Models: Clusters, Mergers, Closures

When a parish has been clustered or merged with another community, new faith communities form. The pastor or pastoral coordinator and all parish pastoral leadership will allow time for parishioners to express feelings of fear, anger or loss; but they will also be there to help parishioners move beyond these feelings with a sense of hope for a brighter future. Restructuring of parishes in the diocese was done to further the mission of the universal church – to better use all resources to strengthen parishes, to educate all people in the Gospel, feed the poor, clothe the naked, house the homeless and heal the wounded and broken-hearted. The parishes that are built from this process will energize themselves and the faithful as places of spiritual renewal and evangelization. The prospects for growth as faith communities will depend on all of our willingness to rebuild the church by renewing our commitment to her mission.

Parish clusters models
Model 1 – Separate parishes, coordinated
• Each parish has a pastor, pastoral council, finance council and staff
• Cooperation among parishes is facilitated through a coordinating council
• Programs, staff and resources are shared and planning is done through cooperation of pastors and representatives on the coordinating council with the respective parish leadership

Model 2 – Separate parishes, one pastor and parish life coordinators
• There is one canonical pastor for all parishes in the cluster
• Each parish maintains separate lay leadership structures (i.e., pastoral council, finance council, staff)
• The canonical pastor serves primarily in one parish, while parish life coordinators lead the other parishes providing pastoral care in all areas except sacramental ministry.
• Cooperation among parishes is facilitated through a coordinating council

Model 3 – Separate parishes, one pastor
• There is one pastor who provides leadership, sacramental and pastoral care for all the parishes in the cluster
• Each parish maintains separate leadership structures through the pastoral council, finance council and staff
• A greater degree of cooperation between parishes is facilitated through the coordinating council

Model 4 – One pastor, centralized team and council
• One pastor who works with one staff, and who may work out of one location in service to all  parishes in the cluster
• Individual parishes may have minimal support staff
• Area pastoral council is primary consultative body for pastor and has more influence than individual parish pastoral council and finance council
• Area pastoral council works closely with an area finance council, which has a budget and pays salaries of pastor, staff, inter-parish programs and services

Parish merger models
Model 5 – Merged parish
• All councils, committees, finances and sacramental records are merged together to create a new canonical parish
• There may be a new parish name, however, the name of the individual churches remain intact
• There is one pastor, staff, pastoral council and financial council that serve multiple worship sites or churches

Model 6 – Build and close
• The designated parishes are merged
• Together, the merged parishes build a new, larger church
• Existing churches are closed and properties are sold to provide funding for building a new church
• The new parish has one pastor, staff and traditional leadership structure with pastoral and finance councils

Parish closure: The sacramental and pastoral needs of your parish would be addressed by neighboring parishes. Parish boundaries would be redrawn.