The St. John and St. Paul Collaborative will be formally launched in the summer of 2015. Following is a recently asked question and answer about the new Collaborative:
QUESTION: 2s) What really does the future hold in terms of priests? I have not seen any projections for several years, but I strongly suspect the Archdiocese is heading toward a very serious crisis within the next decade, with not enough priests to respond to even the current level of demand for the sacraments.
Your concern for the future, in terms of the number of priests, is a major factor for the formation of Collaboratives in the Archdiocese of Boston. We are fast approaching the time when we will have too few priests to adequately cover all the churches in the Archdiocese, prompting the change to one Pastor per Collaborative. In Phase 1, as many as 4 churches were joined into 1 Collaborative having only 1 Pastor. The new Pastors of the Collaboratives will devote more of their time to ecclesiastical matters and less of their time to administrative duties which can be performed more efficiently by properly trained lay people. This transition will require more participation from the lay ministries in the daily operation of the church.
More information can be found on the St. John’s web site (St. John – St. Paul Collaborative News) and on the Archdiocese of Boston Pastoral Planning website (www.disciplesinmission.com)
The Inter Parish Collaborative Team welcomes your comments and feedback. Please email your questions or comments to: stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com
