Category Archives: Archdiocese of Boston

Question 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.

Question 16. I’ve heard that when the Parish Collaboratives form, all the Pastors in that Collaborative Phase have to resign. Is this correct?
Yes. However, the Archbishop will appoint the best Pastor for the unique needs of each Collaborative. It may be the case that the best Pastor for a given Collaborative is one of the current Pastors or Administrators (interim Pastors), or it may be the case that the best choice is someone new, from another Parish altogether. In Phase One, which began in the summer of 2013, half of the twelve Collaboratives got a new Pastor, and the other half retained a Pastor from one of the Collaborating parishes.

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

Question 15. When will St. John’s officially begin its Parish Collaborative with St. Paul’s? Is St. John’s and St. Paul’s going to be one of the first Collaboratives to form in the Archdiocese?
The Archdiocese is implementing the Pastoral Pl,an in phases. Phase One began on June 4, 2013, when twenty-eight parishes came together to form twelve Collaboratives. Phase One is being carefully followed by the Archdiocese. Phase Two parishes were announced in September, 2013 and these Collaboratives will begin on June 3, 2014. In Phase Two, forty-four parishes will come together to form twenty-one Collaboratives. Each year going forward, about twenty new Collaboratives will form. We don’t have an exact date yet for the collaboration of St. John’s and St. Paul’s, but we will make an announcement as soon as we have any information.

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

Question 14. It has been said that evangelization is a critical component of the Parish Collaborative process and the long term strength of the archdiocese. 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 critical 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.

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

Question 13: What is evangelization, really? Why is “New Evangelization” highlighted as a key part of the Parish Collaborative Process? How are the two related, anyway?
Evangelization is the work of reaching out to our brothers and sisters and drawing them more fully to Jesus 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 particular 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.
We welcome your comments and feedback. Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to – stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com

Question 12: It is my understanding that each Catholic parish has its own local governing body, the Parish Council. How will this work once we start our Parish Collaborative?
St. John’s and St. Paul’s will have one combined Pastoral Parish Council, made up of parishioners from both parishes. Although each parish will maintain its own identity (each will keep its own name, buildings, and canonical rights), there will be one Parish Council to assist and advise the Pastor in the mission of the Parishes of the Collaborative. The Pastor will seek to structure the Pastoral Parish Council in such a way that all parishioners will be able to have open and honest communication with him, both through the Parish Pastoral Council and in other settings.
We welcome your comments and feedback. Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to – stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com

Question 11. I know that each parish has its own Finance Council, which is responsible for the financial activities of the parish. What will happen to our Finance Council, and our finances, when we begin our Parish Collaborative?
St. John’s and St. Paul’s will continue to have two separate Finance Councils. Each parish will maintain its own identity (its own name, its buildings, its canonical rights) and this extends into the financial realm. Each parish will continue to have its own bank accounts, its own books, its own financial assets, and its own financial obligations. Common costs of the Collaborative between St. John’s and St. Paul’s (such as staffing and shared programs) will be shared between the two Parishes. Although the Finance Councils and our financial assets and liabilities will remain distinct, members of the Finance Councils will have to work together to support the mission of New Evangelization. Direction for this mission will come over time from our Pastor.

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

Question 10. When the Collaborative between St. John’s and St. Paul’s starts, will mass times change?
Mass times in each Parish have traditionally been determined at the discretion of local Pastors. After the Collaborative starts, the Pastor will seek input from his Pastoral Team and Pastoral Council regarding Mass times. The Archdiocese expects that in many places, mass schedules in Collaboratives will need adjustment.
We welcome your comments and feedback. Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to – stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com