Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: July 05, 2015
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
A month ago our local Church rejoiced at the ordination of three new priests. I hope you were part of the celebrating! Nonetheless, in the foreseeable future in our diocese it’s a fact that there will be fewer priests to serve our Catholic population. You might remember that a number of years ago, with that in view, Bishop Muench changed the Presbyteral Council’s old “Pastoral Planning Committee” into a revitalized Task Force – Father Trey Nelson remained its chairman – to continue to develop and recommend strategies for meeting pastoral needs in our diocese.
Over the past year this Task Force has been working hard through a number of subcommittees and with the assistance of outside consultants. Perhaps you’ve seen some of the coverage which has been given them and their work in our diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Commentator. First and foremost they have been studying diocesan demographics; they also will be considering things such as scheduling, staffing, and all of the related questions of structure, organization and coordination, with a view toward developing effective strategies for meeting the present and future needs of our local Church. They surveyed all of the priests and gave us a preliminary report on their work and findings at our annual Formation Days this past January.
Members of the Task Force are now visiting each Church parish in the diocese, surveying and consulting more widely, soliciting feedback and other input, and in general gathering information that will help them be well-informed. They say that “the purpose of the visitation process is to give every parish of our diocese the opportunity to assess the vitality of their parish (or parishes, if part of a cluster), to discuss their hopes and anxieties about the future, and to consider creative ideas for parish leadership and effective ministry in the future.” It’s being done so that their eventual recommendations to the bishop will be based upon wide consultation and the most full knowledge of the various situations throughout the diocesan territory as possible.
The “visitation session” of our Cathedral Parish is scheduled for Monday, July 27. At that time facilitators will meet with a select cross section of resident and non-resident parishioners and friends of St. Joseph Parish. The visit will include an overview of the Pastoral Planning process, a guided “Large Group Conversation,” and an individual survey completed by all participants.
All told, it sounds like a well-thought-out and properly-focused evaluative effort. The Task Force hopes to complete its preliminary study by the end of 2015, when it will offer a more comprehensive report and no doubt make its first substantive recommendations to Bishop Muench for implementation over the next year or so.
Most people are naturally curious about the eventual outcomes of the Task Force’s work. It should be stressed that nothing has yet been decided by them. And the final decision will always be the bishop’s, for the Task Force is a consultative group only, set up by him and the Council as a purely advisory body. But in recent years around the country – and in our own diocese, too – a number of strategies have been embraced, and I think that in the long run our Task Force will probably recommend a number of things as well. “One size fits all” might work for socks and handkerchiefs, but individual territories and parishes and people usually need solutions tailored to their own unique situations.
My opinions? I suspect that there will in the next decade or so be a few more “clusters,” whereby neighboring parishes “share” one or more priests and other ministries. I don’t see any parishes being closed, although here or there an individual church building may end up without scheduled services.
In fact there likely will eventually be a widespread, organized reduction and redistribution of Mass schedules, especially on Sundays. More bold ideas have been floated: could perhaps administrative authority in parishes be taken away from priests and handled instead by trained laity assigned by the bishop? This might “free up” priests to be engaged more solely in the ministries for which they are uniquely ordained.
Adding a sense of urgency to the Task Force’s work now are the situations of two priests on medical leave from active ministry. Father Phil Spano, Most Blessed Sacrament Parish’s pastor, fell while distributing communion at Mass three weeks ago; he underwent serious surgery to repair torn ligaments in his leg and knee, and will need extensive medical attention and lengthy physical therapy. Father Jack Nutter, the pastor of St. Louis King of France Parish, is also away for a time, addressing some serious health issues which were interfering with his life and ministry. As you can imagine, other already-busy priests, deacons and laity are stepping in and handling ministry in these two parishes in the months ahead. Please pray for these priests and for their parish communities at this challenging time.
Thankfully, we don’t have to face these challenges all by ourselves. Jesus has promised to be with His Church until the end of time, and He is faithful to His promises. Still, we must be attuned to the activity of the Holy Spirit, to discern how God wishes to work through His human instruments. Pray that everyone be open to the Spirit’s guidance as we plan for our “future full of hope.”
Finally, don’t forget our celebration this coming Saturday, July 11, of our 4 pm French Mass in honor of “Bastille Day,” la Fête Nationale de la France (which is actually on the 14th). It will be a celebration of our French heritage. As I said in last week’s Bulletin, you definitely won’t have to speak any French to enjoy it!
Sincerely in the Lord,
