Cluster 25 News

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Cluster #25 consists of the following parishes: St. Andre, St. Joseph, St Mary, St. Philip, St. Margaret, Notre Dame and Most Holy Trinity Churches.

Click here for the Merger Report submitted to Bishop Malone

CLUSTER 25 TRANSITION COMMITTEE:

The new committee met for the first time on December 4, 2006 at Saint Joseph Rectory. The members are as follows:

Msgr. Rene Mathieu & Patrick Desrosiers (Notre Dame)

Fr. Joseph Manship & Nancy Bancroft (Most Holy Trinity)

Fr. Coleman O’Toole & Jean Saunders (St. Margaret)

Fr. Renald Labarre, Fr. Kent Ouellette, Stephen St. Cyr (St. Andre), Paulette Millette (St. Joseph) & Anne Daly (St. Mary)

Fr. James Brewer & Norman Belanger (St. Philip)

Louise Beaulieu, secretary.

The committee reviewed the work done previously in the cluster along with the recommendation to Bishop Malone and his response. At the next meeting in January, the committee will develop a mission statement and related priorities. Meanwhile, Father O’Toole and Msgr. Mathieu will head up a study of the St. Luke’s property in Old Orchard. The committee is grateful for all the hard work completed by the original cluster committee.

Minutes from Transition Committee meetings:

v January 21, 2008

Ø Parish Life

Ø Communications

Ø Personnel

Ø Social Justice and Peace

Ø Parish Life

Ø Mass attendance spreadsheet

See below for 2007 meeting minutes

On June 23, 2006 the cluster committee delivered its recommendations to Bishop Malone. A copy of these recommendations can be viewed by clicking on this link: Cluster 25 Report.

The Cluster’s mission is to choose one of the 4 models that are detailed by the Diocese in “Telling Anew the Story of Jesus” by next June and then to form a plan on how to implement the model within the following 4 years. This is a daunting task and your input is vital to those who are representing your parish and all the parishes in the Cluster. Our mission is to find a model that will serve all Catholics in our Cluster for the foreseeable future and to realize that we will be a stronger Catholic community for it.

The Cluster group is meeting every three weeks at a different parish location. The meetings begin with a tour of the facilities for those who are interested. The Cluster group will be publishing a summary of the meetings as a way to keep all parishioners of the Cluster involved in the New Evangelization process.

Members of the Cluster #25 committee are:

St Andre: Mark Simoneau & Moe Sayer

St. Joseph: Patricia Berthiaume & Marc Bolduc

St. Mary: Ken Buechs & Chuck Gajewski

St. Philip: Michael Gervais & Norm Belanger, Co-Chairperson

St. Margaret: Maxine Pouravelis & Jean Saunders

Notre Dame: Wilfred Cassette & Lorie Rancourt

Most Holy Trinity: Marie LaBrecque & Tom Kane, Co-Chairperson

Pastors & Deacons: Fr. James Brewer, Fr. Renald Labarre, Fr. D. Joseph Manship,

Msgr. Rene Mathieu, Fr. Coleman O’Toole, Fr. Kent Ouellette, Fr. Patrick Walsh,

Deacon Dan Delargy, Deacon Kevin Jacques & Deacon Robert Parenteau.

Facilitator: Theresa Ketchum

Secretary: Louise Beaulieu

With change comes fear and anxieties, but also opportunity for growth. All the members of the Cluster committee look forward to working with all parishioners of the Cluster to confront and manage those fears and anxieties and find ways to seize upon the opportunities for growth to the benefit of all Catholics in this faith community. The cluster committee members ask for your help and prayers to accomplish this goal.

I. Why the Formation of Clusters: To enable parishes to carry on the Mission of Jesus Christ.

”Go,… make disciples of all nations. (Mt. 28, 19)

Every baptized Catholic must witness and proclaim the Good News: the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.

“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,

a people he claims for his own...” (I Peter 2:9)

II. Influencing Factors leading to Formation of Clusters

A commitment to collaborative ministry at multiple levels will be key to the renewal of the Church’s life in Maine. Shifting Diocesan demographics, uncertain economics, and an insufficient number of priests are forcing us to rediscover and reclaim our true identity as Catholic Christians to boldly proclaim Christ to the world. Population shifts have impacted the number of weekly worshipers and the financial stability of some parishes. On the other hand, Lay Ecclesial Ministers and Permanent Deacons are now available for ministry.

III. Key Universal Church Values

In its study of the Church, the Second Vatican Council stated that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our lives as Church. It must be central to the life of the faithful throughout the diocese. Since our celebrations of the Eucharist are impacted by the demographic realities of the diocese, provisions must be made to assure Sunday and weekday celebrations of the Eucharist.

Canon Law describes a parish as “a definite community of the Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a diocese.” It must be of sufficient size, capable of supporting and participating in the central most important action of the Church, the celebration of Sunday Eucharist and other parish ministries: faith formation for all, evangelization outreach, ministries of justice and charity, fostering vocations, etc.

IV. Planning Process

In order to promote such vibrant and alive communities, provide ongoing sacramental ministry as broadly as possible and a continued pastoral presence throughout the diocese, the Diocesan Evangelization Committee proposed a planning process that would build on existing links between communities, consider previous histories of consultation and collaboration, and attempt to recognize and respect cultural differences.

V. Features of the Cluster Proposal of the Diocese Planning Committee.

1) Fostering and supporting parish spiritual renewal and collaborative ministry must be key to bringing about a new evangelization in the Diocese, recognizing that structural or administrative changes of themselves are insufficient to bring about a new evangelization.

2) The parishes of the diocese will be formed into 27 clusters.

3) Each of the 27 clusters will have one pastor; and our cluster shall be assigned two additional priests.

4) The pastoral needs of Catholic schools, colleges, hospitals, and prisons must be assured.

5) In June 2006, each cluster will be required to present to the bishop their plan describing how the parishes in their cluster will interact and the administrative model they wish to establish.

Model I

One Pastor - Merged Parish - Centralized Team & Councils, multi-worship sites with or without a priest in residence, one Pastoral Council, one Parish Finance Council.

Model II

One Pastor - Separate Parishes (may or may not have a priest in residence) - Centralized Team & Councils, one Cluster Pastoral Council, one Cluster Finance Council.

Model III

One Pastor - Centralized Team & Councils - One Pastoral Council - One Parish Finance Council - Close existing churches and properties which are sold to provide funding for building new larger church.

Model IV

One Pastor - Combination of Models I-III - Centralized Team/Councils.

For example, in a 5 parish cluster: a) 2 merge to form a new parish and 3 merge to form a second parish. b) 3 merge to form a new parish and 2 remain as separate parishes; or some other combination of the other models.

VI. Who Does the Work

Each Cluster has formed a Committee made up of two representatives from each parish plus the priests, deacons, and a facilitator. A chairperson and recorder are chosen from the group.