Category Archives: Archdiocese of Boston

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 11: If evangelization is a critical component of the Parish Collaborative Process, what does it mean to be an
evangelizing parish?

Evangelization (reaching out to our brothers and sisters and drawing them more fully to Jesus Christ) is a component of the parish Collaborative Process because evangelization and collaboration are two ways to enable the mission of Christ and the Catholic Church to grow stronger. To make our Catholic community stronger, we need to find ways to welcome our brothers and sisters back to active practice of the faith. Evangelizing parishes exercise what is called “radical hospitality.” They are always mindful of the lost. They pay careful attention to what they look like to people coming through the door for the first time. They make excellent and bold use of social media. They are committed to forming disciples, who in turn form other disciples. They have a strong focus on adult religious experiences, and adult faith formation, especially in small groups. We all know Catholics in Wellesley and elsewhere who have drifted away from the Catholic Church. To make our Catholic community stronger, we need to find ways to welcome our brothers and sisters back to active practice of the faith.

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  

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 10: How is evangelization part of the Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese of Boston?

Evangelization is the work of reaching out to our brothers and sisters and drawing them more fully to Christ. Cardinal Sean, echoing the teaching of Blessed Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, has repeatedly emphasized that the Church will only be strengthened to the extent that every practicing Catholic embraces the “New Evangelization,” the work of reaching out to Catholics who are not currently active in the Church. Evangelization is a component of the Parish Collaborative Process because Evangelization and Collaboration are two critical ways which will enable the mission of Christ and the Catholic Church to grow stronger. We all know Catholics in Wellesley and elsewhere who have drifted away from the Catholic Church. To make our Catholic community stronger, we need to find ways to welcome our brothers and sisters back to active practice of the faith.

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  

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 9: How will our Parish Councils and Finance Councils change once the St. John and St. Paul Collaborative is launched?

There will be one Pastoral Council for both Parishes, to advise the one Pastor and to oversee the implementation of the one Local Pastoral Plan. However, each Parish will have its own Finance Council, to oversee the financial accounts, assets, and obligations of each individual Parish. The two Finance Councils
will come together regularly and hold joint meetings.

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  

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 8: Is there anything that St. John and St. Paul parishes should avoid doing in the lead-up to the formal launch of our Collaborative?

The Office of Pastoral Planning has recommended that we should not invest money on meeting or residential space, without first having done a Collaborative space study. Additionally, we must not neglect to inform new hires of the details of the Collaborative process and the role they may play in the new Collaborative.

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  

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 7: Can you share some of the difficulties that the Phase I and II Parishes have experienced as they have entered into the formal Collaborative process? And what lessons has the Archdiocese learned from the experiences of the Phase I and Phase II Parishes?

In the Parishes where there was little or no advance preparation, or negative advance preparation—the formation and development of the Collaborative has been greatly impeded. Forming new Pastoral Teams is a complex process. Choosing the right team for the mission is a necessity. Collaborative Pastors have enormous responsibilities and need to have a strong support team in place in order to accomplish their objectives. The Archdiocese has learned that forming Collaboratives is a slow process that takes time and planning to get right. As a result, the process has been elongated, to allow more time for advance preparation.  It is important to choose a good leadership team, very early. The Pastor needs an excellent Executive Assistant, Finance and Operations Manager, and Director of Ministries. The Pastor must delegate as much as possible. It is critical to have as many people as possible participate fully and actively in the training program. As with most endeavors, it helps to be creative.

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  

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 6a.) I am a parishioner at St. Paul whose children have attended both St. Paul’s and St. John’s schools. My question is: given the declining enrollments of both St. John’s and St. Paul’s schools, is any consideration being given to merging the schools?

Beginning with the formal launch of our collaborative a pastoral service team will be established, and a pastoral plan will be developed for the 2 parishes in the collaborative. This plan will cover all aspects of the parishes, including the schools, so any merger or collaboration between the 2 schools could be part of that plan as it evolves over time, and the parish and school communities will have input on all aspects of the plan, including the parts of the plan dealing with the schools. In addition, the Archdiocese is very supportive of parish schools and the Catholic Schools Office of the Archdiocese will be involved in any decisions made with respect to the schools.

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  

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 6.) Please discuss the process which will be used for selecting a Pastor for our Collaborative, and the role of the local Parish communities in that process.

Since we have now been selected as a Phase III Collaborative, Father Rafferty and Father Powers will send their letters of resignation in October 2014 to Cardinal Sean, to become effective in June 2015. St. John’s and St. Paul’s will be listed as “open” in the Officials section of The Pilot and any priest who wants to apply for the position of Pastor may do so. The Regional Bishop, the Vicar Forane, the Director of Clergy Personnel, and possibly a member of the Clergy Personnel Board, will come to a joint meeting of our Council and Staff members, to get their input regarding Pastor selection. The Clergy Personnel Board will then discuss the candidates and develop a list of names for Cardinal Sean’s consideration. Cardinal Sean will make his appointment, probably by mid-January of 2015.

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  

The 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:

QUESTION5) Once the St. John and St. Paul Collaborative is underway, how will the Collaborative be managed?

The Office of Pastoral Planning for the Archdiocese of Boston has designed the following leadership model to implement the Pastoral Plan:

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.