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Christ the King Town Hall June 28, 2012 . Trinity Vicariate Northern Edge Proposed “COLLaboration Partners” Plan. Six Parishes. One Vision. Christ the King Corpus Christi Gesu Presentation Our Lady of Victory St. Peter Claver Catholic Community St. Scholastica .
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Christ the King Town Hall June 28, 2012 Trinity Vicariate Northern EdgeProposed“COLLaboration Partners” Plan Six Parishes. One Vision. • Christ the King • Corpus Christi • Gesu • Presentation Our Lady of Victory • St. Peter Claver Catholic Community • St. Scholastica
REVIEW: What is TIF-II? • The Archdiocese of Detroit (AOD) initiated TIF-II (Together in Faith II) planning to address: • Decline in priests • Reduced membership • High parish debt levels • Excess facilities • Parish operating deficits • Key objective for the Archbishop is: “Strengthening the Church in the City” • Process occurred at the Vicariate level, divided further into “Planning Groups” • Christ the King is one of 6 parishes in Trinity Vicariate’s “Northern Edge” Group
Mission Priorities TIF-II plans must also address the following Mission Priorities identified by the Archbishop: 1. Evangelization & Catechesis 5. Stewardship & Admin 2. Christian Service & Outreach 6. Catholic School Education 3. Youth and Young Adults 7. Vocations 4. Lay Leadership 8. Worship * * Worship is an 8th priority area added by the parishes of the Northern Edge.
TIF–II: What are we facing? In January 2012, after 2011 TIF-II planning… • St. Peter Claver and Presentation/Our Lady of Victory were advised to “develop plans to merge with a nearby parish • Gesu, Christ the King, Corpus Christi, and St. Scholasticawere “to identify cluster partnersand develop cluster plans” … with plans to take effect when a current pastor is no longer available, if a replacement is not available … or when either parish begins to experience a net operating deficit.” • Cluster planning should “commence with models for initial collaboration and include contingency plans for programming, outreach and administration, for clustering/merging the parishes, and/or closing buildings and planning for the sale of property. This may result in short term, temporary administrators assigned, or a more permanent solution.”
Difficulties with Cluster & Merger Plans • Technicalities:3 of our 6 parishes are pastored by “order” priests (e.g., priests like the Jesuits who do not report to the AOD.)New assignments and commitments require approval by their Superiors. • Practicalities:4 of our 6 parishes are the result of multiple mergers, and already cover and seek to serve vast geographic areas of the city. • Presence:To strengthen Catholic presence in Detroit, we need strategies to maintain and grow at existing parish sites - sacramentally, spiritually, and through increased outreach and service.
What do we propose? After prayerful consideration and discussion, all six Northern Edge parishes agree that: “further reduction of Catholic presence in our neighborhoods is not in the best interest of ‘strengthening the Church in the city of Detroit’” By “presence”,we mean both outreach and worship • Outreach without worship fails to identify us as Catholic • Worship without outreach fails to give witness to Christ To make continued presence possible, we propose adoption of a third model offered by the AOD Office of Parish Life: Collaboration Partners
Collaboration Partners. This model allows us to: • Create means for shared programming, operations and ministry • Address concerns about finances and shortages of priests • Pursue our eight Mission Priorities • Build relationships and systems to help all 6 parishes survive and grow - while also preparing ourselves for successful clusters and mergers, if necessary, in the future.
Collaboration Partners 3 main areas to address, along with Mission Priorities: Organizational Structure: Covers Pastoral Leadership, Lay Leadership and Formation Sustainability: Covers Finances, Facilities, Stewardship, Fundraising, Administration and Best Practices Inter-Parish Programming: Covers Evangelization & Catechesis, Christian Service & Outreach, Youth & Young Adults, Vocations, Catholic Schools & Education, and Worship
Organizational Structure • Pastors will coordinate pastoral and sacramental responsibilities • Parish staff and volunteers will collaborate in administration, service and outreach • All 6 parishes will communicate and coordinate efforts in planning, scheduling and activities • All will develop an expanded understanding of what it means to “be church” – reaching out and moving beyond our current parish walls • Formation work for all involved
Sustainability Immediate opportunities: • Sharing best practices, savings strategies, and purchasing power *Meetings and discussion are already underway among “Northern Edge” parish Business Managers Ideas for the Future: • Shared fundraising • Coordinating capital improvement plans • Collaboration in retrofitting and updating of facilities • Shared efforts in property sales and downsizing, if/as necessary
Inter-Parish Programming • Will enable us to: • Create a stronger bond among our parishes • Do more with what we have, expand and GROW • Better serve our community and neighbors through expanded outreach and Christian Service programs • Increase awareness, participation and membership
Inter-Parish Programming • Some activities are already in progress… • Joint Confirmation program, RCIA retreat, Adopt-A-Day Soup Kitchen, Coordinated Blood Drives, Healing Service, Combined All Saints’ Day Mass - November 1, 2012 • Others proposed for the coming year…. • Priest Pulpit Exchanges, Praise and Worship, Shared Prayer, Vocation Promotions, Catholic Career Day • Existing programs can be shared and expanded: • ALPHA, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Youth Activities, Job Club, Tutoring • Strength through collaboration also makes possible new initiatives (in high need areas): • Housing, Transportation, Education, Employment, Youth Outreach, Violence Prevention
Next Steps • RevisedCollaboration Partnerplan will be finalized for submission to AOD July 2012. • Northern Edge parishioners updated via Town Hall meetingsand other means. • Pastors and Parish Councils will review and sign plan for submission. • Copieswill be available online, and via hard copies upon request. • Response anticipated Fall 2012.
Need More Information? • Want to know more about the TIF-II process? Go to: www.aodonline.org and click on “Together in Faith” • The Collaboration Partners plan and updates will be posted to our parish website: www.christthekingdetroit.org • Our Vicariate has its own website and Twitter feed: http://www.trinityvicariate.org/andhttp://twitter.com/#!/trinityvicariat (no “e” on the end of vicariate)