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Open many church bulletins lately and the same announcement appears: "We are changing our Mass schedule."

Pastoral planning has never stopped in the Albany Diocese. As Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger pursues reorganization on a larger scale, redividing the Diocese into seven vicariates and giving regional episcopal vicars the authority to make decisions for parishes in those areas, the parishes themselves continue to plan for the future.

It's projected to be a future with fewer priests -- at least in the short-term.

In fact, Rev. David Berberian, vicar general of the Diocese, was quick to point out a bright spot amid some sobering statistics: If all goes according to plan, in 2016, four new priests will be ordained for the Diocese. Seminarians Brian Kelly, Steve Matthews, Patrick Rice and Francis Vivacqua are in their final year of formation for the priesthood.

"Father [Anthony] Ligato is doing a marvelous job" as diocesan vicar for vocations, boasted Father Berberian, who'll have the happy problem of figuring out and recommending to the Bishop which parishes could use an assisting priest when the four men are ordained.

Priests and parishes
That said, Father Berberian also told The Evangelist that, by the year 2020, the Diocese is projected to have 57 active diocesan priests available to serve its 126 parishes.

Religious-order priests and retired priests have been on hand to help, as well, but "we don't want to kill our priests" with overwork, said Father Berberian.

"We need to consolidate; we need to share resources," he stated.

More and more parishes are doing so by sharing pastors. One example is in the city of Schenectady. According to Deacon Frank Berning, director of the diocesan Office of Pastoral Planning, there will soon be one priest for every two parishes or worship sites there: Rev. Dominic Isopo for St. Luke's and St. Joseph's parishes; Rev. Richard Carlino for St. John the Evangelist and St. Anthony's parishes; Rev. Robert Longobucco for the two worship sites of St. Kateri Tekakwitha parish; Rev. Vincent Ciotoli for Our Lady Queen of Peace parish and St. Margaret of Cortona mission church in Rotterdam Junction; and, with the upcoming retirement of Rev. Robert Hohenstein of Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish, Rev. Peter Pagones for OLMC and St. Paul the Apostle parishes.

The only Schenectady parish still with a single leader is St. Adalbert's, run by parish life coordinator Deacon Joseph Cechnicki with the assistance of retired priests.

Similarly, the Amsterdam/ Hagaman area has a priest for every two parishes and a shared director of finance and administration. And when Rev. Winston Bath retires within the next year, there will be one priest to cover both Holy Trinity parish in Hudson/Germantown -- which has two worship sites -- and Our Lady of Hope in Copake Falls.

In the trenches
At Holy Trinity parish in Johnstown and Holy Spirit in Gloversville, Rev. Donald Czelusniak knows this situation well. The pastor said he's watched changes for all of his 27 years in Fulton County, especially 2009 mergers that closed churches in each town.

This fall, he's starting a series of monthly "town hall meetings" for his parishioners to discuss planning for the future. At the moment, there are three pastors and an associate in the area, but that number will soon be down to two.

With proactive planning, Father Czelusniak doesn't see that as a problem.

"We have to reduce our Masses so those two priests will be able to cover the Masses in Fulton County," he told The Evangelist. "We're empowering our laypeople to help with ministries, and they're stepping up."

The pastor thinks fewer Masses are a good idea -- and not just to give priests enough travel time between worship sites.

"When you reduce Masses, you have a fuller church" as a result, he explained. "The people notice that, and it boosts their morale."

Besides, he said, Catholics are now well aware of the situation the Church is dealing with and know they need to plan ahead: "They read The Evangelist; they know from neighboring parishes that there have been mergers; there have been closures. They're not shocked."

Mass schedule changes
Northern Columbia County is covering four churches -- St. James in Chatham, St. John the Baptist in Valatie and the two worship sites of St. Joseph's in Stuyvesant Falls/Stottville -- with one pastor and one parochial vicar (associate pastor). In what's become a common move for parishes, the three parishes had to alter their Mass schedules to accommodate that.

But "the pew count has stayed pretty constant," Deacon Berning observed, referring to the number of people attending Masses. The parishes have also collaborated so that parishioners can put their offertory envelopes into the collection at any of the churches and it will be sorted and sent to the correct parish.

Over the past few months, parishes in Speigletown/Schaghticoke, Schenectady, Clinton Heights and Rensselaer have also been on the list of those that have changed Mass schedules, usually to allow priests from neighboring parishes to cover each other's Masses when necessary.

Looking at statistics for parishes that have changed Mass schedules, Deacon Berning said that, historically, when a Mass time was dropped, one-third of parishioners would adjust, one-third would go to a neighboring parish that had a Mass time they preferred, and the final third would stop attending Mass.

To combat that loss, parishes are handling pastoral planning differently these days. The kind of meetings Father Czelusniak described have become commonplace, with parishioners in on the planning process and coming to agreement about the best Mass times.

Father Czelusniak noted that reducing the Mass schedule also affects faith formation and other parish ministries, so it's best to make such decisions in the spring so that faith formation staff can spend the summer planning for the coming semester.

"Two years ago," Deacon Berning remarked, "I would have told you a Mass-time change was going to result in a loss of people and a loss of money." Now, "the glass is half-full, not half-empty."

Vicariates a plus
The diocesan officials said they're enthusiastic about the Bishop's plan to replace deaneries with vicariates. Both terms refer to groups of parishes, but they're divided up differently -- about 15 parishes make up each vicariate -- and the regional episcopal vicars who lead them will be able to "speak with the Bishop's authority" in making decisions for the parishes in their vicariates, said Father Berberian.

The episcopal vicars have not yet been named, but nominees are being submitted to the Bishop, who has said he will consider even retired priests for that role. Deacon Berning said the Bishop wants the priests who are selected to know their areas well and be able to suggest the best ways to handle planning for parishes.

For example, "an episcopal vicar may say, 'We are struggling with the amount of travel for our priests;' [or,] 'We're concerned with reducing the number of Masses without losing people.' I'll work with them or other people will come in [to help], but a lot of input will come from them," said Deacon Berning. "We bring the data and experience from outside the Diocese for what's working in other places."

Interim leaders, new pastors
One change that's already worked well in the Diocese is the appointment of interim parish leaders. Now, when a pastor is ill or retires, rather than immediately appointing a replacement, an interim leader is placed at the parish to keep things running smoothly.

Deacon Berning said such leaders -- usually deacons, women religious or laypeople -- can look at parish needs from a fresh perspective that's often helpful in planning.

In addition, he said, interim leaders can implement decisions like changing Mass times and making sure a property assessment of the church buildings is done. That way, when a new pastor or parish life director is appointed, those difficult changes have already been made.

Father Berberian also said that, while newly-ordained priests once spent several years as parochial vicars (also known as associate pastors) before being appointed pastors, that time frame has decreased: "You're lucky if you get two full years. We try for three."

He projected that Rev. Scott VanDerveer, ordained in 2013, is likely to be made a pastor soon. Rev. Rick Lesser, just ordained but a 61-year-old "second career" priest, may get his own parish even more quickly.

Rural and ethnic
Always a concern are parishes in the many rural areas of the Diocese.

"It is harder" to plan for rural parishes, said Father Berberian, noting that the "87 corridor" -- areas near the Northway, particularly in the Albany/Schenectady/Troy area -- tend to be where most priests retire, so it's harder to get retired priests who can celebrate Masses at outlying parishes.

Deacon Berning cited one example: Rev. Gordon Polenz is scheduled to retire as pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Sidney within a year, but the parish is located far enough from others that it would be difficult for a neighboring pastor to take it on. A plan will need to be made to accommodate that parish's needs.

Also, some areas of the Diocese have strong ethnic communities -- for instance, the large Hispanic population in Amsterdam -- that require parish leaders who can literally speak their language and address their particular needs.

Father Berberian remarked on the "domino effect" of moving priests around among the Diocese's parishes when "there are not that many players to play with.

"One thing that burdens our pastors and parish life directors is the administrative part" of running a parish, he added. "We are encouraging people to let parishes merge [administrative ministries] and hire one person" for several parishes, as Amsterdam did: "You have to learn how to delegate and collaborate."

Laity's role
Laypeople are being trained at parishes all over the Diocese to lead "Sunday celebrations in the absence of a priest:" the Liturgy of the Word and distribution of communion, used when a priest is not available for Mass. The format for the ritual had changed a bit since the Diocese last trained laypeople to lead these, so Elizabeth Simcoe, chancellor for the Diocese, and members of the liturgy committee of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission led about eight training sessions around the Diocese in May and June. Three more are scheduled for August and September.

Mrs. Simcoe told The Evangelist that there's been increasing use of the Sunday celebrations around the Diocese -- both planned, when a parish knows it won't have a priest for a particular Mass, and in emergencies where the priest is ill or doesn't arrive for Mass.

"With so many parishes being covered by priests who are not residents [of a particular parish], priests can become confused" about which parish they're covering on a particular day and miss a scheduled Mass, she explained.

The training sessions cover the circumstances under which Sunday celebrations in the absence of a priest are used, and demonstrate the ritual. If it's led by a deacon, a Sunday celebration can even include a homily; if not, there can be a period of silence.

Some dioceses in states like Montana and Maine use the Sunday celebrations more frequently. The question has been raised here, said Mrs. Simcoe, but the Albany Diocese hasn't encouraged parishes to plan for more Sunday celebrations as an alternative to Masses because "in our Diocese, people should be able to attend Mass somewhat nearby.

"On the other hand, if you make it too difficult for people to attend Mass, they may not be able to," she added.

Father Czelusniak looks at all pastoral planning with a practical eye. Although the number of priests could increase, "we don't make false comparisons with the past, because that culture is gone," he stated.

Mrs. Simcoe and others are heartened by the increased role of laypeople in parish life. Said the chancellor: "People are beginning to imagine how they can 'be Church' in the most positive way."[[In-content Ad]]

Read previous stories on change and reorganization in the Albany Diocese at www. evangelist.org.

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