Category Archives: Archdiocese of Boston

Collaborative Question 4: What About Our Schools?

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 4:  Both St. John’s and St. Paul’s have schools. How will our Parish schools be impacted by the Collaborative? 

Parish schools will remain Parish schools. St. John’s School will remain St. John’s School and St. Paul’s School will remain St. Paul’s School. The principals of both schools will be members of our Collaborative’s Leadership Team*. Both School Boards will take part in training programs and members of both school communities will be represented in our Local Pastoral Plan.

*The Collaborative’s Leadership Team will be comprised of the following individuals: the Pastor, Parochial Vicar(s), Deacon(s), Finance & Operations Manager, Pastoral Associate, Director of Ministries, and School Principals.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Catholic Appeal 2014: Forward in Hope

This past week, the Archdiocese of Boston launched the 2014 Catholic Appeal, Forward in Hope. The Appeal supports 50 ministries that benefit our parish and thousands of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Your support of this important effort helps make our parish a thriving, welcoming community of faith. If you have yet to do so, please consider pledging your support to the 2014 Appeal. You are encouraged to watch this year’s video and share it with your family and friends by clicking on the image below:

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.

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.