To summarize: the Current Reality Report reveals with great clarity that we face significant challenges, which require a significant and bold solution – especially if we are going to better fulfill the Lord Jesus’ universal mandate to “go make disciples” and hand on the faith that we have received and treasure to our children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren. Given the 8 takeaways mentioned above we must humbly recognize that the status quo isn’t sustainable.

Although we’re profoundly grateful for the diligent efforts of many faithful and dedicated people over the decades, so much of what we’ve been doing in recent years hasn’t been working and many of our inherited structures, institutions, and ways of doing things inhibit rather than serve our mission and the needs of people today. So, rather than “doubling down” on once effective but now failing strategies and models from a bygone era, it is time for us to courageously “cast into the deep” by letting go of what we’ve known (as difficult as it may be), so that with God’s help we might reimagine and realign our resources, structures, and parishes for the sake of evangelization, discipleship, and mission.

To that end, as the next step of the Into the Deep strategic planning process, we are working on reimagining and developing a new diocesan-wide model of how our parishes are organized and operate. We hope and believe that by joining forces and coming together in new ways we will be better positioned to more fruitfully and effectively: 1) follow Jesus; 2) reclaim Sunday; 3) evangelize others; 4) engage youth; 5) equip leaders; and 6) serve neighbors across the entire diocese both now and into the future.

An initial outline or sketch of this new model is as follows:

Our current 102 parishes (and their 135 churches + school buildings, rectories, other buildings, etc.) will be reorganized/reconfigured into approximately 30 “pastorates” or groupings of parishes – each under the
leadership of a single Pastor and other priests collaborating with him and serving as Parochial Vicars (or priests in residence, if retired).

Note: The number “~30” is driven by our data and projects to provide for a stable and sustainable model into the future.

Note: public feedback will be sought about these proposed groupings sometime in November, after which the model will be refined.

After a period of public feedback and refinement, these ~30 pastorates/groupings of parishes will be finalized and approved by Bishop Hying sometime in January or February (2023). Parishes will officially start working together as pastorates in July (2023).