ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part One of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
The New Blue Water Vicariate consists of the merger of these two Vicariates:
Belle River Port Huron
All Saints, Memphis O. L of Guadalupe Mission, P. H.
Cardinal Mooney H. S., Marine City* O. L. of Mt. Carmel, Emmett
Holy Cross, Marine City* Sacred Heart, Yale
Immaculate Conception, Anchorville* St. Christopher, Marysville
St. Augustine, Richmond* St. Edward, Lakeport*
St. Catherine of Alexandria, Algonac St. Joseph, Port Huron
St. Mark, Harsens Island St. Mary, Port Huron*
St. Mary, St. Clair* St. Stephen, Port Huron
St. Mary Queen of Creation, New Baltimore
St. Philip Neri, Columbus McCormick Cath. Acad., P. H.*
Holy Rosary Mission, Smiths Creek
Thus, the new Blue Water Vicariate consists of:
16 Parishes, 2 Missions
(Holy Rosary, Smiths Creek and O. L. of Guadalupe, P. H.)
3 Clusters (Holy Cross in Marine City, St. Mark on Harsens Island, St. Catherine in Algonac; All Saints in Memphis, St. Philip Neri in Columbus, Holy Rosary in Smith Creek; St. Joseph and St. Stephen, both in P. H.)
12 Pastors,
1 Associate (P. H.),
9 Senior Priests (5 sick),
4 Deacons (1 Senior)
8 Catholic Schools(*)
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Two of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
Belle River Vicariate Mission Statement
We, the Catholic Community of the Belle River Vicariate,
called by God and gifted by the Spirit, commit ourselves:
1) to be proclaimers of the Word;
2) to promote effective communication and collaboration
3) to encourage and support one another by the
responsible sharing of our gifts, talents and resources
so that we may grow in holiness and loving service
as a fellowship of believers
to strengthen the unity of the Church
and manifest God’s love to all people.
The Five Focus Areas of the Belle River Vicariate
Pastoral Planning Report
EDUCATION
LAY LEADERSHIP
YOUTH MINISTRY
EVANGELIZATION
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND PEACE
(January, 2003)
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Three of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
Results of the Priest/Ministry Survey of April, 1999:
-- Lay pastoral ministers can do many aspects of parish ministry, especially bringing Communion to the sick.
-- Lay people feel that lay ministers can administer the
Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.
-- More catechesis is needed with respect to liturgical roles.
-- Younger people are more demanding of their priests
than middle agers and seniors.
-- Parishioners are more demanding of the priests
than the priests are of themselves. They want to
see more priests doing sacramental ministry.
-- Priests and Deacons are more receptive to lay participation
in many ministries than are the laity themselves.
Results of the Catholic Survey of September, 1999
-- The strongest influence is the family and opinions of others.
-- Quality worship/quality preaching are most sought after.
-- The three highest reasons for not attending church are:
health problems, demands of work and divorce.
-- Everyone wants to keep their parish just “as it is”
(no closing, clustering or merging).
-- Parish bulletins are the most popular source of information.
-- Biggest concerns are retirement, health care and education.
-- Planning priorities: staffing solutions for fewer priests/religious; family issues; youth ministry programs; spiritual direction; follow-up for returning Catholics; social needs in the community; regional Catholic schools; quality religious education programs for all ages; training lay staff to assist with funerals, marriages and baptisms; working for social justice/peace; programs for older adults.
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Four of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
The State of the Vicariate
St. Mary Queen of Creation Parish should be proud of the work done by the Belle River Vicariate over the past five years. Under the leadership of Fr. Jim Commyn, Pastor of St. Augustine Church in Richmond; and under the current leadership of Fr. David Burgard, Pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Anchorville; and with the very active participation of members of our own parish staff and membership, we have actively engaged in the pastoral planning of the parishes, mission and schools within the vicariate for the next several years.
That process and its momentum were challenged when the Cardinal, along with his advisors in the Chancery, decided to merge all the Vicariates within the Archdiocese and to attempt to decrease the number of Vicariates from about 32 to 16. In that process, the Belle River Vicariate merged with the Port Huron Vicariate. The rationale given for the merger of the Vicariates was to pair up stronger Vicariates with less active or weaker ones in the hope of strengthening the vicariate process. The Cardinal would like all parishes, pastors, schools and other institutions in the Archdiocese to be active in the vicariate structure.
What this means is that the Vicariate Pastoral Council, shaped much like each of the parishes pastoral councils, would select a body of representatives from each parish to plan the mission, vision, goals and objectives of each Vicariate.
The Vicariate Pastoral Council would be the “bridge” between the Cardinal as Archbishop of Detroit and each individual parish. The parish would not be seen as a “lone ranger,” but as a part of the whole, an important part of a vehicle to study, discern, conclude an make recommendations to the Cardinal.
This is why the “Together in Faith” process involves not only the parish, but the vicariate as well.
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Five of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
I am hopeful that the past hard work of the Belle River Vicariate Pastoral Council will be taken into consideration and will be a help for the new Blue Water Vicariate as we compare and perhaps reshape our mission statements, vision, goals and objectives to create a joint statement of purpose and action.
Jackie Stringer, our Christian Service Coordinator, currently is the Chairperson of the Vicariate Pastoral Council. Our former Parish Pastoral Council Chairperson, Mary Chisholm, is the Recording Secretary. Our Director of Religious Education, Carolyn Bissett, is the Chair of the Education subcommittee of the VPC, and our Youth Minister, Ed Kuhle, is involved on the vicariate level representing St. Mary’s. We have tried to provide at least two representatives from the parish pastoral council to serve as reps on the VPC.
As you can see, St. Mary’s is well-represented on the VPC, and I thank all who are involved with the VPC.
The State of the Parish
Now we come to the State of St. Mary Queen of Creation Parish. On the whole, St. Mary Queen of Creation Parish is healthy, vital and doing the work of the Gospel and of the Church. Within the Vicariate, St. Mary’s has had a history of being the on the “cutting edge” and serving as the “trend-setter” for the rest of the parishes in the Vicariate, going back to the early 1980’s, when I was an Associate Pastor at Holy Cross Parish in Marine City.
I am finishing the second term of my two six-years terms as pastor, and I will be asking Cardinal Maida for an extension of at least three more years, to see us through this “Together in Faith” process of maintaining, clustering and closing parishes, as well as to conclude our three-year process of the RENEW experience.
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Six of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
St. Mary’s Parish has grown in membership as the New Baltimore/Chesterfield area has grown with housing and commercial development. Our most recent census indicates that we have gone from about 2300 families in 1993 to about 3,500 households at present. This parallels the increase in growth of 34.9% of the general population.
The largest group in our parish are the young, married families with children. They are also the largest group that is not coming to church, volunteering their time, or supporting the church financially. The recent survey that was taken last month showed that this particular group of people do not feel particularly invited or welcome at St. Mary’s. Phone contacts indicated that folks in this age group know they should be practicing their faith, but find themselves too busy and pulled in too many different directions.
For those who do attend St. Mary’s the survey sheets indicate that they agree or strongly agree that St. Mary’s meets their needs as a Roman Catholic in the area of liturgy, programs, opportunities for spiritual growth, ministry and leadership. Most who responded to the survey said that they come to St. Mary’s not only because it is their geographic parish or because it is convenient, but because they like the spiritual leadership, liturgies and music selections.
Those not satisfied indicated that there is not enough room in our current church for infants and toddlers. The cry room is too small, and our current gathering area is not conducive to prayer when children are running around and adults there are talking throughout the Mass. We added 54 parking spaces and eight handicap parking spaces, but some people have stopped coming to St. Mary’s because of what they perceive as a still-existing parking problem.
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Seven of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
THE SACRAMENTAL NATURE OF ST. MARY’S
According to our Parish Evaluation Inventory, it appears that we have enough seating room in our church for the people who attend Sunday Mass with some regularity. Attendance at Sunday Mass has remained the same over the past twelve years: about 2000 to 2100 people out of 11,000 registered members go to church at some point during the year. This means two out of every ten people. We have a good mix of young and old involved in liturgical ministry.
We have a strong RCIA program for adults, and the CFF for older children who need the sacraments of Baptism, First Reconciliation and First Eucharist. Our devotional life includes Eucharistic Adoration, Charismatic prayer group meetings and the recitation of the rosary before Daily Mass. We encourage the full, active and conscious participation of all people at liturgy. We provide printed materials for prayer and study, and we encourage and affirm the lay person’s baptismal call to service.
In terms of evangelization, the Evangelization Commission have come up with creative ways to reach out into the community. We welcome new parishioners with a phone call and a welcome breakfast, we welcome fallen-away Catholics through the RCIA and the RENEW programs, and we foster the spirituality of practicing Catholics with our living room dialogues, spirituality study groups and the RENEW program.
In spite of the population growth and the increase of 46% in our parish registration since 1994, the number of infant baptisms, adult baptisms, full communions in the Church, and funerals have remained the same. The number of weddings has gone from about 30 a year to 10 or 15.
Some of the reasons for the drop in the number of weddings not only here but elsewhere is that couples are choosing to have a secular wedding service or to live together without marriage. Others choose not to involve themselves in the marriage preparation process, claiming that it takes too long or that it requires too much of an investment of time and energy. Some young people feel that organized religion, and the Catholic Church in particular, is not relevant to them or to their spiritual needs.
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Eight of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
THE STRATEGIC NATURE OF ST. MARY’S
Because of the shortage of priests and the lack of availability of priests, those priests who are currently in parish ministry are doing “double duty.” If they are pastors like myself, they are doing the sacramental work of two priests, in addition to the administrative responsibilities of the parish, and in some cases, a parish school and/or parish cemetery.
The ratio of priests to people in this parish is double that of the next largest parish in the vicariate, and three time what the Archdiocese says the ratio should be. We have a skeleton crew of professional staff people, each of whom wear two hats in their ministry or service. I am deeply grateful and in awe as to all that we have been able to accomplish as a staff. I thank all of them publicly for their ministry and service.
At present, we cannot afford to hire additional staff to ease the load.
Since our western boundary was moved from I-94 to Sass Road, we have interesting statistics. Because many of our parishioners live in Chesterfield Township, technically, they are living within the geographical boundaries of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish and not St. Mary’s. And because they live in St. Max Parish, they would be part of the North Macomb Vicariate, and not ours. 7.2% of our parishioners live in other parishes within the vicariate, and 42.8 % live in parishes outside our vicariate.
In general, the enrollment in our Religious Education/Faith Formation program continues to increase slowly. But the number enrolled in sacramental preparation for First Eucharist and Confirmation continues to mushroom. We have gone from 60 Confirmation students a year to almost one hundred, and from 80 First Communion students a year to almost 150.
According to our parish census, we should have at least 2000 children in our program, but the numbers for the last twelve years have gone from between 900 and 1100 students. Our current facilities are not adequate for the ideal ratio of catechists to students (15 students to one catechist), and some classrooms have 30 children with one catechist. Creating the home study program to “double” our classroom space has not been enough.
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Nine of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
Historically, in our dealing with government agencies of the City of New Baltimore, it has been difficult, but not impossible, to obtain permission and approval for the two new parking areas we have. On the other hand, our proposed master plan for a two-story addition connecting the Faith Formation Building with the Parish Center was rejected unanimously by the New Baltimore City Council before we could even propose it to St. Mary’s parishioners for fund raising and building it.
Subsequently, the Mayor of New Baltimore and a couple City Council members worked with us on a more modest building addition proposal. That proposal has been tabled due to the current financial and economic situation in our country and in the Church. Whatever building projects we have been able to accomplish were more expensive than perhaps they needed to be, because of city demands.
We recently completed a new slate roof on the former school building, now called the Faith Formation Building. Because we were replacing an old slate roof with a new slate roof, we did not need the permission of the New Baltimore Historical District Association, although we did need a permit. The walls of the building still need to dry out.
We can take great pride in our parish cemetery. For the past few years, the maintenance staff of St. Mary’s has taken over the responsibilities to locate, to open (with a back-hoe) and to close the graves. A contracted service takes care of the grass cutting and twice-a-year general clean-up. We recently purchased and installed a 360-unit columbarium niche shelter for the interment of cremated remains. We hope to have the shelter landscaped and ready for use by the Easter season.
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Ten of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
In terms of staff, the Stewardship Commission has worked with the staff in defining employee job duties, responsibilities and classification. As we prepare our annual budget, I have made it a priority, and the Stewardship Commission strongly supports the priority, that all of our staff have a livable wage. Prior to my arrival, half of the staff were at 50% of diocesan scale. I am happy to report that for the last three years, and because of the generosity of the people of St. Mary’s, all are at or above the diocesan scale.
At the mandate of the Archdiocese of Detroit, all of our staff and most volunteers have undergone criminal background checks. We are all “clean!” Staff members are encouraged and compensated for ongoing formation. Although I am the only full-time resident priest at St. Mary’s, we are blessed to have Fr. Todd Lajiness and Fr. Mark Hamilton from Sacred Heart Major Seminary to assist with our weekend and holy day liturgies.
The parish survey indicated concern in the area of Youth Ministry at St. Mary’s. Although our Youth Minister contacts every youth twice a year with a mailing, writes articles for the Luminary and encourages peer invitation, our program is lacking that special “something” to attract and keep teens involved at St. Mary’s. Of the teens who are involved at St. Mary’s, most are part of our music ministry program. Some serve as altar servers, ushers and greeters and work at our summer vacation bible school.
The young adults of our parish have been involved in our parish festival, Habitat for Humanity and MCREST, but more is needed to invite, welcome and keep our young adults active at St. Mary’s.
Family life is encouraged at St. Mary’s with the annual renewal of wedding vows at Sunday liturgy, litany of the deceased near the feast of All Saints, a Right to Life liturgy in January, and home and family-based RCIA and faith formation programs. We have a Vocations Awareness Committee. and I myself have invited at least a dozen young men to consider priesthood and a couple of young women to consider entering religious life. We also encourage lay certification for ministry and service and provide funds from the Stewards for Tomorrow account.
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Eleven of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
Christian Service is blossoming at St. Mary’s. In addition to the Food Pantry and local conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul which has been at St. Mary’s since the 1960’s, St. Mary’s reaches out into the community with Meals on Wheels, our parish nursing network and home visitations of the sick, the Choose Life Committee which promotes Right to Life issues, a baby shower for the needy, a Sunday liturgy and breakfast for all graduates each year, an Over-70’s luncheon and financial assistance to numerous charities and non-profit agencies. Every year, St. Mary’s consistently tithes 12 to 17 % of our total financial income. By this example, we hope to inspire and encourage sacrificial giving by all of our parishioners. We hope one day to fully become a “stewardship parish.”
We reach out to the Macomb County Regional Correctional Facility with communion services, Bible study and the first stages of the RCIA. We are an important outreach to local senior citizen residential facilities, nursing care facilities and the Harbor Oaks mental hospital. We provide a weekly Communion service and monthly mass at the Village of East Harbor (with anointing of the sick twice a year) and a First Friday service at New Baltimore Place. Communion services and bible study take place at the Meadows of New Baltimore. Rides are offered to the homebound for doctor visits and to get to church, and respite care is made available when asked.
MCREST (Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Teams) has proven to be a very popular cause and a couple hundred parishioners volunteer each year to help by offering their time, talent and financial support. We have an annual coat drive for the poor, and we support a private high school in Appalachia which is run by the Piarist Fathers. At Christmas time we deliver poinsettias to our homebound parishioners.
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Twelve of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
THE SUSTAINABLE NATURE OF ST. MARY’S
The lay leadership of the parish is reflective of the general make-up of St. Mary’s. We have five commissions: Stewardship, Worship, Education/Faith Formation, Christian Service and Evangelization. We have four committees in our parish: RENEW, Festival, CSA and Cemetery. We have developed our goals and objectives for the past several years, but we are weak in evaluating the progress or accomplishment of those objectives. We need to improve in the follow-through and evaluation pieces of the process.
Besides the involvement of our lay people in the Vicariate, the pastor and the two deacons are involved in monthly meetings of the vicariate clergy. There is an ecumenical association, and the pastor is one of three chaplains for the local Police Department. All local Christian churches donate to our parish food pantry and participate in prayer services for Good Friday and Memorial Day.
In the area of finances, St. Mary’s has always submitted a balanced budget. We provide parishioners with annual reports on the financial state of the parish. With our parish bookkeeper, the Stewardship Commission prepares the annual budget and reviews it monthly at our Commission meetings.
Over the past five years, the good news is that our income has increased by 11%. Our annual income is around the $1,000,000 mark. The bad news is that with the increase in the cost of utilities and employee benefits, our expenses have increased 24% over the same period of time.
91% of our annual income comes from the Sunday and Christmas collections. Other income comes from festival profits and interest on the accounts we have downtown in the Loan Deposit Program.
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Thirteen of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
Each parish in the former Belle River Vicariate has committed to contributing $10,000 a year for the support of Cardinal Mooney High School in Marine City as the only Catholic high school in the vicariate. In addition to that, St. Mary’s has committed $15,000 toward Cardinal Mooney’s capital campaign to build an addition to their school.
St. Mary’s gives $200 each year to each parishioner student who attends any local Catholic elementary or high school. This amount is equal to the cost of educating one student for one year in our religious education/faith formation program.
We have no parish debt. We have about $500,000 in what is called the Loan Deposit Program of the Archdiocese of Detroit. Instead of getting loans from secular banks, all parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit deposit any surplus parish funds into the LDP. That way, parishes and schools that need loans can get them at a lower interest rate, and parishes with money in the LDP savings accounts can get a higher interest rate.
Thanks to the generosity of the people of St. Mary’s, at one time we had over one million dollars in that account. But in the last five years we have spent almost $1.5 million in capital improvements: buying four houses and demolishing them for our additional parking lots, spending over $100,000 to restore the former convent as our new parish center Annex, and replacing the slate roof on the former school building, now the Faith Formation Building. LDP funds can only be spent on capital improvements, not on routine annual operating expenses. We have not had to do a major capital campaign at St. Mary’s in twelve years.
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Fourteen of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
We do an annual inspection of all buildings and all are in pretty good shape, with two exceptions. The gym walls are buckling and the building will need to be replaced. Also the foundation in the rectory was crumbling, but with our efforts to stave any more damage, it looks like the deterioration has slowed down.
All other buildings are used “to the max” but we still have space issues. The Stewardship Commission reviews bids for all work, and we review insurance coverage by the Archdiocese of Detroit.
We have an annual Time and Talent campaign; we are trying really hard to do a better follow-up when people offer to help. There were several new names and faces on the sign-up roster this year. Almost 500 people were invited to this year’s appreciation dinner; this includes spouses and guests.
We send out annual statements of donations to St. Mary’s to each household which contributes more than $250 a year. A little more than half of our registered households give something at some point to support St. Mary’s financially each year.
In order to generate more participation in the sharing of time, talent and treasure, St. Mary’s participated in the Archdiocesan stewardship program, “Called by Christ, Gifted by the Spirit” and have had two offertory increase campaigns in twelve years. Those campaigns were minimally or temporarily successful. After a few months, Sunday collections dropped back down.
The pastor preaches on the concept of stewardship at Sunday liturgies when the readings of the day lend themselves to it.
ST. MARY QUEEN OF CREATION PARISH ASSEMBLY
“TOGETHER IN FAITH” held on January 9, 2005
Part Fifteen of a Series highlighting the “State of the Vicariate and the Parish”
Recently, 1400 copies of a parish survey were made available in the church pews for two weekends. Members were asked to take them home, or fill them out in church and return the completed form. In addition, the same survey was mailed out the 1700 registered parishioner households who do not use their Sunday offering envelopes, who do not attend church or who do not volunteer their time and talent.
Of the 1400 surveys left in the pews, about 150 were filled out and returned. 560 were blank. 690 were taken and not returned.
Of the 1700 surveys mailed out, 50 were filled out and returned. Some were dropped in the collection basket at Sunday Mass, others were mailed in.
What this means is that from a potential return of 3,100 surveys, only 200 were returned. I don’t know if this is a statement of the “Silent Majority” that they are happy with what St. Mary’s is doing, or if they are apathetic to the point that they will not let their voice be heard. I don’t know the answer.
Based on the surveys that were returned, and based on recommendations of the staff and commissions, it appears that we need seven more classrooms and additional meeting rooms for parents of our children in the religious education/faith formation program. We need a choir rehearsal area away from the worship space and a larger gathering area and cry room area. Our food pantry needs to be upgraded and made more user-friendly and handicap accessible.
This is a lengthy summary of the Parish Evaluation Inventory information which we will be sending on to the Vicariate Pastoral Council and to the Coordinating Committee of the Archdiocese. This information was gleaned from your parish staff and from information provided by the Archdiocese of Detroit. The results of our Parish Assembly discussion on the five questions prepared by the five Parish Pastoral Council Commissions, and the results of the parish survey, will be sent back to the Parish Pastoral Council an Commissions for their review and recommendations.