Weekly THIS AND THAT for June 14, 2009: Operation Faith Formation

This and That:
Operation Faith Formation


For several months now Sister Mary Therese and I have been studying our parish’s 60+ ministries to see how effectively we have been serving the formation of our people in the areas of catechesis of our children and the evangelization of the members of the community-at-large. The effort has been called “Operation Faith Formation.”

The three primary feedback tools that were employed were:

➢ Bishop Rozanski’s Pastoral Visit to the Parish three years ago and consequent Report

➢ Feedback from the Pastoral Council and Pastoral Team to the self-study on “The Hope That Lies Before Us,” [This is a document that helps parishes plan for the diminishing number of priests in the future.]

➢ Our Parish’s Strategic Plan
The time seemed appropriate to review this matter in order to leave the parish on a sound foundation, given the change of leadership on July 1, 2010.

The three feedback tools mentioned above were reviewed and each of the more than sixty ministries were studied regarding the numbers contacted through the ministry, and the background, experience, education and credentialing of staff members responsible for each ministry. Many questions arose: What new ministries are called for particularly in evangelization? What present ministries needed more attention? What things could be dropped as not central to “Faith Formation?”

Our findings were many. An important area that needs attention is our efforts in evangelization. That number one priority is currently only able to be done in small part by the Assistant Pastor and the work of our volunteer Evangelization Committee. Another area that needs greater emphasis is Religious Education. The present Administrator has had no undergraduate or graduate education or experience in this area and must rely on seminarians and other qualified staff members for theological presentations and “learning the ropes.” Programs also need to be developed in Adult Faith Formation. Presently all that is offered is the Annual Lenten Family Friday program and “Why Catholic?” groups and those are done by the Pastor and the Assistant Pastor. Getting people to attend Mass more regularly, seeking out those who have strayed, resourcing parents whose grown children have strayed from the Church, and welcoming all into our community are areas that need greater attention. Finally, greater emphasis needs to be given to assisting Religious Education catechists and School Religion teachers in receiving their certification to teach our children.

Elements of a plan were then developed. With the departure of the Pastor in June 2010 the Archdiocese may take one of several options regarding his replacement. After a Parish Visitation that will be done by the Division of Clergy Personnel, the Archbishop may appoint a new pastor immediately or he might wait up to 6 months before appointing a new one. This was what happened with the present Pastor being appointed. The Archbishop might also appoint an Associate Pastor (priest) who would report to a Pastor in another parish. In this scenario, the Pastor would in actuality be the Pastor of two parishes. A final option is where the Archbishop may appoint a Pastoral Life Director (Lay Ecclesial Minister or Permanent Deacon.) We are obviously advocating for a resident full-time pastor to succeed me.

Regarding other personnel, at this writing we are presently interviewing for a half-time professional Director of Religious Education. We also believe strongly that in the future we will need professional leadership in the general area of Faith Formation that would include expanded efforts in Evangelization and Adult Faith Formation. Such an individual would have to have at least a Master’s Degree in Theology and from five to ten years of parish experience. The challenge will come in providing such leadership, given the constraints of the budget and the guidelines set by the Parish Finance Committee calling for no new increases in staffing. It is both a challenging and exciting task we face.

Fondly,
Father Nicholas