The Times, They are A-Changing…

I should like you to be free of anxieties.
1Cor 7:32
As you attend Mass, look around you. Are the pews as full as when you were a child? Do you see as many priests, nuns and sisters as you did as in previous years? Do you see very many people volunteering for different ministries? (Do we even have as many ministries as we used to?)
For the past few decades Mass attendance has dropped, the numbers of clergy and nuns has fallen, and with that collections have dropped forcing parishes to go into what is called a “maintenance mode” or perhaps in “crisis mode.” In maintenance mode individual parishes try very hard to keep their doors open by saving every penny, recruiting volunteers to do the work that used to be done by the clergy and religious. The mission of the Church (to serve the Lord, evangelize and help the poor and needy) takes a back seat as we focus on just staying open day-to-day. Each parish, historically, has focused on bringing God’s Word to its own individual faith community, be it a single town or an area within a town—but the times they are a-changing!
The past few weeks I, and the Staff of Sacred Heart and St. Rose, have been attending Pastoral Planning meetings at the Archdiocese, along with all of parishes of the Archdiocese. We are being asked how we can best serve our faith communities in a mission-based mode rather than maintenance or crisis modes. As I sat at the meetings I looked around me and wondered how many of us were in maintenance or crisis modes. I was surrounded by individuals with great hopes of getting back to the mission of our Church and some who were fearful of the future. I listened to the new proposed plan and found myself filled with hope… hope of a new future for all our Church.
The new plan will consist of Pastors heading multiple parishes with a “Pastoral Service Team” (PST) with one Finance Council and one Pastoral Council. Parishes would come together to provide and share services that alone one parish cannot. Instead of competing for resources and parishioners, parishes will unite in the Holy Spirit to return to the mission of Christ.
Change is always difficult and, at times, frightening. In today’s second reading Paul would like us to be free of all anxieties. Paul, in his letters, tells us that we are becoming a new creation… this is true today as well. We ask for your prayers as we prepare to meet the challenges that await us. Keep open minds and always remember, the Holy Spirit will be with us and will guide us.
God Bless, Holly Clark