One Mission ~ One Community ~ One in Christ
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1
Fr. Rafferty's Announcement Regarding the Merger of Our Parishes
October 13, 2020
Dear Parishioner:
In the 1960’s Canton’s rapidly growing Catholic community erected two new churches. St John’s original 1860 church was replaced with a new edifice and a new parish, St. Gerard Majella, was established. Masses were crowded and each busy parish was served by a team of priests. Today, the scenario is different. Families are smaller, there are fewer priests and Mass attendance has declined. This is not a Canton-only phenomenon but part of a larger cultural shift.
Nothing is gained from bemoaning the ever-changing environment of human experience. The early Church was initially persecuted in Rome but ultimately persevered and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ across the globe. In the United States, Catholics who once faced religious discrimination and anti-immigrant bigotry, eventually established the thriving parishes, schools, colleges, hospitals and charitable entities that we know today. Each generation confronts its own challenges. We are called to adapt to them, calling upon the Holy Spirit, which has guided the Church for two millennia, to help us discern the paths that will guide us to assuring a vibrant and sustainable Catholic presence in our community.
Presently, Canton has two Catholic churches, each of which can accommodate 800 worshippers. On a typical weekend (pre-Covid) a total of 900 people attend Mass at each parish, approximately 225 per Mass. As the number of worshippers decline, and offertory remains flat or drops, the burden of maintaining two houses of worship becomes increasingly difficult. (See Exhibit 1)
In 2012 Cardinal Sean and the Archdiocese of Boston promulgated a new roadmap for pastoral planning called Disciples in Mission. A key component was having parishes share clergy, staff and resources to maintain viability. Each year one tenth of the Archdiocese’s almost 300 parishes entered into partnerships called “collaboratives”. In 2018, Phase 6 of the plan, St. Gerard Majella and St. John the Evangelist parishes began collaborating. Our two parishes share clergy, administrative offices and staff. At the start of the second year of collaboration the plan requires parishes to establish a Disciples in Mission Committee whose task is to draft a Pastoral Plan. (See Exhibit 2) This effort has been underway since last fall.
In late March, during the height of the coronavirus outbreak, all houses of worship were closed. Fortunately, many parishioners are generously supporting St. Gerard’s and St. John’s through online giving, direct transfers, or mailing contributions. However, the overall effect of the shutdown has had devastating effects on our financial plight. It has been said by many parishes that the virus cannot be solely blamed for the precipitous revenue drop, but that it exacerbated a trend of declining participation and revenue.
Our Disciples in Mission Committee continued to meet remotely. In late spring, we put the draft on hold to address the urgent matter of revenue, facilities and expenses. The members, in consultation with our Parish Pastoral Council and Finance Councils, concluded, and I concur, that the Catholic Community of Canton can be served by a single parish. Toward that end I am formally asking Cardinal Sean to authorize a merger between St. Gerard Majella and St. John the Evangelist parishes.
As a united parish community, we shall undertake the task of determining the best use of facilities. It is too soon to decide whether to consolidate at one of the present churches or to seek another site. It will take months if not longer to explore options and weigh ideas. Many other parishes in our Archdiocese have or are embarking on similar paths. (See Exhibit 3)
As a first step, some are conducting comprehensive engineering and structural analysis of existing facilities. Most likely we will do the same. This challenge can be more easily undertaken if we commit to keeping our hearts and minds open to new ideas and to listening to one another. It is a process that calls for bringing many matters to prayer.
Over the last several years each of our parishes has expended tremendous effort to maintain what might be called survival mode. Pastors, staff, committed volunteers and parishioners have labored mightily to maintain facilities and carry out essential ministries. While change is seldom easy, the reality is that circumstances have presented us with an opportunity to come together as an invigorated faith community. Such a model will better enable us to direct our energy toward life-giving educational, devotional and pastoral initiatives.
When we use the noun church with a lower case “c” we refer to a particular house of worship. When we use the upper case “C” we mean the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. Our salvation and our interconnectedness are ultimately rooted in our common Baptism and Profession of Faith. The big C and the small c converge at the parish level. Experience shows that the widest array of spiritual, pastoral and community service ministries succeed in the strongest parishes.
As I said at the outset, each generation of Catholics confronts unique challenges. The Church endures and thrives when challenges are addressed with pure hearts disposed to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Working together, each of us can do our part to ensure that our legacy is a sustainable and vibrant Catholic presence in Canton. May future generations look back on this moment and commend our effort.
Yours in Chris,
Reverend Thomas S. Rafferty
Pastor
October 13, 2020
Dear Parishioner:
In the 1960’s Canton’s rapidly growing Catholic community erected two new churches. St John’s original 1860 church was replaced with a new edifice and a new parish, St. Gerard Majella, was established. Masses were crowded and each busy parish was served by a team of priests. Today, the scenario is different. Families are smaller, there are fewer priests and Mass attendance has declined. This is not a Canton-only phenomenon but part of a larger cultural shift.
Nothing is gained from bemoaning the ever-changing environment of human experience. The early Church was initially persecuted in Rome but ultimately persevered and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ across the globe. In the United States, Catholics who once faced religious discrimination and anti-immigrant bigotry, eventually established the thriving parishes, schools, colleges, hospitals and charitable entities that we know today. Each generation confronts its own challenges. We are called to adapt to them, calling upon the Holy Spirit, which has guided the Church for two millennia, to help us discern the paths that will guide us to assuring a vibrant and sustainable Catholic presence in our community.
Presently, Canton has two Catholic churches, each of which can accommodate 800 worshippers. On a typical weekend (pre-Covid) a total of 900 people attend Mass at each parish, approximately 225 per Mass. As the number of worshippers decline, and offertory remains flat or drops, the burden of maintaining two houses of worship becomes increasingly difficult. (See Exhibit 1)
In 2012 Cardinal Sean and the Archdiocese of Boston promulgated a new roadmap for pastoral planning called Disciples in Mission. A key component was having parishes share clergy, staff and resources to maintain viability. Each year one tenth of the Archdiocese’s almost 300 parishes entered into partnerships called “collaboratives”. In 2018, Phase 6 of the plan, St. Gerard Majella and St. John the Evangelist parishes began collaborating. Our two parishes share clergy, administrative offices and staff. At the start of the second year of collaboration the plan requires parishes to establish a Disciples in Mission Committee whose task is to draft a Pastoral Plan. (See Exhibit 2) This effort has been underway since last fall.
In late March, during the height of the coronavirus outbreak, all houses of worship were closed. Fortunately, many parishioners are generously supporting St. Gerard’s and St. John’s through online giving, direct transfers, or mailing contributions. However, the overall effect of the shutdown has had devastating effects on our financial plight. It has been said by many parishes that the virus cannot be solely blamed for the precipitous revenue drop, but that it exacerbated a trend of declining participation and revenue.
Our Disciples in Mission Committee continued to meet remotely. In late spring, we put the draft on hold to address the urgent matter of revenue, facilities and expenses. The members, in consultation with our Parish Pastoral Council and Finance Councils, concluded, and I concur, that the Catholic Community of Canton can be served by a single parish. Toward that end I am formally asking Cardinal Sean to authorize a merger between St. Gerard Majella and St. John the Evangelist parishes.
As a united parish community, we shall undertake the task of determining the best use of facilities. It is too soon to decide whether to consolidate at one of the present churches or to seek another site. It will take months if not longer to explore options and weigh ideas. Many other parishes in our Archdiocese have or are embarking on similar paths. (See Exhibit 3)
As a first step, some are conducting comprehensive engineering and structural analysis of existing facilities. Most likely we will do the same. This challenge can be more easily undertaken if we commit to keeping our hearts and minds open to new ideas and to listening to one another. It is a process that calls for bringing many matters to prayer.
Over the last several years each of our parishes has expended tremendous effort to maintain what might be called survival mode. Pastors, staff, committed volunteers and parishioners have labored mightily to maintain facilities and carry out essential ministries. While change is seldom easy, the reality is that circumstances have presented us with an opportunity to come together as an invigorated faith community. Such a model will better enable us to direct our energy toward life-giving educational, devotional and pastoral initiatives.
When we use the noun church with a lower case “c” we refer to a particular house of worship. When we use the upper case “C” we mean the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. Our salvation and our interconnectedness are ultimately rooted in our common Baptism and Profession of Faith. The big C and the small c converge at the parish level. Experience shows that the widest array of spiritual, pastoral and community service ministries succeed in the strongest parishes.
As I said at the outset, each generation of Catholics confronts unique challenges. The Church endures and thrives when challenges are addressed with pure hearts disposed to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Working together, each of us can do our part to ensure that our legacy is a sustainable and vibrant Catholic presence in Canton. May future generations look back on this moment and commend our effort.
Yours in Chris,
Reverend Thomas S. Rafferty
Pastor
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Article in the Canton Citizen on the merger of our two parishes.
October 22, 2020 Please remember, as Father Rafferty said in his homily this weekend, while we are merging now, neither church is being closed at this time! To read the online version clcik: Canton Citizen Article |
Fr. Rafferty's Homily of October 24/25 (Addressing Merger)
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One Mission ~ One Community ~ One in Christ
