Families of Parishes: A New Day on July 1st

From The Beam dated June 27, 2021

When we wake up on Thursday, July 1st, the sun will rise on a new reality: We will officially be a Family of Parishes. Not much will look different. Daily masses will continue as already scheduled, parish staff members will be ready to help in the offices, and you will see the familiar face of your pastors, on Sundays. Although things will look the same, however, we will have embarked upon a very different way of being parishes. In a pastoral message entitled Led by the Spirit of Mission, Archbishop Vigneron points out that the we must view our parishes not as “inward-focused (places for those already initiated to gather) and instead to ensure they are outward-focused (places from which to go out on mission).” Families of Parishes is designed to help to accomplish this goal.

Parish Pastors will now serve as Family-Pastors to all parishes within their Family, along with the deacons assigned to our family. Fr. Marc has been appointed Moderator, a role that is defined by Church law as a servant-leader to his parishes and brother priests to help his team form a common mind for mission. The moderator will also provide leadership for the shared ministry aspects of the parishes in the family.

Beginning in July, and throughout the summer, the family pastors: myself, Fr. Ray Lewandowski, Fr. Bob Johnson and Fr. John Nedumcheril, will meet to begin working on a Covenent. This agreement will outline how we will work together as family pastors to strengthen our ability to proclaim the gospel.

This cooperation among the pastors will eventually lead to the selection of Directors: clergy or lay leaders who will lead areas of ministry in collaboration with the family pastors. Directors will lead areas such as: Discipleship formation, Christian Service and other areas of ministry we share in common as parish communities. Even before these Directors are chosen, a Mission Support director will be chosen who will lead up the administrative needs of the parishes in our family, enabling the pastors to dedicate more time to ministry. The key word for all the Directors is ‘mission.” Which is our responsibility to draw parishioners and non parishioners alike closer to Jesus.

The parishes in our family are used to functioning on our own as parishes, albeit with cooperation from time to time on parish missions, celebrations of Confirmation, or other events. As we embark upon our new journey as Families of Parishes, we enter into a deeper collaboration. Parish Pastoral Councils will be merged into a Family Pastoral Council. Each parish will retain its Finance Council, along with its financial resources, and buildings. A Family Finance Team, composed of members or the Finance Councils of each parish, will be formed to assist the parishes discern the best way forward in the utilization of these resources for our greatest priority: the proclamation of the Gospel. Parishes will not be required to share financial resources, but may chose to do so in support of other parishes in the Family after prayerful discernment. Every parish will be responsible for it’s own operational expenses, budgeting and fundraising. Some of our parishes already share ministerial positions in common (Pastors, Faith Formation Directors, and Administrators) and so their salaries are divided among those parishes, resulting in a better use of the generous stewardship the people of God share to support parish ministries.

On July 1, we will begin a transitional year. During the course of this year, the Director positions will be filled, and three consultative groups will be formed: A Family Pastoral Council, the Parish Finance Team and a Family Leadership Team, who will advise the Moderator. All these positions will be filled in the course of the coming year. This year will be a transitional year for us. You have an important role to play in this process. First of all you can pray! This is a new endeavor which will require the patience and prayer of all involved. When we are worried about the changes that Families of Parishes will entail, it may help to fix our eyes on the prize: which is the Gospel, or more precisely: the greater freedom our parishes will enjoy to share the love and mercy of God with our Southern Downriver community, and beyond.

I will continue to provide updates in the coming weeks on priests’ Covenant, the role of Catholic Schools in Families of Parishes, and other new topics as they arise. Meanwhile you can read more about Families of Parishes at: familiesofparishes.org. Please join me in praying this prayer from Pope Francis, which the Archbishop uses at the end of his pastoral note:

“Mary, Virgin and Mother,
you who, moved by the Holy Spirit,
welcomed the word of life
in the depths of your humble faith:
as you gave yourself completely to the Eternal One,
help us to say our own ‘yes’
to the urgent call, as pressing as ever,
to proclaim the good news of Jesus.”
Evangelii Gaudium, 288.