 and 2012). In addition, retirements over the next 5 years will bring the number of diocesan priests in active ministry to below 100.
But now some good news. This past fall five courageous, faith-filled men entered Becket Hall to begin a year of discernment about a possible call to the ordained priesthood. This spring Bishop Clark announced that these same men have accepted his invitation to begin formal theological studies leading to the priesthood. All five wish to attend seminary this fall. Given current formation requirements the earliest we could celebrate a priestly ordination after next year will be in 2013. But then, God willing, we might ordain five.
Also, two men have already applied for residence at Becket Hall for next September. Becket Hall is a one-year experience for men college-aged or older to live in community, complete studies in philosophy, test their appetite for pastoral work, and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in determining God's call to them.
Has God put a young man in your parish, marked with a deep faith and love for the Lord and a desire to bring that love to others? Have you talked to him? Might priesthood be the answer to his hungry heart? How will he know if no one speaks to him about it?
For more information contact Fr. Timothy Horan, Director of the Office of Priesthood Vocation Awareness (fhoran@dor.org or 585-342-2100) or Carol Dady, Coordinator of Priesthood Vocation Awareness (cdady@dor.org or 585-328-3228 x1374).
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NEW TOOLS FOR YOUR PLANNING AVAILABLE THROUGH PERCEPT
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The Office of Pastoral Planning has once again contracted with Percept to provide demographic information to the parishes of the diocese. To use these resources, type www.link2lead into your web browser. To register for the first time, select the "register" button on the left menu.
The following resources are available for your use:
ICHANGE AND ILEADTYPE -- surveys designed to assess a person's response to change and characteristics of their leadership style. A discussion guide is included with each survey to facilitate conversations around these themes in your working relationships.
MINISTRYMATCH REPORT -- allows you to compare your church's programs/ministries with those of the people living in your community.
10 FACTS SERIES -- gives you basic facts about the demographics of people who live in your zip code (e.g. projected 5-year population change, the fastest growing racial/ethnic group, the average age, average household income) as well as faith preferences (e.g. level of faith involvement, overall church style preference). There is a quiz and a 10 questions workshop and worksheet you can use to introduce the 10 facts series to your pastoral council, staff, or other leaders in your church.
FIRST VIEW is a 6-page, full-color, graphical demographic report on a selected study area. You can now download instant First Views as Adope PDF files directly from the website for either a radius around your church, a county boundary, or a selected zip code. New this year is an interactive FirstView Maker which allows you to create a custom study area boundary. You can combine zip codes, size a radius or even draw a polygon boundary using the simple interactive mapping tool. This self-service tool allows you to make your own FirstView reports for free whenever you want in real time. Follow three simple steps and click the Submit button. The Percept servers instantly go to work creating a six-page color report for you with your custom title, exporting an Adope PDF file, and sending the download link to your email inbox. Within a few minutes you will be viewing your completed FirstView report wherever you are, any time of the day or night.
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EMERGING MODELS OF PARISH LEADERSHIP: BEST PRACTICES
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Research done as part of the Emerging Models project concluded that emerging models or structures of parish leadership are extremely diverse. However the patterns or behaviors of leadership show some surprising things in common.
Despite geographic, economic, cultural and demographic diversity among parish leaders and their parish experiences, these best practices have emerged and are giving birth to the parish of the future:
1. Emergence of a total ministering community with a growing recognition and appreciation of a common baptismal call to discipleship with different expressions among the clergy, non-ordained professionals, and lay leaders working together in building the spiritual vitality of parish life.
2. A high level of engagement of parishioners in ministry formation at the diocesan and parish levels, which results in lay-led ministries and the development of new ministries.
3. Redefinition of the role of the pastor or pastoral administrator as dynamic facilitator and chief collaborator calling forth the gifts of others and serving as a change agent for new roles, structures, and programs.
4. Extending the role of parish staff to include much of the day-to-day pastoral ministry and programming of the parish, as well as calling forth the gifts of parishioners.
5. Collaborative pastoral teams which facilitate the formation of lay leadership rather than administer their own projects and priorities.
6. Deep-seated spiritual vitality linked to the centrality of the celebration of the Eucharist and sacramental life as the fundamental defining characteristic of Catholicity in parishes.
7. Intentional efforts to embrace multi-culturalism even before parishes themselves have become multi-cultural in their membership.
8. Integenerational faith formation through various evangelization and catechetical programs based in the RCIA, biblical studies, sacramental preparation and youth catechesis.
9. Proactive outreach to individuals and households within the parish despite the size and complexity of the parish structure, inviting each and every household and parishioner into the life of the parish and its future formation.
10. Proactive efforts to reach youth and young adults through cross-parochial ministries, digital ministries, integrating young adult leaders into the life of parishes, and catechetical programs age-appropriate to young adults in their 20s and 30s.
11. Intentional collaboration among churches to share resources whenever possible, transcending the boundaries of each parish as a stand-alone enclave.
12. Commitment to justice evident in practice and usually demonstrated at a high level in parish organizations with a specific committee or commission devoted to justice ministries.
13. Greater accountability in parish life and transparency of personnel management, financial management and ethical standards of conduct in dealing with employees and members.
Perhaps this list can serve as a discussion starter at a fall pastoral council meeting. Where does your parish mirror what is happening in the emerging parish of the future? Which areas merit attention?
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PARISH RESTRUCTURING IN CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY
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by David O'Reilly and Kristen A. Graham
Philadelphia Inquirer
April 2008
Citing a growing shortage of priests--and a marked decline in religious observance among its Catholic laity--Bishop Joseph A. Galante announced in April that he was cutting the number of Camden Diocese parishes nearly in half. In a massive restructuring, 124 parishes will shrink to 66 in the six-county diocese, which comprises most of South Jersey. About 30 will close outright, and many others will become "worship sites" within newly formed parishes.
"This is radical," Galante told a news conference at diocesan headquarters in Camden. "It's being done piecemeal in so many dioceses, especially in the East. What's radical is, we're trying to do it at one time, in the diocese as a whole."
In northern Gloucester County, for example, 11 parishes will be reduced to five, according to the plan. But four of the closed parishes will serve as secondary worship sites. The nine parishes in Camden City will become seven; the six in Cherry Hill will become four.
Hearing that Queen of Heaven, in Cherry Hill, was to close, Amy Weirauch, 39, said "it reminds me of the day I found out my father only had three months to live. I knew it was coming, though I was praying for a miracle." Weirauch graduated from Queen of Heaven's grammar school, worked in its rectory, and sang in its choir. In the reorganization, the parish will merge with Cherry Hill's St. Peter Celestine.
The consolidation in the Camden Diocese follows similar reorganizations elsewhere in the nation. Dioceses in the northern and eastern United States have closed more than 700 parishes during the last 15 years. In the Philadelphia Archdiocese, the number of parishes has gone from 302 to 270 since 1990.
Galante said he expected the reconfiguration, which calls for 22 stand-alone parishes, 38 merged parishes, and three parish "clusters," to be completed within two years. Clustered parishes will retain their individual identities but will be served by teams of priests headed by a "moderator" rather than a pastor.
Most of the merged parishes will retain one church campus as their parish centers and primary worship sites. One or more additional churches will serve as secondary worship sites for Saturday evening and Sunday Masses. Most of the just-created parishes will be assigned new pastors and will have the option to take a new name. They will house the records of the former parishes, acquire their assets and liabilities, and may choose to sell or keep the properties of the closed parishes within their borders.
"The diocese does not own parish assets," Galante said. He stressed that the closures and mergers were not designed to generate revenue for the diocese, but to "revitalize parish life."
He said his model for parish renewal was the Diocese of Dallas, where he served as auxiliary bishop before coming to Camden in 2004. "The parishes there were alive, and the people embraced the faith and lived it seven days a week," he said.
His restructuring plan calls for hiring 100 paid professional staff members to help run parish ministries and programs. The announcement came four months after the Camden Diocese announced that nine of its 47 elementary schools would be closed in June because of declining enrollment. Galante said then that the student population had dropped by one-third since 2001, from 14,954 to 10,883, and that 30 of the diocese's elementary schools had fewer than the 225 students needed to maintain one class per grade.
Membership in the diocese has grown steadily in recent years, due largely to immigration, Galante said. About one-fifth of its 500,000 members are Hispanic. But weekly Mass attendance is below 24 percent--a figure Galante called "appalling"--and only 85 priests are predicted to be on active duty in 2015, half the current number.
As a result, Galante said, "It is obvious that it will no longer be possible to maintain the number of parishes we have today, or to maintain present parish configurations." What's more, he said, much of the Catholic population has shifted in recent decades. The diocese serves Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland, Atlantic and Cape May Counties.
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A DIFFERENT INTERPRETATION OF THE RECENT PEW RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE SURVEY
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You may have seen announcements in the media about the results of the Pew Religious Landscape survey. These stories highlighted the following statements regarding the U.S. adult Catholic population: "Catholicism has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes. While nearly one-in-three Americans (31%) were raised in the Catholic faith, today fewer than one-in-four (24%) describe themselves as Catholic....Approximately one-third of the survey respondents who say that they were raised Catholic no longer describe themselves as Catholic. This means that roughly 10% of all Americans are former Catholics."
The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University gives these survey findings a different interpretation:
1) While the Catholic Church has lost many members in terms of total population, it is important to remember that the Catholic Church is also the single largest faith in the U.S. As sizable as the losses have been, they would be even larger if Catholics were losing their young members at the same rate as every U.S. Protestant denomination. The Pew Study indicates that none of these other faith groups has had as much success as the Catholic Church in keeping those raised in the faith in the pews as adults. Pew reports that the Catholic Church has retained 68% of those who grew up Catholic. The retention rate for other Christian denominations is 60% Baptists, 59% Lutherans, 47% Methodists and Pentecostals, 45% Episcopalians, and 40% Presbyterians. Of all the faith groups in the U.S., only those who were raised as Hindu (84%), Jewish (76%), Orthodox (73%) or Mormon (70%) were more likely than Catholics to keep their faith as adults.
2) Catholic losses that have occurred are not the result of any recent mass Catholic exodus. Indeed, a 2003 CARA survey found that former Catholics were more likely to say they left "30 years ago" than at any other time.
3) The Pew results underestimate the size and composition of the Catholic population. Pew conducted a follow up survey in January 2008 which confirmed that the "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey" had underestimated Latino Catholic affiliation by approximately 2.7 million. If the Pew survey had not been affected by this methodological problem, the Catholic retention rate would likely have been closer to 72%.
(adapted from the Spring 2008 CARA Report)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * For more information, e-mail your planning group liaison, Karen Rinefierd (krinefierd@dor.org) or Deb Housel (housel@dor.org) or call 585-328-3210 or 800-388-7177.
