“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6
The second goal of the Faith in Our Future process is to explore new models of parish leadership. Parish leadership has become increasingly complex. It really takes a whole team to meet the demands of temporal administration, liturgical preparation, catechesis, pastoral care, and the organization and supervision of ministry volunteers. This team approach requires financial resources.
Exploring new models is made all the more urgent by the fact that more than 60 diocesan priests will be eligible to retire in the next 10 years; 45 of them will reach the mandatory retirement age of 75. The void that will be left by these retirements is undeniable, as is the increased stress and burden that may be placed upon the priests who remain in active ministry. For example, 11 of our parishes already share a pastor with at least one other parish.
As we look to the future, we have several broad strategies to consider. Through collaboration, we can bring together the resources needed to support pastoral leadership teams. We can reduce the number of parishes (merger); we can have parishes share a pastor or clergy team (linkages or in-solidum parishes); or we can entrust the day-to-day leadership of a parish to a deacon, religious or lay person (parish life director). Cohorts should consider all of these options as they craft their suggestions. Parish leadership is one of the keys to having a strong parish and effective ministries that bring people to Christ.
We are now half way through the cohort conversation, evaluation and suggestion process. As you know, you are asked to evaluate your cohort in the four areas of Sacramental Life, Evangelization, Catechesis and Catholic Schools, Communal Life and Stewardship and Administration. You are requested to send a draft cohort evaluation and cohort suggestion with rationale to your Reid Group consultant by May 20 for review and feedback. The final cohort evaluations and suggestions are due to the diocesan office by June 1.
You will find suggested agendas for your cohort meetings on pp. 22-24 of Section III of your manual and a list of the documents that should accompany your cohort suggestion on p. 24.
Thank you once again for contributing your time and energy to this important project.
FAQ—Frequently Asked Questions about Faith in Our Future:
Q. I understand that we need to submit our cohort evaluation and cohort suggestion with rationale by June 1 but there is some confusion in our cohort about what signatures are required on the suggestion form. Do you just need one signature per parish or does everyone on the cohort core team to sign?
A. Signatures on the final cohort suggestion form are required from ALL cohort members. If a Plan A & Plan B is submitted because there is no consensus within the cohort, then individuals put one or the other letters next to their names.
Q. Why are we being asked to submit a draft of our cohort evaluation and suggestion to our Reid Group consultant for their review?
A. Certainly, the final product is decided upon by the cohort team. The role of the Reid Group consultant is to help you be as successful as possible in this process. Based on their experience working with other cohorts, they will offer their best thinking regarding ways the cohort suggestions and rationale might be strengthened in light of the goals and criteria for Faith in Our Future. Again, the final decision on what to submit to the Diocesan Planning Commission is made by the Cohort Team.
Please let us know what questions you have about your work and the whole Faith in Our Futureplanning process and we will answer them in future updates
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
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