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Latest News on Saint Catherine of Siena Pastoral Planning Process....newest information on top..
July 31st, 2011 Insert letter from Father Ted Tumicki, Pastor, regarding
the proposed weekday-weekend Mass times for all three yoked Parishes effective September 2011 (PDF).
Diocese Letter on Pastoral Planning dated May 26th, 2011 (PDF)
Posted October 28th, 2010: YOKING UPDATE
The next phase (Phase Two) of planning will begin on December 2nd at St.
Patrick Cathedral. Cluster committee members willing to continue the process along with Pastors, Administrators, and Pastoral Associates from St. Thomas
and St. Catherine’s have been invited to participate in this next phase. We have been told this process should be completed by sometime this spring. Let
us continue to pray for our two parishes as we begin the work on the yoking process.
Diocesan Letter To All Parishes (to be released for publication after 4p on October 9th, 2010) PDF Download
Posted August 19th, 2010: PARISH CLUSTER UPDATE
We have gotten many inquires on what is happening in our deanery concerning the cluster
process our parish has been going through. As of this week, Sr. Elissa Rinere, head of the Pastoral Planning Office has informed us a decision by Bishop Cote will come sometime in the
first few weeks of September on what will be happening to each parish. We will keep you informed.
05//2/2010: Final Deanery Report (Recommendations) from Parish Clusters (MS Word Document)
Cluster Meeting with Bishop Cote, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, (PDF Document) March 15, 2010
Posted December 16th, 2009: Please keep in mind: THE GOAL OF THIS CLUSTERING PROCESS IS TO
ASSURE THE AVAILABILITY OF THE EUCHARISTIC TO ALL CATHOLICS IN THE NORWICH DEANERY.
One Parishioner’s View by Jan Clancy, Saint Catherine of Siena Clustering Representative
On December 10, 2009, representatives of all the parishes in the Norwich Deanery met from 7-9pm.
After a general introduction by Sister Elissa Rinere, we broke into our individual clusters. Father Joe, Bob
O’Neil, Laura Zeppieri, and I met with representatives of St. Mary (Jewett City) and St. Thomas (Voluntown) and St. Anne (mission from St. Thomas).
I have to say right up front that there is NOTHING being said in these meetings that is “restricted to our ears only.” We have been assured that NO decisions have been made.
My view is not meant to be a formal report, but rather, just a summary of the meetings to keep anyone
interested up-to-date with the discussions. PLEASE, if you have questions, feel free to ask me questions
at anytime—after Mass, call me at home, or email me at lawrence7@snet.net . I will tell you what I know---but admittedly, it isn’t much.
Now, back to last night’s meeting. As the time for the meeting approached, I imagined all sorts of scenarios:
I thought some representatives would come in with an attitude of “MY parish is strong. It won’t close. The others in my cluster can close.”
I feared that some representatives would come with a defeatist attitude, “Our parish is small and poor so they will close us without a doubt.”
I imagined arguments on the order of, “Our Church seats more than yours” or “We haven’t declined in
population like you have” or “Our weekly income tops your” …
Well, my old Irish grandma was right: she always said, “Don’t borrow trouble.” This is just what I did
and I was SO wrong about the meeting. Maybe some of the other clusters didn’t have a positive
experience, but we did. In fact, a representative from St. Thomas called it “the evening of hope.”
In all honesty, I came away from the meeting re-energized and determined to attempt to make our
Parish programs robust and vibrant again. The representatives from all the Churches in our cluster were
friendly, sincere, and determined to make the Clustering process work. They talked of their music, the
Parish dances, the dedication of their volunteers, the closeness of their communities, the beauty of the
Church building….as well as the declining Mass attendance, fewer children at the Sacraments, declining finances. Their love, of the Eucharist and of their Parish communities, was palpable.
We did not discuss nor compare specifics, such as Parish budgets, number of Parishioners receiving the
Sacraments, size of the Church building, the age mix, the number of volunteers. We concentrated,
instead, on the programs and activities, the strengths and weaknesses. In other words, we discussed
how each Parish could help the other two Parishes and what help each Parish would welcome from the others.
POSSIBILITIES to CONSIDER : ( Please understand: there are currently no plans to do any of these. These ideas came from brain-storming---not action plans. )
Combine CCD programs
Form a joint youth program (like the former CYO basketball program and dances)
Share the Music ministry
Plan a joint retreat for Confirmation classes
We were just beginning to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each Parish when we ran out of time. The only points we had time to discuss were:
St. Thomas/St. AnneStrength: number and enthusiasm of volunteers, community close-knit
Weakness:small Parish, small CCD classes
St. MaryStrength:beautiful physical facility, plus Rectory and Convent
Weakness:no parking
St. CatherineStrength:CCD program, community close-knit
Weakness:small Parish
We ended the evening with an informal decision for our cluster to meet between Christmas and New
Years’ Day. The next formal meeting of all the clusters will be held January 13 at St. Patrick Cathedral.
_____________________________________________
November 28th, 2009: Commentary from Jan Clancy has been posted to our
Commentary Page. Click
to view - page will open in its own browser window.
Information Posted immediately below is in our Sunday Bulletin as an insert for the weekend of November 29th, 2009:
PASTORAL PLANNING MEMBERS
The following three parishioners have volunteered to represent our parish at the six Pastoral Planning
Meetings at St. Patrick’s Cathedral: Janet Clancy, Laura Zeppieri, and Bob O’Neil. Fr. Joe will attend all
meetings with them. Nancy Mignault will serve as the alternate in case someone is sick and cannot attend one of the meetings. Further information will come forth as this process begins.
Posted in our Sunday Bulletin as in insert, weekend of October 25th, 2009:
Pastoral Planning - A Parish Future Update
The Norwich Diocese offered two Deanery Meetings concerning the pastoral planning of our
parish. Those who attended the meetings met this past Monday with Fr. Joe. Fr Joe has
since spoken with Sr. Elissa Rinere, head of the Pastoral Planning Office in the diocese. Sr. Elissa
will be coming to run the next parish meeting on Saturday November 21)in Siena Hall from 3:30
- 4:30pm before the 5pm Mass. Anyone interested in what is happening with our parish or
who would like to be part of this process is encouraged to attend.
To move forward with this deanery process we have been clustered with St. Thomas Moore of
Voluntown and St. Mary's of Jewett City. Fr. Joe has been asked to submit names of 3 Regional
Committee members from our parish by December 9, who will work with the other two
parishes and their 3 Regional Committee members.
The diocese states the questions to be considered for these 3 parish members are:
1. Is the regional grouping a good one?
2. How can the parishes cooperate in order to work more effectively?
3. How would the region restructure itself if one parish was without a priest?
Sr. Elissa suggests anyone who may be interested in becoming one of the 3 Regional
Committee members is to consider the following:
*Be an active participating member of the parish.
*Have a broad view of the church, ex. What other churches are like around the country?
*Have a deep love of the Eucharist - this is the center of our faith life. The celebration of the
Eucharist is the key to our faith. The Eucharist is not specific to any priest or parish.
*Keep in mind we are Christians, we are asked to be patient, honest, and to keep our Christian
principals throughout this process. Be respectful and civil to each other in this task.
*You also MUST attend the following meeting dates at St. Patrick's Cathedral:
Thursday, December 10; Wednesday, January 13; Tuesday February 9;
Wednesday, February 24; Monday, March 15 and Thursday, April 8.
You will be expected to bring this information back after each meeting at St. Patrick's Cathedral
to a Pastoral Planning Committee in the parish and also share this information with
parishioners at one of the 3 Masses you attend.
*This will be a 5 month commitment as the Bishop wants all recommendations by May 1st.
let us pray for our parish during this process.
The parish website will now have a Pastoral Planning Page with all updated information.
All information on this parish process will be on the website:
http://saintcatherineofsienapreston.org/
October 19th, 2009: A “Core Committee” of parishioners who attended one of the two Diocesan
meetings on the upcoming Pastoral Planning Process (we have been clustered with St. Thomas in
Voluntown & St. Mary’s in Jewett City) met at Siena Hall on October 19th for preliminary discussion on
process and the selection of three representitives from Saint Catherine’s. It was voted to have
information provided to all parishioners in the upcoming Sunday Bulletins, and on the Website, and a meeting inviting all interested parties will be held on
Saturday, November 21st from 3:30 to 4:30, in Siena Hall
. Regional Committee’s will be meeting on Thursday December 10th, Wednesday January 13th, Tuesday February 9th, Wednesday, February 24th, Monday March 15th and Thursday April
8th. Recommendations are to be presented to Bishop Cote by May 3, 2010.
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