Category Archives: SJSP Collaborative

Question 9. Given that St. John’s and St. Paul’s are forming a Parish Collaborative, will religious education programs at our churches merge into one mega-program?
The structure of the Religious Education Programs will be left to the discretion of the Pastor in each Collaborative. The Pastor will seek input from his Pastoral Team and Pastoral Council members on this matter. The Archdiocese expects that in some Collaboratives, the programs will merge, and it some cases, they will remain separate. In each Collaborative, the Pastor will make his decision based on what he sees as the most effective way to promote the goals of the New Evangelization.
We welcome your comments and feedback. Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to – stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com

Question 8. I keep hearing that St. John’s and St Paul’s are forming a Parish Collaborative. Does this mean that one of the churches here in Wellesley will be closing?
No. Both St. John’s and St. Paul’s will remain open, which happily is a key benefit of the new Pastoral Collaborative program. The Archdiocesan Pastoral Planning Commission, over the last several years, evaluated the resources (the number of priests, new vocations, church buildings, etc) available in the Boston area for the foreseeable future and has determined how to allocate these resources in a manner that will enable the mission of Christ and the Catholic Church to grow stronger. Think of our 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.
We welcome your comments and feedback. Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to – stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com

Question 7:  How can one Pastor handle the job of being Pastor for both St. John’s and St. Paul’s?! What type of training will he receive to enable him to tackle such a big job?
Although there will be just one Pastor for each Collaborative, he will not be the only person carrying out the work of the Church. He will leverage his time by utilizing a team of appointed Clergy (Parochial Vicars and Deacons), a Pastoral Team, Pastoral Council members, Finance Council members, and School Board members. Many of these individuals will undergo formal training with the Central Ministries of the Archdiocese. Training will focus on New Evangelization, Catholic Leadership, and the mechanics of Collaboration. In addition, the pastor and pastoral service team will be developing a pastoral plan that will include opportunities for laity in both parishes to support various parish ministries and activities.
We welcome your comments and feedback. Please email your questions or comments about Parish Collaboratives to – stjohn.stpaul@gmail.com

Question 6: When it’s time for our parish to start our Parish Collaborative, what will happen to our pastors?
In short, we don’t know yet. There will be one Pastor shared between St. John’s and St. Paul’s. The Archdiocese has stated that the Pastor for each Collaborative shall be a priest:
· Whose reputation is well established
· Who is committed to the mission of the Church and to the New Evangelization
· Who has a proficiency in working in a collaborative environment, with strong skills of leadership, decision-making, oversight, and communication
· Who can work well with staff and parish councils
· Who can maintain an equitable relationship between/among the parishes
· Who is respectful of the different cultures of the parishes
· Who has the language skills to care for the people of his parishes
· Who is willing to participate in significant training and evaluation.

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

Question 5: I keep hearing that our parish will be part of a Parish Collaborative. Is there a plan specifically customized for the local needs of our two parishes and the unique character that  our “Wellesley/Newton Lower Falls” Collaborative will have?

We know that our Parish Collaborative will be comprised of St. John’s and St. Paul’s. We don’t know when our Collaborative will start, but we do know that a “Local Pastoral Plan” will be developed once our Collaborative is up and running. The Pastor will appoint a team to write the Local Pastoral Plan for our
Collaborative. This Plan will contain the details of how St. John’s and St. Paul’s will run their programs, promote vocations, and engage in “radical hospitality” to promote the goal of New Evangelization. The Plan will contain goals and ways to measure the movement toward these goals and will need to be approved by the Archbishop. Our Local Pastoral Plan will be unique to our Collaborative.

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

Question 3. Since St. John’s and St. Paul’s are forming a Collaborative, does this mean the parishes will be merging in the same way that companies merge?

No. If St. John’s and St. Paul’s were to merge, the two parishes would cease to exist, and a new parish would be created. Instead, St. John’s and St. Paul’s will still continue to exist after the Collaborative begins. Think of our Collaborative as an “affiliation of parishes” – not a new parish. Both St. John’s and St. Paul’s will remain open. St. John’s and St. Paul’s will each maintain its own identity – its own name, buildings, canonical rights, bank accounts, books, financial assets, and financial obligations.

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

Question 2: I’ve been reading that Parish Collaboratives are being formed throughout the Archdiocese. How was it determined which parishes would be grouped together? Why have St. Paul’s and St. John’s been grouped together?

Parishes in close geographical proximity to each other, often located in the same town or zip code have been grouped together for logistical and practical purposes. In addition, the Archdiocese sought to ensure that the parishes in the Collaborative will have enough financial resources to sustain the Collaborative. Another metric that was used is the parishioner-to-priest ratio: about 1,600 parishioners attending weekly mass to one Pastor. (A second full-time priest, or Parochial Vicar, may be assigned to Collaboratives when weekly mass attendance exceeds 3,200 parishioners.) The analysis utilized to form Parish Collaboratives also took into account the “vitality” of the parishes, including the combined number of baptisms, weddings, funerals, and weekly mass attendees are in the parishes being grouped together. Trends in population growth, educational requirements, cultural and language changes, family and household economic challenges, and migration patterns were also considered. St. John’s and St. Paul’s were a natural fit forming a Parish Collaborative.

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