Schoharie County parishes face 'Called to be Church' with experience in change

As "Called to Be Church" goes into its second month in Schoharie County, parish leaders and group coordinators are focusing on prayer, discernment and "letting the Spirit work," according to Sister Connie James, SND, parish life director at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Cobleskill.

"I have a sense that we need to let the process be, let it unfold, let it create its course, let the Spirit move among the people with the materials that they have and with what they bring to the group," she said. "It's important that we back off and let that happen."

Along with St. Vincent's, the group includes St. Catherine's in Middleburgh, St. Joseph's in Schoharie, Sacred Heart in Stamford, St. Joseph's in Worcester, St. Anna's in Summit, and two missions: St. Philip Neri in Grand Gorge and St. Mary's in Schenevus. More than 50 people are involved in the process.

Disparate group

A huge part of the process, Sister Connie believes, is "getting to know each other, and seeing and understanding what talents every person and every parish brings to the gathering."

The churches bring a wide variety of talents to the table: deacons, parish life directors, nurses, teachers, investors, accountants, lawyers and doctors. Retirees who remember the Baltimore Catechism are sitting at the same table with Catholics in their thirties who have known only the Church after the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s.

Questions first

Tom Quinn, the coordinator from St. Catherine's, said, "There's a lot more questions than answers at this point. "We're very much in a learning mode and an open-minded mode, and still trying to figure out the direction of this process. The first meeting opened up a lot of questions, and at this point we're trying to educate ourselves more."

He hopes the group will focus on and adopt the concept of prayerful discernment.

"[We need to] prayerfully look at where we are as a Church today and where we think we'll be in ten years," he said. "We're dealing with the transcendental aspects of life. You can work with facts and be objective with them; but when you're dealing with the transcendental, it's tougher. The process has to have a high degree of prayerful discernment."

Three stages

Mr. Quinn breaks the 18-month "Called to be Church" process "into three stages:

* six months of learning to understand the process;

* six months for refining that process "so that you can establish recommendations;" and

* six months for "consolidating our recommendations."

Used to change

Schoharie County Catholics have had quite a bit of experience with changes engendered by the priest shortage and the need to promote lay ministry.

Sister Joan Curley, CSJ, of St. Joseph's in Schoharie was the first parish life director appointed in the Albany Diocese; and St. Vincent's priest-pastor was replaced last year by Sister Connie. One cluster -- St. Joseph's in Schoharie, St. Catherine's, and St. Vincent's -- already shares a music ministry and Confirmation program.

"Schoharie has gone through a lot of changes in the past several years," Sister Connie noted. "Perhaps we are in readiness a little more than places that haven't undergone dramatic change. Schoharie County is going in with the gift of having experienced and created change, and that will be very beneficial to us as time goes on."

Emotions

Mr. Quinn likens the "Called to be Church" process to what the Apostles experienced in the upper room after Jesus' death and resurrection.

"You can imagine what these Apostles were all thinking in that room, wondering what was going to happen with the Church," he said.

At St. Joseph's in Schoharie, his father, Don Quinn, puts his faith in discernment and the involvement of laypeople.

"People are enthusiastic about knowing what is happening," he explained. "At first, we had to allay fears that the Bishop was closing [the parish]. But we explained that we're just examining where we are as laypeople within the Church. That's the whole concept that the Bishop wants us to do."

Added Sister Connie, "We need to create whatever it is that will sustain and promote an active, living, viable Church life."

(2/8/07) [[In-content Ad]]