Core Team Update #24

Establish Collaborative Relationships for Evangelization

 “The one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labors.  For we are God’s co-workers….”   — 1 Corinthians 3:8-9

The fourth goal of the Faith in Our Future process is to establish collaborative relationships among the parishes and ministries of the diocese that will make a priority of the work of evangelization, especially among those who live on the fringes of the church, and those who do not yet know Christ.

One of the largest religious groups in this country is “used to be Catholics;” and nearly 25% of the U.S. population claim no religion at all (referred to as “nones”).   We have to be honest, even in the four counties of our diocese, the mission field is vast.  We are not having the kind of impact we need to “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19).  More of the same will not change that reality.

Parochialism works against furthering the spread of the Gospel.  Isolation keeps us devoting nearly all of our energy to the maintenance of the way things are.  We compete with one another for the attention of active Catholics.  Collaboration could allow us to refocus substantial energy on evangelization; to bring together the needed people, training, and resources to re-imagine and mobilize a personal outreach among the “used to bes” and nones”.    None of us can do this alone.

To be sure, collaboration with other parishes and diocesan ministries can be challenging.  It will take courage and trust; but the work of evangelization is too important to fail.  The Lord entrusted us with this mission, and He promised to send the Spirit to strengthen us.  Will we allow the Spirit to take hold of us and make us bold?  We believe that Christ is with us.  We have been given all that we need.

Dear Core Team Members:

As the cohort core teams begin formulating the cohort suggestions, please remember that 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.   You will need to:

• Complete the checklist on the first page of the suggestion form;
• Identify the model or models you suggest together with a description of what the mode or models and ministries will look like for the parishes in the cohort;
• Articulate a rationale for the suggestion that reflects your best thinking as a cohort and connects your suggestion with the Faith in Our Future goals and criteria.

Please do not put signatures on the draft form.  They are only required on the final version to be sent to Sherrie Sporek.

Here are some other helpful hints that your should consider as your cohort moves forward:

1. Profiles of the Diocesan Planning Commission members can be found in the last Monitor and will be featured in the next Monthly Update and in an upcoming edition of the Monitor.
2. The Cohort Evaluation of Criteria for Planning Form (Section 3, yellow pages 4- 16 in your Planning Guide) and Cohort Suggestion to the Diocesan Planning Commission Form (Section 3, yellow pages 22 – 26) are due to the diocesan office by June 1.  Please send your final versions with signatures to[email protected].
3. Please use care in how you speak about these Cohort suggestions to your parish staff and parishioners. Keep in mind that the Cohort Suggestions are not decisions.  Suggestions from the Cohorts are not to be acted upon now as if they are decisions.  These represent your first round of “best thinking” and may change or be further developed in the coming months after you receive the preliminary recommendations from the Diocesan Planning Commission.   The Cohort will have the summer months to discuss and respond before the Planning Commission makes final recommendations to the Bishop in October.  Once Bishop O’Connell receives the Final Recommendations and reviews them all, he will consult with appropriate advisory bodies, and then announce his decisions.

We strongly encourage you to make use of the parish facilitators during this cohort phase and the next “Conversation and Response” phase of Faith in Our Future.  These trained facilitators can be used to facilitate cohort 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.

It is very important that you continue to update your fellow parishioners on a regular basis about the work of your cohort.  You will find sample bulletin announcements in your Planning Guide on p. 50.

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

FAQ—Frequently Asked Questions about Faith in Our Future:

Q. One of the parishes in our cohort is saying that since they are solvent they ought to be able to remain a stand-alone parish and not have to go through the Faith in Our Future process. How do we respond to this?

A. Faith in Our Future is not about “punishing” parishes that can’t pay their bills. It is about making parishes and diocesan ministries stronger and about meeting the challenges of spreading the Gospel in our time.  Every parish community will benefit from increased collaboration, regardless of their financial situation.

Q. When will we learn about the Preliminary Recommendations from the Diocesan Planning Commission for our cohort?

A. The Diocesan Planning Commission meets from June 14-16, 2016 on Retreat to review all cohort evaluations and suggestions, as well as, the parish evaluations and data verification forms before making their Preliminary Recommendations. Cohort team members will receive the Preliminary Recommendations with rationales the week of June 27^th.

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. 

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