Consolidation
Over past months, I’ve heard the advice of the pastoral and finance councils of each RocKenRo parish, other consultative bodies, the clergy team, and diocesan officers. It’s time for RocKenRo to consider formally whether consolidation of the three parishes will advance the mission of Christ and his Church in our neighborhoods. The criteria are whether consolidation advances our administration of the sacraments, our care of souls, and our responsible stewardship of time, talent, and treasure entrusted to us by God.If the answer is affirmative, it would mean I ask Bishop Zubik to make our three parishes into one parish under a new name. The new parish would inherit everything from its predecessors: churches, rectories, school buildings, parking lots, equipment, supplies, bank accounts, debts, staff, ministries, future bequests, and past obligations.
Parish consolidation is not the same thing as church closing. All things being equal, a consolidated parish would continue to use the churches as the three do now. Parish consolidation, however, makes it easier to change our Sunday Mass schedule without negatively affecting the finances of any single parish. I’ve postponed our inevitable reduction in Sunday Masses, and it’s a reason to consolidate sooner rather than later.
Through July and August, the parish and finance councils will be meeting to outline and analyze the data.
We’ll then present it at a series of assemblies:
September 14 at 5:15 p.m. at St. Malachy
September 15 at 12:15 p.m. at St. Malachy
September 21 at 5:45 p.m. at St. John of God
September 22 at 11:00 a.m. at St. John of God
September 28 at 6:15 p.m. at Holy Trinity
September 29 at 1:15 p.m. at Holy Trinity
Your feedback will be accepted at any assembly, even if not in your home parish. Meanwhile, please pray that each of us remain open to the will of our Lord and the movement of his Holy Spirit.
The diocesan website www.diopitt.org now features disclosures related to clergy sexual abuse: the
membership of the Diocesan Finance Council and funds spent on compensation, legal fees, and the
support of accused clergy. Please note that your gifts to parishes or to the Parish Share Program are not used for these purposes.
Please join your brothers and sisters at our first RocKenRo Picnic at Fairhaven Park next Sunday, July 21.
The St. Malachy folk group will play for an outdoor Mass at 1:00 and food will follow beginning at 2:00 p.m.
—Fr. Dave
