The Catholic Diocese of Lansing has announced further changes to the church in our state, including more closures and mergers. Bishop Earl Boyea Lansing has approved the Planning of Tomorrow's Churches final draft.
The plan outlines the reconfiguration of the 97 parishes of the Diocese of Lansing.
Included in this final draft is more changes to catholic parishes in Mid-Michigan.
Sacred heart, St. Agnes and St. Luke in Flint were closed this summer. The only new closing on the list is St. Leo.
A number of parishes in Mid-Michigan will be merging, All Saints, St. Agnes, Sacred Heart and St. Luke with merge with St. John Vianney of Flint. Also in Flint, St. Leo will merge with Holy Rosary. Blessed Sacrament in Burton will merge with St. John Evangelist in Davison.
A few parishes will share the same priest under a cluster arrangement. Christ the King in Flint will cluster with St. Matthew. St. Michael of Flint will Cluster With St. Mary.
The Diocese of Lansing says these changes are meant to create a stronger, more vigorous Catholic Church community.
From the Diocese of Lansing Web site
In General:
The following is a quick glance at the changes to be implemented throughout the Diocese of Lansing as recommended by the Diocesan Coordinating Commission and approved by Bishop Earl Boyea.
Parish or site closures:
Sacred Heart, Flint
Sacred Heart Chapel, Jackson (site only), ministry moving
St. Agnes, Flint
St. Leo, Flint
St. Luke, Flint
Transfiguration, Ypsilanti
Parish mergers:
All Saints, St. Agnes, Sacred Heart and St. Luke with St. John Vianney, all from Flint
St. Leo, Flint with Holy Rosary, Flint
Blessed Sacrament, Burton with St. John Evangelist, Davison
Transfiguration, Ypsilanti with St. John the Baptist, Ypsilanti
St. Thomas Aquinas, East Lansing with St. John Student Parish, East Lansing
Holy Cross with St. Mary Cathedral (not immediate)
Parish clusters:
Christ the King, Flint with St. Matthew, Flint
Holy Family, Ovid with St. Joseph, St. Johns
Sts. Cornelius & Cyprian, Leslie with St. James, Mason
St. Mary, Morrice with St. Isidore, Laingsburg
St. Joseph, Adrian with St. Mary, Adrian
St. Joseph, Ypsilanti with Immaculate Conception, Milan
St. Joseph Shrine, Brooklyn with St. Rita, Clarklake
St. Mary, Manchester with St. Mary, Chelsea
St. Michael, Flint with St. Mary, Flint (possibility of merger)
St. Patrick, Ann Arbor with Christ the King, Ann Arbor
St. Peter, Blissfield with St. Alphonsus, Deerfield (possibility of merger)
From parish to chapel status:
Blessed Sacrament, Burton
St. Dominic, Clinton
St. Joseph, Jackson
St. Stanislaus Kostka, Jackson
Catholic schools:
DuKette School, Flint, closed
Flint parishes close and merge
A number of changes already took place in the Flint region. The parishes of St. Agnes, St. Luke and Sacred Heart have closed, and a new worship community has formed at St. John Vianney Church. By merging these parishes, a stronger and more vigorous community results, able to serve the Catholic people of Flint with strength in unity.
In detail:
Within Genesee County, there will be 18 priests, one high school chaplain, three pastoral coordinators and sacramental ministers serving 19 faith communities. The following parish configurations will take place:
St. Francis, Otisville, is currently served by a pastoral coordinator and sacramental minister. St. Mary, Mount Morris and Sts. Charles and Helena, Clio, which will have one priest each and will share the back up sacramental ministry of St. Francis. Sts. Charles and Helena's priest will be the canonical pastor of St. Francis.St. John, Davison, will be served by two priests and will merge with Blessed Sacrament Chapel, formerly Blessed Sacrament Parish, Burton, when necessary.
St. Robert, Flushing, will be served by two priests, one of whom will have canonical pastoral responsibilities for Good Shepherd, Montrose, and be available for its back up sacramental ministry with the promulgation of this plan.
St. Michael, Flint, will cluster with the possibility of merging with St. Mary, Flint. The priest currently serving St. Mary Parish will be the canonical pastor of the clustered parishes.
Christ the King, Flint, will cluster with St. Matthew, Flint, when and if necessary.
Holy Family, Grand Blanc, will be served by two priests, one of which will become the canonical pastor of St. Mark, Goodrich, which has a pastoral coordinator and sacramental minister. The chaplain of Fr. Luke M. Powers High School, Flint will have full responsibility for sacramental ministry for St. Mark with the promulgation of this plan.
Holy Rosary, Flint and St. Leo, Flint, will merge at the Holy Rosary site and be served by one priest. St. Leo Parish will close.
St. Agnes, Sacred Heart and St. Luke have closed and merged with St. John Vianney and will be served by one priest who will also be responsible for the administration of All Saints Chapel, Flint, formerly All Saints Parish this change will take place when the pastor of All Saints retires.
St. John, Fenton, which is served by two priests, will share back up sacramental responsibility with St. Mary, Durand, for St. Joseph, Gaines, which is currently served by a pastoral coordinator and sacramental minister.
Mt. Zion Pastoral Center, Flushing, will continue its status as a pastoral center.
The following will remain individual parishes served by one priest:
Holy Redeemer, Burton
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Flint (personal parish)
St. Pius X, Flint
St. Mary, Swartz Creek
What are the decisions for the Northeast Region?
Prior to the restructuring, this region was one vicariate. It is too large, based on its number of parishioners and its geography, and may be divided into two vicariates at the discretion of the parish leadership.
In 2007, there were 24 priests, five pastoral coordinators, one high-school chaplain, and seven sacramental/weekend ministers serving 25 faith communities in Genesee County. Since 1999, the overall Mass attendance within the parishes of this vicariate fell by 22 percent.
Parish, Vicariate and Ministry Improvements
The Genesee region has many recommendations for parish improvement as set out by the Diocesan Coordinating Commission and approved by the bishop. These improvements to the region's processes include:
Each parish is responsible for the formation of its people. This formation can be provided by clustering or merging programs with neighboring parishes and/or through collaborating and sharing staff with neighboring parishes.
While religious education and formation are the responsibility of the local parish, a variety of models can be reviewed for determining which is best for a given parish's configuration. Publicity, ministry coordinators, ministry schedules, recruitment of teachers and coordinators are some things that can be shared. Whatever plan is used must include home-schooled students and their parents.
While some adult faith formation opportunities can be well developed within the local parish, parishes will work together to identify and promote prominent speakers for the entire area.
The RCIA ministry can be sponsored locally within the parish or in parish clusters sharing sites, staff and programs.
Youth ministry programs need to be strengthened to increase active involvement. The youth ministers of the county will meet, as will the young adult ministers, to determine the best model of ministry for the entire county. Based on their decisions, a regional strategic plan will be developed and implemented to accomplish this need.
Campus ministry will be located at St. Michael Parish, Flint. With the added feature of housing for students, the existing ministry needs to be expanded to serve the needs of resident students.
The social mission of the church within this county will be coordinated by the Catholic Charities agency. The ministry will reflect a perspective that forges bonds between the cities and suburbs and across racial and economic barriers.
Additionally, a strategic plan must be developed that will include, but not be limited to, addressing the following needs: drug and alcohol treatment programs; medical care and dignity for patients with AIDS; employment training for the unemployed; advocacy for decent housing; ministry to those with mental and developmental disabilities; ministry to the divorced, separated and widowed; Befriender/Stephen ministries to serve those who have suffered the loss of a loved one; ministry to those choosing alternative life styles; and jail ministry, including the appointment of a priest or chaplain.
The permanent deacons within the county will receive additional formation as needed to serve in these social ministries.
Hospital ministry will be shared by pastors and pastoral coordinators. A regional plan will be created that will reconsider the priest chaplain; create a city-wide response to hospital ministry; and schedule extraordinary ministers of holy Communion to hospitals.
Hispanic ministry for the east and north areas of the core city will be done by St. Michael Parish, Flint.
Marriage preparation is currently provided by the region and is effective.
Evangelization must be provided in a coordinated and collaborative fashion, involving all parishes in the county. Parish directors and coordinators of evangelization will jointly review what is currently available and what needs to be accomplished. They will design a strategic plan with a timetable, and begin implementation as soon as possible.
Ministry to nursing homes, adult foster care facilities and juvenile detention centers must be planned and staffed.
The needs for ministry to single-parent families must be assessed and planned to ensure that their needs are adequately met.
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