You may have heard about a shift that is happening with all parishes and wonder what it all means? Let me begin by answering the above questions: it’s called Family of Parishes. I hope you read in our previous articles that the Archdiocese is going through a major transformation. Over the next two years, every parish in the AOD will be grouped with three or more parishes so as to collaborate in deeper and more intentional ways. The Cathedral will be grouped with Our Lady of the Rosary, St. Aloysius, and St. Mary’s in Greektown. Each of us will retain our own unique identity, but we will be sharing resources to advance our overall mission. This new model will hopefully allow the priests, deacons, religious and lay staff associated with each parish to better share our gifts and talents with the whole Family of Parishes.
Beginning in July, my role and those of the staff will be a little different. I will still serve as rector, but my role as pastor will be fleshed out. In our family, parish pastors now will serve as family-pastors to all parishes within our family. In other words, the priests in our family will share the work of caring for each of the four parishes. Fr. Mario Amore (from O.L. Rosary/St. Aloysius) will help coordinate this by serving as moderator, a role that is defined by Church law as a servant-leader to his parishes and brother priests. There is something called a “covenant” that will be established. It will be an agreement about how clergy and staff will interact; it will establish new leadership structures, leadership teams, mission, and staff positions.
You may recall how we were asked to “recreate” parish councils a few years ago. A group of our parishioners and staff worked very hard to do what the AOD requested. Because of the “Family of Parishes” changes though, we have gone back to something that looks more like the original model in order to get the Cathedral ready for FOP. It is recommended that we eventually establish a Family Pastoral Council (FPC) wherein two parishioners from each parish within the family will participate. They will provide input to the moderator regarding the overall mission and direction of the family. Also, a Family Leadership Team (FLT) will consist of approximately 4-6 members acting as a consultative group to the moderator, especially regarding major decisions of the family.
As you can see, this is going to be very different from what we have known, so we need to prepare. We are in the first “wave” and our transition to the Family of Parishes begins on July 1 of this year. You may have questions. This will be here before we know it, so I encourage you to educate yourself and participate. Some of you who are longer standing members of the Cathedral Parish may remember Deacon Steve Morello. He used to be here when Msgr. Robinson was rector. Dcn. Morello is designated by the archdiocese as the missionary for our FOP. He will be helping us get ready and will be hosting the three monthly Family of Parish Gatherings. Join us virtually this Tuesday April 27 at 7pm (The other meetings are May 18 and June 8). For about an hour we will discuss this new endeavor and be able to ask questions. We want your input, and this is the best way for you to share. I encourage you to register. Also, continue to pray for the Archbishop, for all clergy and staff, for each parish, and for yourself. The Holy Spirit is calling us to mission. We need to answer.
God Bless,
Fr. J.J.
PLEASE REGISTER AT FOPGATHERINGS.ORG