Category Archives: Disciples in Mission

St. John – St. Paul Expected to be in Phase 3

Posted on May 24, 2014 | Comments Off on St. John – St. Paul Expected to be in Phase 3

SJSP Collaborative Logo_SmallDear Parishioners,
From this bulletin, The Pilot and a number of other sources, you are aware that our Archdiocese is in the midst of implementing Disciples in Mission, a comprehensive plan developed over a two year period by the Archdiocesan Planning Office working with the Archdiocesan Pastoral Planning Commission (APPC). In an effort to advance its evangelical efforts, preserve and strengthen parishes and reasonably allocate clergy and lay personnel, it calls for the development of collaboratives. Simply put, collaboratives are parishes served by one pastoral staff (i.e. sharing clergy, religious and lay staff).

StJohn.StPaul_LogoWith only a handful of exceptions due to size or unique geography, it is expected that all of the parishes in our Archdiocese will be part of a collaborative by 2019. Each year a block of parishes will be announced and, with the assistance of the Planning Office, enter into collaboratives. The second grouping or phase is set to commence June 1 of this year. For the reasons stated in the letter (a copy of which ran in our parish bulletins in recent weeks) St. John the Evangelist and St. Paul parishes have volunteered to be a part of Phase III. We have been informed by the Planning Office that they concur with our suggestion. Hence we expect to be a part of Phase III, which will begin in summer 2015. In the near future the Archdiocese will make a formal announcement, including at least some of the other Phase III collaboratives.

The St. John/St. Paul Collaborative Committee has been meeting for some time now to prepare us for this eventuality. In the months to come all of us will have opportunities to learn more about the process and what we can do to ensure its successful implementation.

Respectfully yours,

Rev. Thomas F. Powers
Pastor

Rev. Thomas S. Rafferty
Administrator

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Posted in Disciples in Mission, Important Announcements, SJSP Collaborative

Collaborative Question 3: Is One of the Churches in Wellesley Closing?

Posted on May 16, 2014 | Comments Off on Collaborative Question 3: Is One of the Churches in Wellesley Closing?

SJSP Collaborative Logo_SmallThe St. John and St. Paul parishes will, in the near future, be joined in a Collaborative under a plan developed by the Archdiocesan Office of Pastoral Planning. The St. John and St. Paul Parish Councils, along with Father Powers and Father Rafferty, have requested that our Collaborative be included in the upcoming Phase III of the Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese of Boston. The Archdiocese is scheduled to announce the parishes that will be included in Phase III before the fall of 2014, and the Collaboratives for those parishes will be formally launched in mid-2015.

Following is a recently asked question and answer about the new Collaborative:

Question 3:  If St. John’s and St. Paul’s are forming a Collaborative, does this mean that one of the churches in Wellesley will be closing?

No! Both St. John’s and St. Paul’s will remain open, which is a key benefit of the new Pastoral Collaborative program. It is helpful to think of our two-parish Collaborative as an “affiliation of parishes” – not a new parish. St. John’s and St. Paul’s will each maintain its own identity – each with its own name, buildings,
canonical rights, bank accounts, books, financial assets, and financial obligations.

More Frequently Asked Questions can be found on the St. John’s web site:  ST. JOHN-ST. PAUL COLLABORATIVE NEWS  In addition, the Archdiocese regularly updates a detailed website: www.disciplesinmission.com.

We welcome your comments and feedback.  Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to – stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com.

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Posted in Disciples in Mission, Important Announcements, SJSP Collaborative, SJSP Collaborative Planning - FAQ

Collaborative News – A Letter from the Pastors

Posted on May 10, 2014 | Comments Off on Collaborative News – A Letter from the Pastors

StJohn.StPaul_LogoDear Parishioners,

Two years ago Cardinal Sean announced a new plan for the Archdiocese entitled Disciples in Mission. In this plan, a cluster of parishes would enter into a Collaborative. Each parish would retain its individual identity and yet would work together with the other parish(es) under the leadership of one Pastor. Therefore, under this new Archdiocesan plan, there would be one Pastor for St. John and St. Paul. Implementation of this Archdiocesan plan would take place in a series of phases during the coming few years.

Presently two phases have been implemented and a third phase is tentatively scheduled for 2015. After discussion with the advisory boards of both parishes, we feel it would be appropriate to inform the Archdiocese that St. John and St. Paul would be open to inclusion in phase three. It is Cardinal Sean who decides which Collaboratives would be included in each phase and also what
the timetable would be for that phase.

We feel this is an opportune time for our parishes to be included since Fr. Powers will be reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 2015, and setting our sights on phase three will help the parishes to focus on what must be done to prepare for this change. It is our conviction that when our parishes enter into this new relationship, the mission of each parish will be strengthened and the community will be better served.

May this Easter Season be a blessing to all the members of our parishes.

Fr. Thomas F. Powers, Pastor       Fr. Thomas Rafferty, Administrator

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Posted in Disciples in Mission, Important Announcements, SJSP Collaborative

Collaborative Questions: What Can We Do Now to Prepare?

Posted on May 8, 2014 | Comments Off on Collaborative Questions: What Can We Do Now to Prepare?

SJSP Collaborative Logo_SmallThe St. John and St. Paul parishes will, in the near future, be joined in a Collaborative under a plan developed by the Archdiocesan Office of Pastoral Planning. The St. John and St. Paul Parish Councils, along with Father Powers and Father Rafferty, have requested that our Collaborative be included in the upcoming Phase III of the Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese of Boston. The Archdiocese is scheduled to announce the parishes that will be included in Phase III before the fall of 2014, and the Collaboratives for those parishes will be formally launched in mid-2015.

Following is a recently asked question and answer about the new Collaborative:

QUESTION 2: What can the St. John and St. Paul communities do now to prepare for the formal launch of the Collaborative? 

Preparations are already underway. Over a year ago, an Inter-Parish Committee comprised of parishioners from St. John and St. Paul was formed. This group has been meeting monthly to plan for the upcoming Collaborative, and is in communication with the Office of Pastoral Planning in the Archdiocese. Information regarding the Collaborative gets printed in both parishes’ weekly bulletins, and is always available on both websites under a Collaborative News tab. Members of the St. John’s and the St. Paul’s Parish Councils have attended and actively participated in one another’s Parish Council meetings. Additionally, many St. John’s and St. Paul’s parishioners have increasingly enjoyed the array of social, educational, and religious events at one another’s churches. Going forward, we will continue to provide up-to-date information on the
Collaborative in the bulletins and on the web sites as it becomes available. Additionally, we will host open meetings to provide timely, accurate information when our Collaborative is formally announced.

More Frequently Asked Questions can be found on the St. John’s web site – click ST. JOHN-ST. PAUL COLLABORATIVE NEWS under “Quick Links.”  In addition, the Archdiocese regularly updates a detailed website: www.disciplesinmission.com.

We welcome your comments and feedback.  Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to – stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com.

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Posted in Disciples in Mission, Important Announcements, SJSP Collaborative, SJSP Collaborative Planning - FAQ

Important Update from the St. John – St. Paul Inter Parish Team

Posted on May 4, 2014 | Comments Off on Important Update from the St. John – St. Paul Inter Parish Team

SJSP Collaborative Logo_SmallThe St. John and St. Paul parishes will, in the near future, be joined in a Collaborative under a plan developed by the Archdiocesan Office of Pastoral Planning. The St. John and St. Paul Parish Councils, along with Father Powers and Father Rafferty, have requested that our Collaborative be included in the upcoming Phase III of the Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese of Boston. The Archdiocese is scheduled to announce the parishes that will be included in Phase III before the fall of 2014, and the Collaboratives for those parishes will be formally launched in mid-2015. Following is a recently asked question and answer about the new Collaborative:

QUESTION 1: The St. John and St. Paul Parish Councils have requested that our Collaborative be included in Phase III of the Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese of Boston. How will the Archdiocese determine which Collaboratives are included in Phase III? When will we find out if we are in Phase III? 

The Office of Pastoral Planning, together with the Secretariat for Parish Life and Leadership and the Vicar General, will develop a list of possible Phase III Collaboratives. This list will be brought to Cardinal Sean for his final approval. Phase III Collaboratives will be announced throughout the spring and summer of 2014 and will be formally launched in June 2015.

More Frequently Asked Questions can be found on the St. John’s web site – click ST. JOHN-ST. PAUL COLLABORATIVE NEWS under “Quick Links.”  In addition, the Archdiocese regularly updates a detailed website: www.disciplesinmission.com.

We welcome your comments and feedback.  Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to – stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com.

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Posted in Disciples in Mission, Important Announcements, SJSP Collaborative

March 27: Meeting on St. John & St. Paul Pastoral Planning

Posted on March 21, 2014 | Comments Off on March 27: Meeting on St. John & St. Paul Pastoral Planning

StJohn.StPaul_LogoThursday evening, March 27, there will be a meeting for Pastoral Councils, Finance Councils and staff of St. John and St. Paul parishes. The place of the meeting will be the Parish Hall of St. Paul’s at 7:00 p.m. and the subject to be discussed will be our parishes participation in Phase III of the Diocesan Plan Disciples in Mission. Fr. Paul Soper and the staff of the Pastoral Planning Office will join us for the conversation.

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Posted in Disciples in Mission, SJSP Collaborative

Collaborative FAQ 20: Where can I learn more?

Posted on December 6, 2013 | Comments Off on Collaborative FAQ 20: Where can I learn more?

SJSP Collaborative Logo_SmallQuestion 20: I feel like I’ve probably missed some of the questions that have been published in this section of the Bulletin. Where can I learn more about Collaboratives?
All of the questions we’ve published so far can be found on the St. John’s web site – click
ST. JOHN-ST. PAUL COLLABORATIVE NEWS under “Quick Links.” In addition, the Archdiocese regularly updates a detailed website: www.disciplesinmission.com.

We welcome your comments and feedback.  Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to – stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com.

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Posted in Disciples in Mission, Important Announcements, SJSP Collaborative, SJSP Collaborative Planning - FAQ

Collaborative FAQ 19: Any Surprises From Phase 1?

Posted on November 29, 2013 | Comments Off on Collaborative FAQ 19: Any Surprises From Phase 1?

SJSP Collaborative Logo_SmallQuestion 19: Since Phase One is underway already, has the Archdiocesan Pastoral Planning Commission noted any challenges or surprises with these initial Collaboratives?

As we all know, change is rarely easy! Phase One Pastors have embraced major change: they left familiar  surroundings and started working with new staffs and parishioners. They are learning the culture of their new parishes while trying to keep up Mass schedules and levels of involvement with their parishioners. These Pastors have committed themselves to grow strong, intentional, and effective centers for the Archdiocese’s New Evangelization.  One area which posed some surprising false starts for the Collaboratives was IT. Getting the proper networking, internet, phone, and wiring in twelve Collaboratives up and running proved to be more complex than anticipated. Things are going more smoothly now; patience and persistence is paying off.

We welcome your comments and feedback. Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to: stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com 

For more information and to the view this entire series of “Frequently Asked Questions” please visit the St. John – St. Paul Collaborative News page on our website.

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Posted in Disciples in Mission, Important Announcements, SJSP Collaborative, SJSP Collaborative Planning - FAQ

Collaborative FAQ 18: Will There Be Training?

Posted on November 22, 2013 | Comments Off on Collaborative FAQ 18: Will There Be Training?

SJSP Collaborative Logo_SmallQuestion 18: Once our Collaborative with St. Paul’s begins, will there be any training or guidance for the Pastors and other individuals on how to keep things running smoothly as a new Collaborative? 

Yes. After a Collaborative Pastor is appointed, his training begins right away. Collaboratives will typically start in June of each year, and training will begin that fall for the combined Pastoral Council, the two Finance Councils, and the two School Boards. Early in the following year (January or February), the Pastoral Teams will begin their training, which will be focused on the New Evangelization, Catholic Leadership, and the mechanics of Collaboration.

We welcome your comments and feedback. Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to: stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com 

For more information and to the view this entire series of “Frequently Asked Questions” please visit the St. John – St. Paul Collaborative News page on our website.

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Posted in Disciples in Mission, SJSP Collaborative, SJSP Collaborative Planning - FAQ

Collaborative FAQ 17: What’s the “Blueprint”?

Posted on November 15, 2013 | Comments Off on Collaborative FAQ 17: What’s the “Blueprint”?

SJSP Collaborative Logo_SmallQuestion 17: Once our Collaborative is formed with St. Paul’s, is there a “blueprint” of how we’re supposed to operate?

Yes. After our Collaborative is formed and is up and running, the Pastor will appoint a team to write the Local Pastoral Plan for our Collaborative. The Plan will contain the details of how St. John’s and St. Paul’s will engage in the work of the New Evangelization (reaching out to Catholics who are not currently active in the Church and welcoming them back to the active practice of the faith). Our Local Pastoral Plan will contain the details of how we will run our programs, how we will promote vocations, and how we will engage in radical hospitality. The Local Pastoral Plan will also contain specific goals and how we will measure movement toward these goals. The Local Pastoral Plan will be different for each Collaborative and will be approved by the Archbishop.

We welcome your comments and feedback. Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to: stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com 

For more information and to the view this entire series of “Frequently Asked Questions” please visit the St. John – St. Paul Collaborative News page on our website.

 

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Posted in Disciples in Mission, Important Announcements, SJSP Collaborative, SJSP Collaborative Planning - FAQ