As I write this bulletin article, I am just returning from our annual Clergy Study Week in San Juan Bautista. It has been quite a busy week – exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. It is always good to get away with the other priests and spend some time in fraternity while studying together new subjects pertinent to our ministry. This year the week was dedicated to the “Pastoral Plan Implementation.” We heard from the Bishop of London, Ontario, in Canada, his Vicar General and Director of Pastoral Plan Implementation about what they did over the past 20 years and what has worked for them.
Bishop Fabbro initiated a strategic plan over 20 years ago to look at the diocese as a whole as it was facing an impending crisis in the number of priests to manage their parishes. The had 131 parishes and 120 priests at that time with the retirement of 50 priests within the next 15 years. They needed to do something and something radical to serve the 450,000 Catholics in an area that covered a 4-hour driving distance from north to south and east to west. Ultimately, they decided on a model they named “Family of Parishes” where one pastor and a group of priests (2-4 depending on the size of the parishes) would minister to a group or family of parishes without closing or merging the parishes themselves.
It was a radical idea 15 years ago and they have been amazingly successful in the renewal of their church and ministering to the people. Other dioceses across the USA have followed in their footsteps because they face similar dire predictions with many parishes and reduction in number of priests along with changing demographics and shifts in religious affiliations. They were very honest with us about what worked and what did not. Their humility and courage in leading the Church in new ways of ministering was a truly powerful witness to the Spirit working in our Church.
Over the last few years, through a synodal process, the Diocese of San Jose has listened to the people of the diocese as to their hopes and dreams for the future of our church together. There has been a lot of excitement and concerns about what we are doing or not doing to address the needs of the people. We have lots of great lay staff and volunteers who minister in each of the parishes but there is a real strain trying to meet the needs of 680,000 Catholics in 52 parishes. We have spent time discerning what to do amid our changing demographics and the prediction of a massive reduction in the number of priests due to dwindling vocations. We currently have 52 parishes and 92 active priests with the prospect of 38 of us reaching retirement age within the next 12 years with only 6 seminarians currently enrolled. We all agreed we cannot continue to do what we are doing, and we need to try something different for the future of our diocese.
While we also agreed that the Family of Parishes model as presented by the London Diocese was not the right model for us, we acknowledged we need to do something different. The good news is that we have time to discern but we must work together across parishes in new ways to meet the new demands of the changing world we live in and what the future has in store for us. It is exciting and exhausting all at the same time as we start to talk and listen to one another about our dreams/hopes, fears/concerns, and possible remedies for the dilemmas we face. It became very clear that we all needed to communicate more with our parishioners about where we are at and engage all in this wider conversation. Over the next several months, you will be hearing lots more about our collaborative efforts across parishes. We are already partnering with Christ the King Parish in San Jose, and we will look to deepen that partnership in meaningful ways as well as explore new opportunities to partner within our deanery with parishes that are closer to us.
One tool that they used to discern and collaborate was something that Global Synod used for their Synod on Synodality in Rome that October. It was a truly powerful experience for us. It is called “Conversations in Spirit”, and it entails listening at a deeper level and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our listening and thoughts.
It goes like this: Each person shares their response to a subject or question within 3 minutes. Nobody is allowed to comment or interrupt but just listen. The next person does likewise until all at the table have spoken (usually 4 or 5 people per group). Then we enter into a silence for 3 minutes asking the spirit to highlight something we heard across everyone’s words that were common or something that struck us as a new insight. Then each person shares their “new insight” based on that prayer. Again, no comments or interruptions as each person speaks. Then, another pause for 3 minutes of prayer in silence. Finally, we close by identifying common themes of agreement or discordance.
It was a powerful method of discernment and one I had never experienced before. I was at a table full of five different nationalities and each of us shared very different hopes/dreams, concerns/threats, and resolutions, so that we were able to identify clarity for the group. I believe we will be using this methodology going forward as it was peaceful, gentle, and very touching.
While we were not able to draw immediate conclusions in our short time together, we did receive renewed energy about our common future together and we look forward to sharing more with you in the months ahead. It will take us decades to rebuild our future together but how exciting it is to think that a generation from now, our children and grandchildren will recognize how bold we were to take these new steps to rebuild the Church in Silicon Valley for them!
I cannot help but draw the connection to this Sunday’s Feast of the Pentecost in which we celebrate the beginning of the Church some 2,000 years ago. They did not know what exactly the future held for them, but they relied on the Holy Spirit to guide them, motivate them, and sustain them in the ministry. Now we do the same again here in Silicon Valley and ask the guidance of the Spirit again. We will listen together, discern together, walk together, and grow together!
As I close, I want to share the good news that the Rummage Sale will be back again late Summer this year. We are holding it a little earlier on August 23-24, 2024, to accommodate the school use of the Parish Center to keep the children out of the hot September sun and in the gym to exercise. We are hopeful you will do some summer cleaning and donate some of your summer days helping the team sort items and prepare them for the sale. Our Rummage Sale is a huge outreach project. It allows our own community and local surrounding communities to shop for re-used affordable items. Did you know that the rummage team also contacts charities and pack up items that they need? Also, last year, the Principal of St. Patricks’ School in San Jose came and shopped for items for her students, the families were so appreciate to receive clothing and shoes for their children that they could not afford. It’s a great way to reuse, upcycle and support our local community and charities. So please mark your calendars, clean out your closets, save your goods during the summer and bring them into the gym in early August.
God bless,
Fr. Brendan