Article dates:
July 22, 2007
July 29, 2007
August 5, 2007
August 12, 2007
September 9, 2007
September 16, 2007
From the Pastor’s Desk, from the July 22, 2007 Bulletin
Every other week for the past few months I have been joining representatives for all the parishes of the Lansing region of the Diocese of Lansing as part of the diocese’s Planning Tomorrow’s Churches, a process of assessing the issues of clergy shortage and shifting demographics within our diocese. In the weeks ahead I would like to share with you information from this process regarding our parish, the Lansing region, and our diocese. First, however, I would like to share an update of the entire process.
In 2005, Bishop Mengeling appointed a 20-member diocesan commission to provide a thorough assessment and observations for parish and school improvement, clusters, mergers or closures. Over the past few months, each parish and school completed a self-evaluation instrument which is currently being reviewed by a Regional Review Committee (there are 11 review committees for the diocese). This local process ensures that each parish had an opportunity to provide a comprehensive measurement of many components, including teaching the faith, sanctification of souls, evangelization and parish leadership. School evaluations considered 12 criteria that reviewed enrollment trends and projections, instructional programs, teacher turnover and Catholic identity. The review committee will look at each parish individually as well as its role within the region and make a preliminary observation as listed above.
After the regional preliminary observations have been distributed in the fall, each parish will have a parish assembly to provide an opportunity to learn about those observations for improving the parish and increased inter-parish cooperation. In a very few cases, those observations will involve parish mergers, clusters or closings. At these parish assemblies, DCC representatives will present the observations and take additional information back to the Diocesan Coordinating Commission – the next step in the process. I encourage you to attend this meeting to become more engaged in the future of our parish and diocese.
You may recall reading the special reports on the Will My Parish Close? series in FAITH Magazine. You may have heard information from other sources. Or, perhaps this is the first time you are finding out how the pastoral planning initiatives within the diocese are addressing the structures and needs of all parishes and schools. Throughout the next year, you will receive more information about this process as it moves from the regional observations, to a parish assembly, to the diocesan recommendations and the bishop's final decision.It is important to note that every parish within the diocese will be affected. Most parishes will receive recommendations for improvement that may include a need to increase their inter-parish cooperation by changing how programs are designed, developed and administered. A few parishes may be clustered together: two or more parishes will be served by a single pastor. Even fewer parishes may be merged: two or more churches become one parish. A possible recommendation – one that would not come lightly – could be parish closure. The ultimate goal is for all of us to work toward becoming a more vibrant community of faith who serve the Lord, the poor and marginalized, and each other.
Next week we will begin to look at the information from our parish and school self-evaluation instrument. More information regarding Planning Tomorrow’s Churches may be found at www.dioceseoflansing.org.
In His love,
Fr. David Speicher
Introductory note: from the July 29, 2007 Bulletin
The first stage of the diocese’s Planning Tomorrow’s Parish was done at the parish level. Every parish and school was asked to evaluate itself using a self-evaluation instrument. The goal of which is parish improvement and increased regional and diocesan collaboration. In some limited cases, the outcome may be new parishes; or parish closers, mergers or clusters. The evaluation instrument was divided into three sections: Worship, The Parish as Disciple, and Sustainability. The following are a summary of the conclusions and recommendations about Worship in our parish that were shared in the report to the diocese. In coming weeks we will continue with the other sections.
Summary of our parish self-evaluation: Part 1 - Worship
- Based on the information compiled in this section, how effective is our parish as a worshiping community?
St. Thomas Aquinas is an effective worshiping community. It offers a broad range of opportunities for worship and devotion in which many parishioners are actively participating. Still, there is room to broaden our reach, specifically to those who are disenfranchised and those with disabilities.
- From this we conclude:
The Parish has recently formed a Worship Commission whose purpose is to foster all parishioners’ encounters with Christ and their practice of Christian life through coherent integrated Catholic liturgies. The Commission assesses the liturgical life of the parish in light of the parish mission and goals, as well as Church teaching and documents. The Commission plans and coordinates liturgical elements that will invite, lead and educate each parishioner toward full participation in their faith and in the St. Thomas faith community. A primary focus will be the need to develop a welcoming, unified parish community. In developing the liturgical plan, the Commission will affirm the diversity, talents and breadth of expectations present in the parish. This Commission’s work is important. As a large and diverse community, it is important that we work to continually assess and improve our effectiveness in fostering all parishioners’ encounters with Christ.
- In view of these conclusions, we recommend:
That exploration and planning must continue in order to find the means to involve all parishioners, especially those who are not presently full and active participants in parish life, worship and devotion. We also recommend that the parish continue to offer rich and diverse worship and devotion opportunities.
- How effective is our parish in forming people to participate in a meaningful way in the life and mission of the parish?
Many parishioners are involved in the parish life and mission in a meaningful way, either through the school, formation programs, stewardship opportunities, leadership roles, or liturgical roles. As a parish, we can improve our welcome to new parishioners by “plugging them in” to parish activities and stewardship opportunities. We can also improve our response to those who have been alienated from the church and those with disabilities.
- From this we conclude:
St. Thomas offers many opportunities for people to participate in the life and mission of the parish, and yet, there are parishioners who have not plugged in to the programs and opportunities that exist.
- In view of these conclusions, we recommend:
That exploration and planning must continue in order to find the means to involve all parishioners, especially those who are not presently full and active participants in parish life, worship and devotion.
Parish Statistics 2005
Registered Households: 2073
Church Seating Capacity: 1200
Number of Weekend Masses: 6
Number of Priests: 2
Weekend Mass Attendance: 1718
Introductory note:
The second stage of the diocese’s Planning Tomorrow’s Parish is now in full swing. We have finished examining the individual parish and school reports and are now exploring demographics and clergy statistics. Our next meetings will involve prayerful discussions based upon the information and recommendations that has been shared with us by all the individual parishes and parish schools.
As I mentioned last week, the first stage of the diocese’s Planning Tomorrow’s Parish was done at the parish level. Every parish and school was asked to evaluate itself using a self-evaluation instrument. The goal of the self-evaluation is parish improvement and increased regional and diocesan collaboration. In some limited cases, the outcome may be new parishes; or parish closers, mergers or clusters. The evaluation instrument was divided into three sections: Worship, The Parish as Disciple, and Sustainability. Last week we shared information from the section on Worship. This week we continue with a summary of the conclusions and recommendation about The Parish as Disciple that are included in the report to the diocese. You may read the previous articles regarding the diocesan review and find additional information from the diocese by clicking on the Planning Tomorrow’s Parish link on our parish website www.stachurch.net.
Summary of our parish self-evaluation: Part 2 – The Parish as Disciple
How effective is our parish as a community of disciples?
The parish has a lot going on in it. There are opportunities for discipleship for parishioners of all ages: Our youth ministry and young adult ministry are active and vibrant and growing. The adult ministry opportunities are profuse and varied. We offer opportunities for formation, education, and family life. The parish participates in many stewardship opportunities in the community: care for the poor and homeless, protection of the unborn, the homebound and the elderly.
From this we conclude:
Under the guidance of the Parish Pastoral Council the parish is establishing a Stewardship Commission to assist the parish, its leaders and its members to live lives that recognize God as the source of all we have, to express our gratitude for his gifts, to use them wisely as disciples of Christ to build God’s kingdom, and to return them with increase to the Lord. The parish will also establish an Education Commission to advise and assist the pastor in assessing and developing rich formation and educational opportunities parish wide. The work of these Commissions is important as we strive to become a parish of disciples.
In view of these conclusions, we recommend:
Exploration, evaluation, and planning must continue in order to connect with and engage a greater percentage of our parishioners into full, active participation as disciples. We must continue to provide rich and varied opportunities for formation, education, family life, and stewardship.
Some Interesting Information
· In the Diocese of Lansing there is 1 priest for every 1,664 registered individuals. At St. Thomas Aquinas parish we have 1 priest for every 2,900 registered individuals.
· Throughout the diocese the staff to people ratio is 1 staff person for every 415 registered individuals. St. Thomas Aquinas has 1 staff person for every 580 registered individuals.
Introductory note:
The third section of the Planning Tomorrow’s Parish self-evaluation instrument for parishes is entitled Sustainability. In this section we assessed information regarding parish leadership, parish pastoral council, finance committee, use of parish resources, stewardship, religious education, etc. If you would like to see our reports from the first two sections, Worship and The Parish as Disciple please click on the Planning Tomorrow’s Parish link on our parish website www.stachurch.net.
Planning Tomorrow’s Churches
The results of our parish self-evaluation: Part 3 – Sustainability
Parish Leadership
The parish has an active Parish Pastoral Council, Finance Council, and pastoral staff that collaborate with the pastor to develop, implement, assess and maintain the parish’s vision and pastoral plan. Working with the councils and the staff are parishioners on the School Advisory Commission and the newly formed Worship Commission. Joining them this fall will be the Stewardship Commission, the Education Commission, and the Development Council.
Parish Operating Income Sources
The parish’s operation income comes from the following sources:
- Regular Offertory Collections 82.6 %
- Other Collections 10.7 %
- Bequests and Donations 1.9 %
- Mass Stipends and Offerings .5 %
- Fund Raising .6 %
- Rental Income .3 %
- Interest Income .8 %
- Other Receipts 2.6 %
Parish Financial Position
The parish has no debt and $108,000 in savings available for capital expenditures. Over the past five years the parish has ended its fiscal year with either a small excess or small deficit. While meeting its expenses it has been able to put into savings any significant funds for future needs.
Parish Buildings
In response to the parish’s Tomorrow’s Parish planning process a Facility Committee was established to access our facilities to determine how they are meeting our current and future needs. Working with an architectural firm the committee has accessed the current state of our facilities, reviewed the material from Tomorrow’s Parish, met with parish leadership, met with representatives from parish organizations and groups, and held parish wide town hall meetings. In the process of this assessment it was learned that it would be improper to continue to use the former convent as space for public use without major renovations, which would not be cost effective. Therefore, it has been decided to cease using the building in its current state as of September 2007 and move all the offices and programs into the other parish facilities. This will involve some minor renovations in the parish offices and rectory. It will also mean the parish must find new living quarters for the parish priests. The need for this move was unexpected and the solution is seen as a short-term solution.
The more recent work of the Facility Committee has been to develop a master facilities plan that will enable the parish’s facilities to meet the current and future needs of the parish. It involves addressing the repair and replacement of worn items, and the renovation and possible expansion of the parish’s facilities. As the committee is still in the planning and brainstorming phase of things no definite decisions have been made.
Conclusions
St. Thomas Aquinas is a highly sustainable parish. We are an active community of faith that has been blessed with many resources and many generous people. The pastor, Parish Pastoral Council, and Finance Council continue to actively seek ways to broaden and strengthen our parish and to keep an eye to the future in all decision making.
Recommendations
We recommend that the Parish Pastoral Council continue its work in the development and implementation of the Stewardship Commission, Development Council, and Facility Committee. We further recommend that we strive to preserve and improve our parish resources (including facilities, cash resources, and human resources) to ensure that the parish will continue to flourish as a healthy and flourishing community of faith.
Why is the Diocese reviewing its parish and school structure?
· The review process has allowed each parish and school the opportunity to provide input on its own contributions to the faithful – on a parish and
regional level – regarding teaching the faith, sanctification of souls, evangelization and leadership.
· The rationale for the review and recommendations is to implement the Pastoral Plan and ensure that the pastoral, sacramental and leadership needs
of our people are met for the next 50 years. As with all organizations, it is imperative that the Diocese be forward-thinking in providing its services
to the faithful. This process – Planning Tomorrow’s Churches—allows the Diocese to seek input from all levels of the church and make
recommendations based on geographic, pastoral and sacramental needs as well as the welfare of the marginalized.Demographics
· Over the past 35 years, the number of active clergy in our diocese has decreased by 25 percent, while the number of parishes has increased by 14 percent.
· Currently, the diocese has 85 active diocesan priests. By 2016, the diocese will have approximately 71 active priests serving more than 231,000 faithful.
· Sixty (60) percent of priests in the diocese are over 50 years of age. Those 49 years and younger make up 40 percent of clergy.What is the process for parish improvement, closures, mergers, clusters?
· The diocese has implemented a two-year review process to determine the impact the clergy and demographic changes will have on the parishes, schools
and faithful we serve.
· Our parish completed a Parish [and School] Evaluation Inventory (PEI or SEI) that helped us review our opportunities, challenges and sustainability locally
and regionally. A summary was published last month in our bulletin as a series. Our PEI/SEI has been forwarded to the Regional Review Committee, which
will issue a Regional Preliminary Observation about our parish.
· This will only be an observation. A final recommendation for the future of our parish and our region will be made by the Diocesan Coordinating Commission
(DCC) and the final decision will be made by Bishop Mengeling in the summer of 2008.Possible Outcomes – Parish Improvement, Merger, Cluster or Closure
· The Regional Review Committee is looking at the sacramental, pastoral and leadership needs of our area. They will review the information that our parish
provides in our self-evaluation tool and will look at it in the context of what would benefit the needs of the faithful throughout the region, not just our parish.
· The committee will make observations about whether a parish should improve some aspects of its ministry and parish life, merge with another parish,
cluster with one or more parishes, or close.
· Improvement will involve a parish reflecting on the Review Committee’s observations and taking steps to implement changes.
· Mergers will occur when two or more parishes combine to form a new parish.
· Clusters will group two or more parishes together; they will remain separate entities, but will share many pastoral services.
· Closure means that a parish will cease to exist and the parish boundaries will be redrawn. Parishioners at a closed parish will be warmly welcomed into
neighboring parish communities.
· The DCC will send a representative to present the Regional Preliminary Observations at our church on Tuesday, September 18 @ 7:00 PM in Fr. Mac Hall.
Please look for more details, in FAITH Magazine, and on the Diocese of Lansing’s Web site at www.dioceseoflansing.org.
The Future Of Our Parish – All parishioners are strongly encouraged to attend
· The Diocesan Coordinating Commission (DCC) will send a trained Facilitator to conduct a Parish Assembly at our church on Tuesday, September 18 @ 7:00
PM . This is when all parishioners will be informed of the Regional Preliminary Observations. It will be another opportunity for you to have your voice heard
and to ask questions about the process and the criteria that were used to make the observations.
· The Facilitator at our Assembly will be looking for your feedback.
· The process the Diocese is undertaking is one of prayerful discernment to ensure that all the sacramental and pastoral needs of our parishioners will be met
during the changes our region will be experiencing in the next 50 years.
· After the Parish Assembly, your comments will be forwarded to the Regional Review Committee for consideration before being forwarded to the DCC, which
comprises 20 members appointed by the Bishop. This Commission will review the Regional Preliminary Observations in order to prepare its draft
recommendation.
· The DCC recommendations will be sent to the Bishop’s consultative bodies (Diocesan Finance Council, College of Consultors, Presbyteral Council, Council of
Vicars and Diocesan Pastoral Council) as well as back to the Regional Review Committee for examination. The DCC will receive feedback from those groups
and provide its final recommendations to the Bishop in June 2008. The Bishop will then render a final decision.