Union of two parishes opens new opportunities

A little more than a year ago, parishioners of St. John the Baptist Church in Schaghticoke and St. Monica's in Johnsonville came together under the leadership of one pastor, Rev. Bernard Turner, after the Augustinian friars ended years of ministry at St. John the Baptist.

So far, the arrangement has worked out quite nicely, much to Father Turner's delight.

"I had a great deal of hope, from what I heard, that it would be a positive experience," he said. "I have been overwhelmed by the people."

Keeping it going

When the Augustinian order announced in August 1996 that it would be pulling out of the Schaghticoke parish and four others in the Albany Diocese in a year, Father Turner realized that steps had to be taken to ensure the continuity of St. John's.

Although he had begun serving as pastor of St. Monica's only one month earlier, he agreed to become pastor of St. John the Baptist parish as well (the parish includes a mission, Our Lady of Good Counsel in Valley Falls).

Father Turner met with Rev. Anthony Tomasulo, OSA, then-pastor of St. John the Baptist, during the year prior to the reconfiguration of their respective parishes to make the transition go more smoothly.

Getting acquainted

When Father Tomasulo was unable to celebrate Mass at his parish, Father Turner would substitute, and he also attended "Family Day" at the parish to meet the people who would soon be under his pastorate.

"In that sense, people knew of me somewhat. I wasn't a total stranger walking in the door," Father Turner said.

While getting to know parishioners of St. John the Baptist, Father Turner also made certain that the parishioners at St. Monica's knew the details of the situation.

"People were aware of what was happening, and I kept them abreast of what was happening," he said.

Time of change

The Augustinian friars celebrated their final Mass at St. John the Baptist last summer. When they pulled out on June 30, 1997, Father Turner became the new pastor.

Some of the first changes involved weekend and daily Mass schedules since Father Turner couldn't be in two places at one time. Next, the parishes combined their religious education programs, with classes now taught at St. John the Baptist parish hall.

Cheri Foster, pastoral associate for faith formation at St. John the Baptist, was instrumental in getting people excited about the program by writing letters to parents inviting them to be involved and speaking about her ministry to parishioners at both churches.

Many other changes occurred in January, with the prayer and worship committees of each parish combining; a standardized set of procedures for lectors, Eucharistic ministers and altar servers being implemented; and a combined parish bulletin being published.

The most recent changes include establishing a common Pre-Cana program, a common baptismal preparation program and the combination of the Mass stipend accounts into one.

Smooth operation

Father Turner has been pleasantly surprised how well the reconfiguration has progressed.

"When I look back at what we have accomplished," he told The Evangelist, "to think that we have done all of this in a year has been a real wonderful surprise for us all."

He credits Deacon Walter Rehder of St. John the Baptist with helping to make the transition work, not only by his participation in weekend Masses, but also through his involvement in the Marriage Preparation program.

More to do

Father Turner figures that the next logical step is to consider merging the parish and finance councils of St. John the Baptist and St. Monica's. He hopes the respective councils could attend each other's meetings before any further steps are taken.

As the former administrator of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Gloversville, which merged with St. Mary's Church there, and the former associate pastor of Annunciation Church in Ilion, located near St. Anthony's and St. Joseph's parishes in Herkimer, both of which eventually merged, Father Turner has seen parishes share ministries and services in preparation for the future. He is confident that St. John the Baptist and St. Monica's parishioners will collaborate effectively.

"We have, in our hands, the power to create something new," he said. "You can tap the gifts and resources of people that have never been tapped before."

(07-30-98) [[In-content Ad]]