I. INTRODUCTION

There were two preliminary studies in the area of planning for parishes in the Diocese of Owensboro. In 1988 an ad hoc committee of the Priests’ Council submitted a report with some reflections and recommendations. In 1990 an ad hoc committee of the Diocesan Pastoral Council also spent considerable time studying these issues.

The Task Force for Structure, Staffing, and Services believes that there is considerably more urgency about this matter today than there was in 1988 or even in 1990. It expresses its gratitude to those who initiated these studies. The following recommendations encompass some of the earlier suggestions of those two ad hoc committees. Let it be noted that even though there is greater urgency now surrounding these issues, the diocese is still not at a point of crisis. However, there is wisdom in planning for the future needs of the Diocese of Owensboro.

II. FORMATION OF TASK FORCE

In the summer of 1994, Bishop McRaith submitted to the Priests’ Council a memorandum in which he outlined some elements that he thought should be looked at in terms of planning for some of the future needs of the Diocese of Owensboro, particularly as they touch on parish life.

In the spring of 1995, a Task Force was formed with the express purpose of looking at the staffing, structure, and services of parishes in the church of western Kentucky. After almost three years of study and wide consultation the Task Force respectfully submits the following proposal.

III. MISSION STATEMENT OF THE DIOCESE OF OWENSBORO

We know that Jesus left the faith community — called Church — to carry on His mission into time. Jesus sent the Spirit into the Church on that first Pentecost.

Since that day, the Church has been busy evangelizing the world. We take the mission of Jesus from Luke’s Gospel, chapter 4, verse 38 ff. Jesus clearly states in Luke that He must go to the world (other towns) to announce the Good News of the reign (love) of God. Jesus says, "For that is why I was sent."

Jesus then sends for the apostles and disciples to continue announcing that Good News — to continue to evangelize the world.

Jesus carried out His mission basically by proclaiming and celebrating the Good News of God’s love and by acting out that love in His healing mission.

We, as the Church in Western Kentucky, must carry on this mission in these thirty-two counties to nearly 800,000 people of western Kentucky. We approach our command to go forth in three primary ways: by proclaiming the Good News, by celebrating God’s love and by reaching out to all of God’s children, especially those who have special needs, e.g., the homeless, lonely, sick, hungry, etc.

We are aware that this mission is first carried out in our families — the domestic Church. Thus, all ministry is, in one way or another, geared to impact family life.

While the three areas of ministry (Education, Worship, and Social Concerns) are essential to carry out the mission of the Church, there are two essential support ministries — namely, administration and personnel — that must also be exercised in any church.

It is the development of these areas of ministry that will enable this Church to effectively evangelize the world in which we live.

Pope Paul VI in his letter on evangelization says that any faith community by its very nature is an evangelizing community — a community that indeed is carrying on the mission of Jesus — and now the Church.

Revised 8/20/90

IV. RATIONALE FOR THIS REPORT

What specifically has precipitated the need for this kind of reflection and planning?

What has prompted dioceses all over the country to take similar steps?

Personnel Needs

Saint Peter calls all of us "a priestly people." That we are, but in the present scenario, the role of the ordained priest is essential for the future growth, nourishment, and development of the church. Even though the diocese has been blessed with a goodly number of newly ordained priests in the past several years, the numbers will be declining in the years ahead.

This is not in any way to suggest that the role of the lay person is not of key importance in the life of the church. One of the principal thrusts of the Vatican Council was to highlight the role and ministry of lay women and men. Regardless of the number of priests available in the church, the laity has been empowered by the sacraments of baptism and confirmation to assume their rightful place in the community of the faith. The Task Force believes that good stewardship of our resources, including personnel, is the main reason for the present report. A closer look at the stewarding of our resources will be given in the following pages.

V. CLUSTERING OF PARISHES

The Task Force sees the need to consider the clustering of some parishes, so that all parishes may continue to celebrate Eucharist and the other sacraments.

Clustering has been in existence in our diocese for some time, brought on by the various circumstances such as the need for Catholic missionary presence or clergy vacancy due to retirement, death, and assignment changes. In recommending an overall diocesan plan for clustering, the Task Force proposes that some of the present clusters be modified or eliminated. It will be necessary for some parishes to continue to exist as single parishes.

A. What Does Clustering Mean?

Clustering means that a priest serves as pastor of two or more parishes. Also included will be more frequent use of pastoral administrators and other staff members. The parishes are separate but may work together in some ministries.

B. How Will Parishes in a Cluster Work Together?

Each parish has its own parish pastoral council and finance committee and their other committees. The parishes strive to work together in scheduling Masses and Holy Week liturgies; celebrating the sacraments; planning for RCIA, religious education classes, sacramental preparation programs, adult education, youth ministry, and social concerns issues. Each parish will be unique, but each is encouraged to collaborate with the sister parish(es) in its cluster to the extent that good ministry results from this effort.

C. Elements to be Considered in Clustering Parishes

Mission:

Among the primary factors in clustering parishes must be the notion of mission. The question that is asked here is what combinations of parishes will best aid our local church in achieving a goal of making each parish community a vital center of worship and Christian community conscious of its role and duty to proclaim the Good News about Jesus Christ, and about God’s love for all. To do this, a parish must have sufficient personnel, money, and programming resources.

Flexibility must be the norm in applying this and/or any policy to particular parish communities. Some parishes need to be supported even though they do not fully meet the "profile" expectations of a policy.

Stewardship:

As the rearranging or clustering of parishes takes place, it is important that the parishes seriously embrace the notion of stewardship, for God has gifted each individual in special ways. A good and generous use of time, talents, and treasures will go far in supporting the goals of the local church and the particular parish communities. A commitment to stewardship, both for individuals and for parishes, is vital to future growth in the diocese.

Demographics:

The demographics of the area must also be considered in proposing changes in the parish structure. A central point of this proposal is to maintain or expand Catholic presence in every county of the diocese. Also to be considered is the special outreach, and extension of Catholic presence to persons of various ethnic backgrounds.

D. Criteria to be used in Determining the Clustering of Parishes

This Task Force has set criteria to be used in determining the clustering of parishes. The criteria are: 1) Clustering will involve the sharing and collaboration of both ordained and lay leadership; 2) Clustering will be based on location rather than on size; 3) Clustering will maintain the missionary presence of active Catholic communities throughout the diocese especially in those areas with few Catholics; 4) Clustering will be done in such a way that the parish clusters will have a pastor or sacramental minister and a pastoral administrator, pastoral minister(s), religious educators as needed; 5) Clustering will respect the autonomous identity of each parish and will facilitate the sharing of resources.

The clustering of parishes would be recommended for the benefit of the area which needs the Catholic presence and as a way of meeting the pastoral needs of the people. Clustering will abstract from the particular priests now serving in the parishes. The Task Force is looking at an ideal arrangement, regardless of the present incumbents or the existing combination of parishes.

VI. DIOCESAN PROFILE

For the sake of an overview of the diocesan church, the profile can be looked at in terms of some statistics. The Diocese of Owensboro is comprised of thirty-two counties in western Kentucky and is approximately 12,500 square miles. There are seventy-nine parishes and two Newman Centers. Parishes range in size from forty individuals to 3,308 individuals.

The Diocese of Owensboro is divided into eight deaneries: Bowling Green, Central, Eastern, Fancy Farm, Hopkinsville, The Lakes, Owensboro, and Paducah. Each deanery has a lay deanery council with two representatives serving on the Diocesan Pastoral Council. (The Task Force realizes that its proposal of the parish clusters may necessitate the realignment of deaneries.)

Because of the many small towns and rural areas of the diocese in which minimal or no Catholic presence has been active, several sites now have religious sisters living among and ministering to the people. These are Caneyville, Smithland, Benton, Greenville, Horsebranch, and Todd County.

The Catholic schools in the Diocese of Owensboro consist of seventeen elementary schools, two middle schools, three high schools, and one college. There are 5,236 students enrolled in primary and secondary education and 760 in higher education during the 1997-1998 school year. Religious education programs are found in the majority of parishes but are especially strong in those parishes that have a Director of Religious Education.

At this time (October, 1997) there are eighty-four diocesan priests. Of these, twelve are retired; and four are on leave of absence. The remaining sixty-eight priests are in active ministry — two are away studying; two are in military service; one is in ministry at St. Meinrad; and sixty-three priests are ministering within the Diocese of Owensboro. Of these sixty-eight active priests, twelve are eligible for retirement now(ages 70 and over), one in 1998, none in 1999 and 2000. Bringing the total number of active diocesan priests in the year 2000 to fifty-five.

At this time there are thirteen seminarians for the Diocese of Owensboro. Of these, three are to be ordained in 1998, none in 1999, and two in 2000. If all of these men are ordained, if all of the above priests retire as stated, and if no other priests leave, die, etc., the number of active priests would be sixty in the year 2000 (a decrease of eight).

There are three Motherhouses located in the diocese: Passionist Nuns, Glenmary Sisters, and Mount Saint Joseph Ursulines. There are approximately 100 sisters ministering in parishes, schools, hospitals, diocesan offices, and as missionaries. The vocations to religious life have decreased dramatically. This fact is likely to affect the number of sisters serving in the diocese soon.

Brescia University has a Ministry Formation Program which offers a degree in pastoral ministry and an associate degree and a certificate in pastoral ministry and catechetical leadership. For 1996 - 1997 there were thirty-four students enrolled in the Ministry Formation Program. The Program has had forty-three graduates and more than half of these graduates are employed throughout the Diocese of Owensboro.

VII. PRESENT CLUSTERS OF PARISHES

St. Anthony, Axtel (500 persons) & St. Mary of the Woods, McQuady (184 persons)

St. Charles, Bardwell (337 persons) & St. Denis, Fancy Farm (296 persons)

Holy Redeemer, Beaver Dam (170 persons) & St. John, Fordsville (40 persons) & Holy Trinity, Morgantown (78 persons)

St. Thomas More, Paducah (1,890 persons) & St. Mary, LaCenter (150 persons)

St. Stephen, Cadiz (269 persons) & St. Michael, Oak Grove (in planning stages)

St. Sebastian, Calhoun (180 persons) & St. Charles, Livermore (80 persons)

St. Elizabeth, Clarkson (160 persons) & St. Paul, Leitchfield (475 persons)

St. Jude, Clinton (85 persons) & St. Edward, Fulton (152 persons) & Sacred Heart, Hickman (94 persons)

Resurrection, Dawson Springs (93 persons) & Immaculate Conception, Earlington (161 persons)

St. Susan, Elkton (74 persons) & Sts. Mary & James, Guthrie (50 persons)

St. Mary, Franklin (308 persons) & Christ the King, Scottsville (58 persons)

St. Augustine, Grayson Springs (60 persons), St. Antony, Peonia (190 persons) & St. Benedict, Wax (123 persons)

St. Romuald, Hardinsburg(1,050 persons) & Holy Guardian Angels, Irvington (240)

Immaculate Conception, Hawesville (350 persons) & St. Columba, Lewisport (280)

St. Ambrose, Henshaw (125 persons) & St. William, Marion (155 persons) & St. Francis Borgia, Sturgis (285 persons)

St. William, Knottsville (846 persons) & St. Lawrence, (297 persons)

St. Joseph, Leitchfield (580 persons) & St. John, Sunfish (128 persons)

Rosary Chapel, Paducah (250 persons)& St. Frances de Sales, Paducah (1,439 persons)

Holy Cross, Providence (48 persons) & St. Michael, Sebree (127 persons)

Sacred Heart, Waverly (152 persons) & St. Peter, Waverly (539 persons)

VIII. PARISH PROFILE

If an overview of the diocese is deemed important in this study, equally important is the concept of a parish or local congregation. Specifically we ask the question "What is needed to comprise a viable and healthy parish community? What elements do we need to find in a local congregation that seem essential in carrying out the work of the Church in the diocese?"

What is a Parish? What does a Parish do? What does a Parish need?

A. What a Parish is:

A viable parish will have a strong sense of itself as a community of faith, called by God, united in Christ, led by the Spirit. Members will identify themselves with the community and be relatively well-satisfied with it.

Members of a viable parish will see themselves as ministers and will participate actively in the leadership of the parish and in staffing its various ministries.

Pastor/parish staff, both ordained and non-ordained, are adequate in number for the work of the parish. They are properly trained for their ministries, have a sense of purpose of the parish and cooperate effectively with the pastor and the people in achieving parish goals.

B. What a Parish does:

Members of a viable parish community will participate in its life and activity. They will take part in all aspects of the parish. The essential mission of the faith community is Evangelization. A viable parish experiences the call of Christ to spread the Gospel and responds with an active program of evangelization. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is seen as a vital part of parish life, and people are active in the ministries of sharing the faith (outreach to the unchurched, etc.).

The three major ministries of a parish are: 1) Worship, 2) Religious Education and Formation, 3) Social Concerns.

Worship: A viable parish will see the liturgy as the point to which all else leads and the font from which all else flows. Clergy and laity alike will take active roles in making the liturgy alive, resources will be devoted to it as necessary, and people will have a sense of pride and ownership of the parish liturgy.

Religious Education and Spiritual Formation: A viable parish is strongly committed to the religious and spiritual development of its adults, youth, and children. People participate in these ministries to contribute to their own formation and that of others. Social Concerns: A viable parish will, in response to the church’s call for the "preferential option" (Pope Paul VI) for the poor, direct its resources to all those in need. As part of its mission, a viable parish is involved in the life of its surrounding neighborhood. People will be concerned with and active in ministries which promote equality, freedom, justice, and peace.

C. What a Parish needs:

A viable parish has sufficient membership to fulfill all ministerial needs and to perform the other work necessary to keep the parish functional. The involvement of all parishioners indicates a healthy inclusion of the whole people of God and an ability to keep the parish healthy in the future.

A viable parish has the financial resources to carry out its work without becoming preoccupied with financial matters at the expense of the ministry. It is important that undue financial strain not be placed on the people of the parish.

A viable parish has facilities necessary for its life and work which are maintained in acceptable condition.

IX. PARISH LEADERSHIP

The Task Force has looked briefly at the diocesan picture. It also has looked at what makes for an integral and healthy parish community, as well as some specific dimensions of the parish community that need to be considered in this context.

What is to be said of the leadership of these parish communities? First of all, what do we understand by parish leadership? What categories are we talking about?

PASTOR is a priest, appointed by the bishop, who is responsible for the pastoral care of the people in a particular parish. Some priests are appointed as pastor of more than one parish.

PASTORAL ADMINISTRATOR is a religious, or a lay person, who is appointed by the bishop and who is to be in charge of a parish community. She/he is to provide for the ordinary day-to-day pastoral, spiritual, and administrative care of the parish.

SACRAMENTAL MINISTER is a priest who is appointed by the bishop to provide sacramental ministry in a parish led by a pastoral administrator. Sacramental ministry basically is that ministry which requires the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

PASTORAL ASSOCIATE is a lay person, or religious, who is working with one or more priests in a parish to provide pastoral leadership for all people in the parish, or in the cluster of parishes. (Inclusive of Pastoral Ministers of Catechetics, Youth Ministers, Music Ministers, etc.)

X. PROPOSED PARISH STAFFING

The Task Force recommends that each parish, according to its size, has the following MINIMUM staff.

1. Parishes with membership fewer than 500 individuals: 1 priest/pastoral administrator (his/her time may be divided between other parishes/ministries), 1 pastoral associate, necessary support staff.

2. Parishes with membership between 500 & 1,000 individuals: 1 priest/pastoral administrator, 2 pastoral associates, necessary support staff.

3. Parishes with membership between 1,000 & 1,800 individuals: 1 priest/pastoral administrator, 3 pastoral associates, necessary support staff.

4. Parishes with membership between 1,800 & 2,500 individuals: 1 priest/pastoral administrator, 4 pastoral associates, necessary support staff.

5. Parishes with membership over 2,500 individuals will have: 1 priest/pastoral administrator, 4 or more pastoral associates, necessary support staff.

Due to unusual circumstances there sometimes may be a need to assign a second priest in a parish.

XI. SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CLUSTERING AND NUMBER OF MASSES:

In determining the proposed number of Masses for each parish, the Task Force looked at the October Mass Count data. Every October from 1990 until the present, the diocese has asked each parish to count on all four Sundays the number of people attending Mass. This gives an estimate of how many Catholics are attending Mass in each parish on a given week-end. Using this figure and the church capacity, the Task Force proposes a certain number of week-end Masses for each parish of the diocese. (Please keep in mind this is a RECOMMENDATION ONLY — each parish or cluster of parishes need to make this decision in light of their own circumstances.)

The Task Force also proposes that parishes in close proximity stagger their week-end Mass times so as to better accommodate everyone. (With fewer Masses being offered, it would help if they are scheduled at different times.)

The Task Force recommends the following parish communities for clustering and number of week-end Masses:

* Reduce one Mass when new church is completed. ** Church pending.

XII. TASK FORCE MEMBERS

Sr. Christine Beckett, Tom Buehrle, Sr. Annalita Lancaster, Rose Ann Payne, Rev. Paul P. Powell, Melinda Prunty, Jim Scott, Rev. John Vaughan, Rev. Joe Mills, Chairperson, Cathy Hagan, Secretary.