Core Team Update #27

Enough to go around

“…when the leftover fragments were picked up they filled twelve wicker baskets.” –Luke 9:11-17

There has been a lot of talk about diminishing resources:  fewer active parishioners, smaller collections, fewer priests and religious to serve in leadership.  If this is the only lens that shapes our view of the future, we can easily slip into “survival mode.”  We find ourselves protecting what we think is “ours”:  our priest, our church, our customs and ways of doing things.   On the surface, we say we are willing to share; but really, when we think there’s not enough to go around, it’s every man (or parish) for himself.

The scriptures for the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ encourage us to pick up another lens in order to see more clearly.  The first two readings remind us that all we have has been entrusted to us by God for use according to his purpose.  Each reading illustrates a disciple’s response.  In Thanksgiving for God’s generous blessing, Abram makes a tithe or offering of ten percent of everything he owns (Gen 14:20).  St. Paul passes on to others what he himself received (1 Cor 11:23).   Both examples show us that what we do with what we are given matters.

The Gospel recounts the Lord feeding more than 5000 people with just five loaves and two fish.  All ate their fill and there was plenty left over.  This miracle prefigures the Eucharist.  We can see that the Lord does not mete out grace in small measure; rather he generously pours out his own life for us.  Compounding this immeasurable gift, the Lord also sends the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and help us to use what we have been given wisely.  By the loving hand of God, all of the gifts we need exist in the local Church of Trenton.  How will we call forth and gather the gifts?   How will we use them so that all are satisfied?  What abundance will overflow for good works?

Dear Core Team Members:

Your final cohort suggestion and cohort evaluation is to be sent to [email protected]no later than Wednesday June 1, 2016.

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 model or models and ministries will look like for the parishes in the cohort.
• Articulate a rationale for the suggestions that reflects your best thinking as a cohort and connects your suggestion with the Faith in Our Future goals and criteria.
• Include the signatures of all the cohort team members.

If you cannot reach a consensus (“I can live with it”) on the suggestions within a cohort, it is OK to send in one suggestion with Plan A and Plan B options – as long as there are descriptions of what the model or models will look like, reflections on how the suggestions connect to the goals and rationales identified for each option.

Other reminders:

1. Please keep in mind that the cohort suggestions are just that: “suggestions.”  These are not decisions; the final decisions are made by Bishop O’Connell after receiving final recommendations from the Planning Commission and consulting with other appropriate bodies.
2. The Diocesan Planning Commission meets on Retreat from June 14-16 to review all 25 cohort evaluations and suggestions along with the parish evaluation and data verification forms. It is expected that the Preliminary Recommendations with rationales will be sent to all cohort core team members the week of June 27^th.
3. Profiles of the Diocesan Planning Commission members can be found in the last Monitor and on the diocesan website at www.dioceseoftrenton.org.
4. 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.  Please personalize the announcements to this part of the Faith in Our Future process.
5. This will be our last update until the preliminary recommendations are issued by the Diocesan Planning Commission in late June. If you have any questions before then, please call your Reid Group consultant or Sherrie Sporek at the Faith in Our Future office.

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

FAQ—Frequently Asked Questions about Faith in Our Future:

Q. When will Bishop O’Connell make his decisions regarding Faith in Our Future and when will implementation begin?

 A. Final Recommendations will be made directly to Bishop O‘Connell by the Diocesan Planning Commission in late October 2016. The Bishop will then take time to consult with the Presbyteral Council, Episcopal Council and other advisors as required by Canon Law. At this point, it is expected that his decisions regarding Faith in Our Future will be announced in November or December 2016.  While implementation will not begin until July 2017, training and preparations for implementation will begin in January or February 2017.

 Q. When we get to the implementation phase of Faith in Our Future, who will be involved?

 A. Each parish will form an implementation team, and the cohort implementation team will be made up of the individual parish implementation team members. These team members may be the same people as were on the planning teams, but they don’t have to be. At the diocesan level, there will be a Diocesan Implementation Commission that will be responsible for receiving and evaluating the periodic implementation action plans and reports from the cohorts.

 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