Been there, done that - just a few hundred miles west of Albany

The hope and pain of Albany’s Diocesan pastoral planning have also been experienced in the Rochester Diocese, where the process is further along.

“As we look to the future of our Church, a Church that will be much different from what we have experienced in the past, we must look at not only the demographic changes but also consider the apprehension that arises in people’s hearts as they go through such a process,” said the Most Reverend Matthew H. Clark, Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester.

Bishop Clark will deliver the keynote talk at this year’s Parish Convening at Christian Brothers Academy in Albany on Saturday Oct. 25.

Priests and people

Bishop Clark, a native of the Albany Diocese and graduate of Catholic High School in Troy, plans to share the recent experiences of the people of the Rochester Diocese. There, as here and across the Northeast U.S., parishes have merged and closed due to demographic shifts – city to suburb, for instance – and a shortage of priests.

The bishop’s talk is entitled, “Toward a Church with a Future: Letting Go in Hope.” In it, he will address the challenges that Albany Catholics are facing today in the Called to Be Church process in light of the recent experience of Rochester Catholics.

For the past two years, Catholics in Albany have been challenged to envision the future of their parishes, which might included closure for some and indicate consolidation for others.

The other shoe

Through the discernment process they have been asked to consider these changes in light of demographic shifts and a decline in the availability of clergy. The two-year process is in its final stages with consideration of recommendations now in front of a diocesan Pastoral Planning Review Commission (see an article in last week’s issue of The Evangelist).

Bishop Clark said that he knows firsthand how this discernment process has generated expectations, fear and even worry among Catholics, as it has done in the Rochester Diocese.

“Where do we find hope, courage and creativity in such a process? I consider this to be the key for my talk at the convening,” he told The Evangelist.

“With any change, there will be concern. I hope that my talk will give people hope. I want to get them to think about what Church means to them, what their expectations are and, most importantly, know that they are not alone in this process; one that others have gone through before them. We can share what we have learned and, hopefully, shed light and hope on the future,” he said.

Closing up

Along with demographics such as shrinking parish membership in inner city and ethnic parishes, the nationwide shortage of priests helped to fuel the clustering of parishes in Rochester. Dwindling financial support contributed to the closing of six inner city parishes in Rochester between 2006 and 2008, as well as in surrounding smaller towns. On the west side of Rochester, for instance, three out of 11 churches remain.

Other dioceses are not immune. In 2006, New York announced plans to close 31 of its 409 parishes, mostly in the city, and open five new ones, mostly in the suburbs, according to the New York Times. Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, have lost one in four churches: of 590 churches in 2005, 440 remain. Overall, Rochester has gone from 159 to 136 parishes since 2001.

Light from darkness

In Rochester, Bishop Clark said, “Our experience is very similar to that of the Albany Diocese. Our pastoral planning team had to evaluate the feasibility of keeping these parishes open.”

He acknowledged the anguish.

“There is real grief when a parish closes. People feel the pain and separation but there is life and new potential in the form of hope; however it is not without struggle.” Bishop Clark said he believes it is beneficial when someone from outside such a community can share their own experience.

“I hope to encourage people by reflecting on the basic values of our faith, which can sustain us during such a time. For example, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us great hope: the gifts of individuals in the parish community and the hope that we share as Christians in community. I hope to encourage people by citing stories and sharing some of our Rochester experiences,” he said.

The overall theme of this year’s convening is “Leadership for the Harvest: Cultivating Our Hope.” Some of the workshops that will be presented include: Coping with Change, An Outreach to Inactive Catholics, Parish Community Building, Healing Grief and Christian Initiation in Cluster Parishes.

(For a complete list of workshops, see the previous pages in this week’s issue of The Evangelist. To register, contact David Amico by mail at 40 N. Main Ave, Albany, NY 12203 or [email protected]. His fax number is 453-6793.)

(9/11/08)