St. Joseph Waverly Holy Rosary Kranzburg St. John Castlewood St. Mary Clear Lake St. Charles Big Stone City St. Peter Gary St. Henry Henry St. Lawrence Milbank St. Peter Grover St. Michael Clark St. Mary Bryant Holy Name Watertown Annunciation Revillo St. Mary Wilmot St. Francis de Sales Estelline Blessed Sacrament Florence Immaculate Conception Watertown Report of Consultation November 2010 1
Table of Contents Cover Page...1 Table of Contents...2 Summary..3. Background..3 Recommendations.4 Analysis. 6 Parish Representatives 6 Pastor s........7 Attachment 1 (Minutes)..8 Attachment 2 (Sacramental History). Attachment 3 (Parish History).. Attachment 4 (Sacramental Loading Analysis)(Drive Time Map)... Attachment 5 (Proposals)... 2
SUMMARY Parish Representatives from the seventeen parishes met seven times over a five month period from July 2010 through November 2010. After the initial meeting in Watertown at Immaculate Conception, the meetings were rotated between Immaculate Conception and Holy Name in Watertown and Holy Rosary in Kranzburg. This was agreed to by the parish representatives because of the distances and these were more centrally located. The disadvantage was that the parishes were not all visited, especially the ones at risk of losing regularly scheduled liturgies. The meetings were publicized and open to all members of the affected parishes. Each meeting included an opportunity for parishioners attending to ask questions or to make any comments. In addition to the original proposal presented as a part of the Pastoral Planning process, sixteen additional proposals were developed, reviewed and discussed (Attachment 5). The strengths, weaknesses, benefits, and risks of each proposal were included in the review. This report documents the deliberations and recommendation of the seventeen parish representatives. BACKGROUND In October 2007 the Diocese of Sioux Falls initiated an extensive Pastoral Planning process. The planning process included 12 regional meetings across the diocese, gathering input from parish members and clergy. The diocese employed TeamWorks, a consulting firm, to work with the diocese in data gathering and work related to the pastoral planning process. TeamWorks was chosen because of its expertise and past history of working with Catholic dioceses, parishes, and schools. On January 1, 2009, Bishop Paul Swain issued a Pastoral Letter To Hold and Teach the Catholic Faith that comes to us from the Apostles. This was followed by five Regional Pastoral Planning meetings the last week of January 2009. During the meetings in January 2009, Bishop Swain outlined four Core Goals, a Vision for the diocese, and the current reality of the diocese. The presentation included the need to begin planning in the areas of parish life, vocations and Catholic formation, and also a preliminary proposal. The complete data and further information are available on the diocesan website, www.sfcatholic.org. In July 2010 the North Central Study Group formed, representing seventeen parishes in the north central section of the diocese. This Group included the seventeen parishes in the communities of: St. Joseph, Waverly Holy Rosary, Kranzburg St. John, Castlewood St. Mary, Clear Lake St. Francis de Sales, Estelline St. Peter, Gary St. Henry, Henry Blessed Sacrament, Florence St. Peter, Grover St. Michael, Clark St. Mary, Bryant 3
Holy Name, Watertown Immaculate Conception, Watertown St. Charles, Big Stone City St. Lawrence, Milbank Annunciation, Revillo St. Mary, Wilmot A meeting with the pastors of the area was held to review the process and seek input. Parish Representatives from each of the parishes were selected by the pastors and submitted to the Diocesan Planning Office. The first meeting of the North Central Study Group was on July 1, 2010, at Immaculate Conception in Watertown. Bishop Swain presented the Pastoral Plan and the reasons for the Plan. Bishop Swain shared the diocesan proposal for the area. The Study Group was asked to review the data, look at new data, review the history, consider the legacy, and to accept, modify the preliminary proposal, or present new proposals. Seven meetings were held over the 5 months and minutes of each of the meetings are attached (Attachment 1). All the meetings were open to the community and affected parishioners; input was sought at the end of each meeting from the audience members. An average of 30-40 people, plus the Parish Representatives, attended each meeting. Sixteen proposals were received from the parish representatives plus the one submitted with the pastoral plan for a total of 17 proposals (Attachment 5). Each parish representative was given an opportunity to present their proposal(s) and after all were presented a selection process was used to determine the recommendations to be submitted. Each representative was allowed 9 points to award the proposals using colored stickers. One was 5 points, another 3 and another 1. With 16 parishes of 17 participating (St. Mary, Clear Lake was absent) there were 144 points available. Status/future of the Benedictines at Blue Cloud and their continued presence in the region is a concern. The points were a reflection of the voting to prioritize the proposals. Some of the proposals were combined to simplify the voting process. The proposals receiving votes were: #9-65 points; #12b-53 points; #16-14 points; #17-8 points; #10-4 points; PRIMARY RECOMMENDATION: (65 points) The primary recommendation of the Parish Representatives is for the Diocese of Sioux Falls to implement the suggested plan submitted as part of the Pastoral Planning presentation. The plan would be: 1. Wilmot, Big Stone City, Milbank and Revillo to be served by 2 priests. 2. Henry, Bryant, Clark to be served by 1 priest. 3. Florence, Kranzburg, 2 Watertown parishes to be served by 3 priests. 4. Castlewood, Clear Lake, Estelline to be served by 1 priest. 5. Gary, Grover and Waverly would be churches without regular scheduled liturgies. Strengths: Accepts need for change Creates team ministry as priests work together to serve parishes with missions Weaknesses Unknown variables concerning ministry in hospitals and nursing homes Effect on un-churched people receiving religious education in Waverly People may not feel welcome when they merge with another parish 4
Benefits Larger parishes can offer more services to members (single clubs, divorce support, etc.) Facilitates more active youth groups and CCD classes Risks Parishes losing liturgies may feel diocese took the easy way out We may lose members who don t like the change Members of St. Peter s-gary may seek a parish outside of the diocese Secondary Recommendation (53 points) The second recommendation of the parish representatives is as follows: 1. 2 Watertown parishes, Kranzburg, Waverly, Florence, Grover served by 3 priests. 2. Milbank, Wilmot, Gary, Big Stone City, Revillo served by 2 priests. 3. Henry, Clark, Bryant served by 1 priest. 4. Estelline, Clear Lake, Castlewood served by 1 priest. Strengths Weakness Leaving all parishes open reassures community that the Catholic Church is strong and growing Doesn t demonstrate a ranking or favoritism of parishes Larger parishes would be giving up one Mass per weekend Linking Gary with Milbank is a logistical problem Benefits Risks All parishes remain open Plan won t work if members do not faithfully attend Mass A vote was taken to change the order of the primary and secondary recommendation s, the vote was 11-5 to keep the order as written. Additional considerations that were raised during the meetings (without universal consensus): Whether a large or small parish the Catholic Church should be a welcoming parish and we should work together Grover has already assumed all of the non-sacramental functions for the priest Planning Criteria The proposals meet the criteria established by Bishop Swain, the salient aspects of which are: reduction from 9 priests to 7 priests maintain access to the Sacraments, especially the Sunday-Obligation Mass, 5
provide access to faith formation for all ages, maintain vibrant and viable parishes, provide access to a Sunday-Obligation Mass with no more than 20 minute drive time for a majority of parishioners, priests to preside at no more than 3 Sunday-Obligation Masses per weekend insure the physical & non-physical health of priests Additional Comments: Need to consider lay administrators in combined/larger parishes More active faith is being called forth, not just Sunday Mass Obligation Be sensitive to all parishes and communities More delegation is needed by pastors of non-sacramental responsibilities and tasks ANALYSIS Benefits/Risk and Strengths/Weaknesses analyses were completed by the Parish Representatives for the various proposals. The results of those analyses are recorded in the Minutes of the meetings and within the proposals (Attachment 1). Using demographic data compiled by TeamWorks and information supplied by the parishes and the diocese, numerous reports and power point presentations were presented and discussed. The sacramental history of the parishes (Attachment 2), some changes noted in minutes; current and future demographic trends (available on the diocesan website), and parish financial history, were reviewed and discussed. Each parish was asked to complete a data gathering form and supply information requested (on file in the diocesan pastoral planning office). The time lines of each parish since the inception of the parish are available for review. A Parish and Membership Demographic Study was completed (Attachment 3) and reviewed over several meetings. This study included the most recent (July 2010) submission of parish household data. A Sacramental Loading Analysis was developed by TeamWorks for use in the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis using July 2009 data. It attempts to compare the ministerial intensity between parishes by weighing the number of certain sacraments and ministerial services by the amount of time required to provide them. The analysis considers clergy, religious, and lay person involvement in providing the services. The weighting factors are subject to debate. However, the results can provide some comparative sense of the ministerial workload of parishes. There are some ministerial factors which are not addressed, such as marriage preparation where the wedding is celebrated elsewhere (a big factor in Newman Centers). Such a sense Analysis for these seventeen parishes is included as Attachment 4. The following individuals involved in the study area discernment process as the primary parish representatives: Parish Representatives St. Joseph, Waverly Dennis Thyen Holy Rosary, Kranzburg Donald Fieber 6
St. John, Castlewood Harold Artz St. Mary, Clear Lake Steve Hansen St. Francis de Sales, Estelline James Reickman St. Peter, Gary Mary Nosbush St. Henry, Henry Roger Smith Blessed Sacrament, Florence Patrick Callan St. Peter, Grover Ruth Coplan St. Michael, Clark Jim Kopriva St. Mary, Bryant Monica Stormo Holy Name, Watertown Dr. John Stransky Immaculate Conception, Watertown Stephen Foster St. Charles, Big Stone City Joan Reiffenberger St. Lawrence, Milbank Leon Schliesman Annunciation, Revillo Charles Meyer St. Mary, Wilmot Collette Styer Pastors Fr. John Lantsberger-- Holy Name, Watertown Fr. Douglas Binsfeld-- St. Henry, Henry; Blessed Sacrament, Florence; St. Peter, Grover Fr. Brian Simon-- St. Mary, Clear Lake; St. Peter, Gary; St. Francis de Sales, Estelline Fr. Kenneth Koster-- Holy Rosary, Kranzburg; St. John, Castlewood; St. Joseph, Waverly Fr. William Hamak-- St. Michael, Clark; St. Mary, Bryant Fr. John McMullen, OSB-- St. Mary, Wilmot Fr. Joseph Forcelle-- Immaculate Conception, Watertown Fr. Gary DeRouchey-- Annunciation, Revillo; St. Lawrence, Milbank Fr. Dan Wolfgram-- St. Charles, Big Stone City The Report of Consultation was approved on November 16, 2010 by a vote of 13-3. The three opposed were Grover, Waverly and Bryant. Estelline was not present at the last meeting. 7