Pastoral planning quickens its pace

Pastoral planning will never be over, and "the pace of change is quickening," say diocesan officials as they cite abundant evidence that the Church in the Albany Diocese is evolving rapidly:

* The number of priests in active ministry who are serving the Diocese's 168 parishes has dropped to 145, 28 of whom (like hospital chaplains and campus ministers) are in ministries other than parishes;

* the number of parish life directors (deacons, women religious and an increasing number of laity who are in charge of parishes) has risen to 22, and new rules for educating and selecting them have been created;

* parish clusters and deaneries (groups of parishes) have begun to approach diocesan officials to initiate planning for the future, realizing they have to be proactive in making decisions about how churches will work together to best serve their areas; and

* several parish mergers have occurred in the past year, including six parishes in Watervliet/Green Island becoming one; Holy Cross in West Taghkanic and Sacred Heart in Philmont melding into St. John Vianney parish; and Our Lady of Angels and St. Patrick's in Albany uniting as Holy Family.

Transition time

"We're a Church in transition," remarked Sister Kathleen Turley, RSM, diocesan chancellor for planning and pastoral services.

She pointed out that, although all of the Diocese's parishes have participated in planning for the future, it was in rural parishes where those plans were first put into effect.

Recently, however, city and suburban parishes have begun to see their retiring priests replaced with PLDs and their pastoral plans used.

Sister Kathleen told The Evangelist that city parishes are "becoming vulnerable, because you have these large [parish churches] with very few people in them" as the exodus of Catholics to the suburbs continues.

Laity's role

"Parish life directors' being appointed in larger numbers is a good thing. There's an explosion in lay ministry," stated Sister Kathleen.

She believes that Catholics in the Diocese are coming to understand that parish life directors are able to lead large parishes, not just smaller ones.

In fact, she said, more parishes are hiring laypeople for other roles that were once covered by pastors, like "pastoral associates for administration" who handle finances for many parishes. Moreover, those roles are now being considered parish ministries, part of a parish's spiritual life as well as a practical need.

New look

"The mission continues. The Diocese is just as big as it was [100] years ago; it's just that the faces who serve it are different," noted Rev. Ronald Menty, administrative advocate for priests.

He took on that job two months ago and said that his work involves an increasing amount of interaction with other diocesan offices as they try to fill vacancies at parishes with a pastor or PLD, or consider other options.

John Manning, associate director for planning and pastoral services, pointed out that pastoral planning has reached the diocesan level in other ways.

For example, the budgeting for diocesan offices now covers three financial years instead of one to better project revenue and expenses; and those offices have clustered under the headings of administration, education, communication and Catholic Charities, so they can look toward providing services more efficiently.

Quickened pace

Diocesan officials are concerned about the changes outpacing Catholics' readiness to embrace them.

"Is the present pace adequate to the need? That's what we're dealing with internally," said Father Menty.

Mr. Manning spoke of encouraging parishes to let go of their traditional idea of their own church as a center of spiritual life and take a wider view.

"To say, 'We must keep our parish at all costs,' negates the realities of the day," he explained.

Time of tension

All the officials agreed that the evolution of the Diocese is bound to cause tension in its Catholic population. Sister Kathleen called pastoral planning "hard, messy work," noting that no one is going to vote for their parish to close.

As a result, she said, diocesan officials often have to step in to make the hard decision that a parish will no longer have a pastor or will merge with another. However, said the officials, much of the resistance to change comes from parishioners who weren't a part of the planning and don't understand the necessity for change.

"It becomes a lot easier if they've gone through these processes, because they see that a change must be made," Sister Kathleen said.

Improvements

Father Menty used the example of car manufacturers forced to lay off hundreds of workers or go out of business.

While it's hard to accept such major cutbacks, he said, "ten years from now, they may say it's the best decision they ever made."

"Parishes cannot stay on their own, totally isolated, and stay viable," Mr. Manning concluded. "They need to work with each other."

Pastoral planning facts

* Many parishes are using a presentation given by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard a year ago to a national meeting of diocesan coordinators of parish services.

Titled "The Mission of the Contemporary Church," it outlines how parishes must work together to remain vibrant, reach out to fallen-away Catholics and others, and work on ecumenical and interfaith relations, among other suggestions.

The Diocese has prepared a DVD and study guide on the presentation for parishes; call 453-6612.

* Though more and more priests are talking about pastoral planning in their homilies and bulletins, and calling laity to step into leadership roles, said Father Menty, "the emphasis on lay leadership in no way diminishes the importance of priestly ministry in the Church."

* A major trend in planning is for several parishes to share ministries: combining youth ministry or religious education for a cluster of parishes, for instance, rather than each parish having its own separate program.

* Parishes in parts of Fulton, Northern Rensselaer, Schenectady and Albany counties are working together on plans for the future. In particular, Troy, Glens Falls, Schoharie, Johnstown and Gloversville's churches are examining how they might cooperate. (KB)

(2/9/06) [[In-content Ad]]