Core Team Update #19

“These are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief  you may have life in his name.”–  Jn 20:31

Proclaiming this Good News is the central mission of the Church.  Through our words and actions, the Risen Christ can enter into “locked” rooms and doubting hearts.  Wherever we bring compassion and healing to overcome hatred, division, skepticism or fear, the Risen Christ offers his peace.

During the Faith in Our Future process, we have been asked  to consider how our Church can best make Christ present on college campuses, in hospitals, and in prisons.  Strictly speaking, ministry in these settings is the responsibility of the territorial parish and its parishioners.  Over time, however, a variety of other solutions have been put in place to help the parish accomplish this ministry, or to transfer that responsibility to a dedicated Chaplain or Campus Minister.  Some of the current solutions appear to be unsustainable; others are ineffective.

The “residents” of college campuses, hospitals, and prisons are transient, and so there will not be representatives from these settings appointed to Cohort participation.  Cohort members are welcome to reach out to Chaplains or Campus Ministers in these settings in order to learn about current efforts.  In the end, each Cohort should discuss campus ministry, hospital ministry and prison ministry as it applies to their local area; and then include best thinking about ministering in these settings within their cohort suggestions.

Dear Core Team Members:

As Faith in Our Future moves into the cohort phase, cohort teams will use the information they learned in the parish evaluation phase to think together about new ways to relate to each other in the future.  Cohorts will construct their cohort suggestions on these new ways of thinking.  The suggestions will then go to the Diocesan Planning Commission in June for their response which will take the form of preliminary recommendations with a rationale.

Other comments:

• Parish core team secretaries are asked to send the parish evaluation and parish summary report forms to Sherrie Sporek, [email protected]. 
• Data verification forms from each parish should also be returned to Sherrie.
• Please limit the cohort team to the pastor/administrator plus four other people per parish and notify Sherrie of any changes in personnel.
• The specific focus of your cohort work going forward is to review the input from the other parishes in your cohort work in small groups organized around the four evaluation areas (Sacramental    Life, Evangelization, Catechesis and Catholic Schools, Communal Life and Stewardship and Administration) talk about the parish evaluations, data verification forms and parish summaries in your cohort.  What are you learning? Begin to prepare a draft of your cohort evaluation.
• Prepare your cohort evaluation and suggestions by June 1, 2016. The draft of your cohort evaluation and suggestions should be sent to your Reid Group consultant by May 20, 2016 for review and feedback.
• We strongly encourage you to make use of the parish facilitators during this cohort phase.  These trained facilitators can be used to facilitate core team meetings, town hall meetings and other parish gatherings at no cost to the cohort parishes.  To arrange for a facilitator, contact your Reid Group consultant.

Thank you once again for contributing your time and energy to this important project.

 

FAQ—Frequently Asked Questions about Faith in Our Future:

Do we have to pay for the services of a diocesan parish facilitator?

No.  The time and travel cost for these facilitators are covered by the Diocese?

Can we continue with the same facilitator if we want to?

Yes, it is preferable to continue with the same facilitator as long as the schedule of meetings is mutually   agreeable.

What if we think we might want to talk about partnering with a parish not in our cohort?  How will that work?

Your cohort partners are your first level of conversation.  If there are one or more parishes outside your cohort that you want to talk with, that is fine as a second level of conversation.  If there is mutual interest in collaboration, for example, then that would be included in suggestions from both cohorts.

Regarding implementation – is January 1, 2017 the date or is July 1, 2017 the date?

Preparations for implementing Bishop O’Connell’s decisions regarding both models and ministries will begin  in January 2017.  The actually work of implementation will start in July 2017.

Please let us know what questions you have about your work and the whole Faith in Our Future planning process and we will answer them in future updates. 

 

FAITH IN OUR FUTURE STAFF & COUNTY CONSULTANTS

Diocesan Office Staff

Msgr. Leonard Troiano, [email protected], 1-609-403-7159

Sherrie Sporek, [email protected], 1-609-403-7193

FAX: 1-609-406-7413

MAILING ADDRESS:

Faith in Our Future, Diocese of Trenton

701 Lawrenceville Road

Trenton, NJ 08648

The Reid Group Consultants

Burlington & Ocean Counties Consultant

Tom Reid, [email protected], 1-206-947-2990

Monmouth County Consultant

John Reid, [email protected], 1-206-947-1055

Mercer County & Bi-Lingual Consultant

Cleo Molina, [email protected], 1-206-383-2536