Parish divides to unite

Parishioners of St. Francis de Sales Church in Loudonville like to think of themselves as one big, happy family. Rev. David Noone, pastor, is trying to make the parish remain a happy family but "less big."

A year ago, in an attempt to foster spiritual connectedness in a parish of so many members that covers so wide a geographical area, he introduced the Share 'N' Care Program.

The parish was divided into neighborhood sections, each having one or two contact persons who keep in contact with a pastoral council member and serve as links between parishioners and parish leaders.

Coming together

The contact persons will be recommissioned at Masses on Jan. 24 for another year in their ministry, which has proven to be challenging but worth extending.

"The idea is to make a large parish more pastoral. It does require a lot of work. It's a huge undertaking," Father Noone told The Evangelist.

Share 'N' Care is based on a program of the same name in a Rochester parish where he witnessed a marriage more than a year ago. St. Francis' pastoral council was looking for a way to become more pastoral in addressing the needs of the parish, and Share 'N' Care seemed to be the perfect solution.

Neighborhoods

Father Noone asked parishioner Kay Connolly to determine where fellow parishioners lived by using road maps; she color-coded streets and divided them into neighborhood sections, each having one or two contact persons. The result was the creation of 69 neighborhood sections; parish regions comprise four or five neighborhood sections.

Contact persons act as liaisons between parishioners in their neighborhood and the pastoral council. A contact person responds to questions or concerns that a parishioner has, welcomes new parishioners who move in, and offers best wishes by mail or phone to a parishioner at crucial moments in their life.

Mrs. Connolly, for example, sends sympathy cards to parishioners in her neighborhood section after the death of a loved one and mails welcome letters to neighbors who recently joined the parish.

In touch

Such deeds help to foster a sense of family, and Father Noone is pleased that Share 'N' Care has strengthened relationships among parishioners who are neighbors.

A newsletter is published several times a year to inform parishioners of activities and identify their contact persons and neighbors. Father Noone plans to hold meetings for parish regions to learn how Share 'N' Care can better meet the needs of parishioners.

The stories he hears about contact persons helping their neighbors convince him that Share 'N' Care definitely has its place in his parish. "These things happen often enough that you know there's some good coming out of it," he said.