Town hall meetings set for this spring

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
Posted February 20, 2003

Town hall meetings slated for next month in the Diocese of Sioux City will not only address the means by which parishes in the diocese can survive but also inform parishioners as to ways that the parishes can thrive.

"We have held town hall meetings periodically to try to stay in touch with people about changes and plans in the diocese, helping people to become accustomed to clustering and what we are calling for," noted Kay Morrissey, vice chancellor and a member of the strategic planning committee of the diocese.

Another crucial part of the meetings is an opportunity for parishioners to ask questions and offer their comments and observations.

The Priests Presbyteral Council recently had requested a new round of town hall meetings to keep parishioners abreast of the changing dynamics within the diocese.

Morrissey pointed out that one meeting will be held per deanery, but the information is basically the same at each site. With that in mind, parishioners may attend the site located closest to them even if it is not their particular deanery.

"Anyone is welcome," stressed Morrissey. "We certainly hope that parish council members and other people serving in leadership positions in parishes will attend."

Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo will be on hand at all six meetings as will Msgr. Michael D. Sernett and Morrissey. Other members of the strategic planning committee of the diocese may also be in attendance.

"We will review a historic perspective - how did we start this process and how did we get to this point," noted Morrissey. "We will have some numbers in terms of priests, deacons and pastoral ministers." The meetings will identify who is presently serving in the parishes and how it might change within the next 10 years.

In each particular deanery they will provide an overview of Phase I and II of the strategic plan, Ministry 2000: Our Baptismal Call. Initially, Phase I was to be complete by 1998 but plans changed when additional priests became available as they switched from school ministry to parish ministry, some came back to the diocese after outside ministry and some priests who had reached retirement age, 70, continued to work. By the end of 1998, the diocese actually experienced a net gain of priests available for parish ministry.

Unfortunately, the possibility to gain even more priests in this way is unlikely. Most of the priests in school ministry already have duties in parishes as well.

"We do have five priests working beyond the age of 70 and at any point those priests may choose or their health may choose for them that they must retire," said Morrissey.

She stressed that strategic planning is an ongoing process that will continue to evolve and change. When the process began in the early 1990s, it was named Ministry 2000: Our Baptismal Call. Rationale was to help people think toward the future. With this spring's meetings, the current year will be part of the title. Our Baptismal Call has been modified to Our Baptismal Response in an effort to emphasize the responsibility of each person to be actively involved.

Another trend that impacts parish and school ministry is the decreasing number of women religious.

"When I first came to the diocese (in early 1990s) most of the pastoral ministers were women religious. Now, women religious constitute less than half of pastoral ministers," Morrissey explained.

While several lay people have taken up the call to seek formation in order to serve in this capacity, she said the need is great. She recommends that parishes and/or clusters become aware of individuals who serve the parish and possibly ask them if they would be interested in taking on a greater role in parish leadership if theological formation was made available to them.

Leadership must be surfaced within parishes, she added, because the number of people available for parish ministry does not meet the openings. In the future, the need will become even greater. For pastoral ministers, it is recommended that they have a degree in theology.

"Thanks to the collaborative effort we have with Briar Cliff University, 18 hours of theology are available through Church Ministries, and Briar Cliff will work with people who choose to go on and finish a degree," said Morrissey. "We need people to respond to this and step forward to assume leadership responsibilities."

The town hall meetings will also provide examples of how clusters in the diocese collaborate in a variety of ways and from assorted perspectives - small and large parishes.

"From the very beginning, we have said that clustering is about people sharing resources - human and material," she said. "As church we did a wonderful job, over a long period of time, in helping people identify with a parish. For most people, being a Catholic means being a member of a parish. While not losing the parish identity, we want people to recognize the need to be working as part of a cluster."

Since the clusters - generally groupings of two to four parishes - were formed in 1995, Morrissey acknowledged that they are at various levels of collaboration.

She pointed out that some parishioners have dragged their feet a little because they have feared if the cluster projects and ministries are too successful, their pastor would be the next to go. Other clusters have moved forward full tilt, sharing such things as religious education programs and the expense of hiring paid staff. Parishes that have embraced the true concept of clustering are finding that they can accomplish more and value the relationships formed with the larger community of parishioners.

Members of the strategic planning committee are well aware that no two clusters will look or work the same way.

"It is going to become absolutely vital that people begin to think and act in these dimensions," said the vice chancellor. She referred to this popular quote, "People don't think their way into new ways of acting, they act their way into new ways of thinking."