Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool Pastoral Area 21 St Edmund Arrowsmth April 2012 Holy God whose presence must be made know in any structure we build and renew establish us as a community of hope never seeking to contain your mystery but willing to be led, by the Holy Spirit, beyond safe harbours into new and sacred waters through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Pastoral Area Plan
Introduction St Edmund Arrowsmith Pastoral Area 21 In these days of Easter, when we are blessed to receive the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection and the experience of the first followers of the Way in the Acts of the Apostles, we gain an important insight into the life and mission of the Early Church. It is in the spirit of those early days of the Church that this Pastoral Area Plan is formed. We, the Pastoral Area Clergy Group and the Pastoral Area Working Group, have tried to listen to the signs of the times and to respond in faith to the current realities of the Church of today, here in this place, while remaining always true to the fundamental command of the Risen Lord to the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. In the first chapters of the Acts of the Apostles we discover the essential aspects of following the Risen Lord. We are to remain faithful to the teaching of the Apostles to recognise that we are members of a bigger community to come together to celebrate the Breaking of Bread. The first followers of Christ lived a common life and shared what they owned in order to support one another. We too are being asked to be generous in our sharing of the resources available to us today as we too try to follow the Risen Lord. We recognise that this will involve a time of change which will be difficult for many. Pastoral Area 21 is dedicated to the patronage of St. Edmund Arrowsmith and so we look to his experience of the Church in this time of change and uncertainty for guidance and support. He lived through dark days when it was not possible to worship the Lord in ways that we take for granted, when priests were few in number, under constant threat of arrest and people travelled to where the Mass was celebrated. He and the people he served remained true to the essential elements of the Church s life; true to the teachings of the Church they received, recognising that they were part of a bigger community of faith under the guidance of the Holy Father and gathering whenever and wherever they could to celebrate the Holy Mass together. In our meetings over the past few years we have struggled to discern this plan. We have changed as a result of our involvement in this process and have come to recognise that the early solutions put forward are simply not sustainable. We know from our own experience that change is difficult but doing nothing is not an option any more. Our hope is that the changes proposed will be a real impetus for transformation. The prayer of our whole community must be that this process, begun so many years ago under the banner of Leaving Safe Harbours, we help us to grow together as we build bonds across the parish communities and work together in new and exciting ways.
Current Pastoral Area Provision St Edmund Arrowsmith Pastoral Area 21 Our Pastoral Area was formed through the amalgamation of two deaneries as part of the Leaving Safe Harbours process. It serves a large geographical area including the towns of Hindley, Hindley Green, Platt Bridge, Stubshaw Cross, Ashton-in- Makerfield, Bryn, Haydock, Newton-le-Willows, Golborne, Lowton and Croft through a network of 13 parishes established between 1800 1 and 1968. The Catholic population is estimated 2 to be approximately 29,000 although Mass attendance is only about 3,100 or just over 10%. Through our network of 11 primary schools and 2 secondary schools many generations of children have been educated and support offered to their families. We recognise that through our schools and other outreach programmes our parishes have been more than just a focal point for the liturgical life and spiritual development of the Catholic Community, but also a place of education and of social interaction for Catholics and members of the wider community. Declining Mass attendance and dwindling resources have caused a decline in what is offered in each parish, as efforts have reduced to focus on the core activities: gathering for the Mass and preparing children for the Sacraments. The main areas of concern that have arisen through our discussions can be grouped under the headings of relationships and responsibilities. We acknowledge that moving forward there needs to be a closer work arrangement between the parish clergy and the parishioners and more sharing in the burden of responsibility. Communication has been identified as key and we recognise the need to review structures for consultation and administration, while making every effort to ensure that we use our limited resources most effectively. This challenge is not just in our Pastoral Area. There has been a decline across the whole Archdiocese and the whole country. Based on the resources available to the 1 St Benedict Hindley have an earlier foundation of 1650 and as such is the oldest parish in the area. 2 This figure is based on parish returns and is unlikely to be very accurate as no parish has completed a recent survey of the parish.
St Edmund Arrowsmith Pastoral Area 21 Archdiocese, it is no longer possible to maintain the same presence going into the future. In reality we have been managing the impact of falling Mass attendance, falling financial resources and the relative shortage of priestly resources for many years now. If we are to face the future with any confidence and be true to the mission entrusted to us, we need to address the realities of our situation and make the difficult decisions necessary for us to be more effectively the Light of Christ to one another and to the communities around us. Proposed Pastoral Area Structure Early in the process, to address the concerns over falling number of priests, we hoped that all parishes could be retained with one Mass in each Church building, however, reviewing the current financial picture, the state of the buildings and the Mass attendance in each Church we have had to acknowledge that this would not be sustainable. So a review of the current parish structures is necessary and will ultimately enable us to more effectively serve the communities of the Pastoral Area in the years ahead. It will enable us to refocus our activity and cut down on unnecessary waste of the limited resources available to us. In recent years in the Pastoral Area we have clustered parishes together to create units of roughly the same size. These units are Hindley Cluster Ashton Cluster Newton Cluster Lowton Cluster St. Benedict St Oswald & St Edmund St Patrick All Saints Hindley Ashton-in-Makerfield Newton Golborne Sacred Heart Our Lady St Mary & St John St Catherine of Siena Hindley Green Bryn Newton Lowton Holy Family St. Wilfrid St David St. Lewis Platt Bridge Stubshaw Cross Newton Croft English Martyrs Haydock These groupings of parishes, based on geographical location, have been the basis of working together, especially during the big events of the Church s year such as Christmas, Easter and Services of Reconciliation. We propose that this good work
St Edmund Arrowsmith Pastoral Area 21 should be built upon by making these cluster groups the parishes of the future. In each area we suggest that a Church be nominated as the principal Church. In the principal Church the big events could take place and the general sense of belonging could be fostered, though the new larger parish would continue to be served by more than one Church building. Administration In each of the new parishes an administration centre needs to be established. In these administration centres volunteers and any paid employees would work together to provide a response to callers via the telephone or in person. We suggest that each area can only afford to employ 1 part time employee, so volunteer help will be crucial in extending the office hours available. Evangelisation After restructuring we hope that the four parish communities, with their combined resources, will be in a better position to carry out the essential mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News to all peoples. We hope to be able to establish and reinvigorate parish groups for spiritual development and to bring people together in social settings. While acknowledging that there are difficulties, we believe the new Order for Sacraments of Initiation and Family Catechesis will provide an important opportunity for the evangelisation of the families within our new parish communities. Geographical Difficulties We face specific difficulties in relation to the geography of our Pastoral Area. While distances are not too great compared to other parts of the country, the road system does mean that within our clusters people might be travelling further than before. We suggest that because of this as many activities as possible should be offered at the new parish level. Other activities will need the wider context, so the Pastoral Area will be split into two sections North (Hindley & Ashton) and South (Newton & Lowton) and some activities will be run at this level while others will be across the whole of the
St Edmund Arrowsmith Pastoral Area 21 Pastoral Area, such as formation of Parish catechists, Eucharistic Ministers and Readers. We suggest that future provision should be modelled on what is outlined below... The Principal Church in each parish Hindley Cluster Ashton Cluster Newton Cluster Lowton Cluster St. Benedict St Oswald & St Edmund Hindley Ashton-in-Makerfield The Secondary Church in each parish St. Mary and St John Newton All Saints Golborne Hindley Cluster Ashton Cluster Newton Cluster Lowton Cluster Sacred Heart Our Lady Hindley Green Bryn The Third Church in each parish English Martyrs Haydock St Lewis Croft Hindley Cluster Ashton Cluster Newton Cluster Lowton Cluster Holy Family Platt Bridge St Wilfrid Stubshaw Cross St David St Patrick Newton St Catherine of Siena Lowton If this model is adopted the four priests would be allocated to one of the new parishes and the primary and secondary Churches would be the focus of activity. They would have priority when reviewing building repairs and the allocation of Mass times. The third (and in the case of Newton fourth Church) would be preserved as long as it was possible to do so, but would close when Mass attendance, changes of clergy numbers or expensive repairs make it necessary to act. There is currently no time scale in place for when this will happen. It is clear to us, the Pastoral Area Clergy and the Pastoral Area Working Group, that our limited resources must be used wisely and for the good of all. If we continue to try to maintain everything with the current age profile of parishioners and based on the current Mass attendance, it is no exaggeration to suggest that we run the risk of losing everything, especially when considered against the back drop of the aging clergy profile.
St Edmund Arrowsmith Pastoral Area 21 What will happen next... We now enter a phase of wider discussion within the Pastoral Area with parishioners and within the wider context of the Archdiocese. This process will last two months and will be completed by the end of June 2012. As part of this process, meetings will be arranged and advertised through the parish newsletters. A senior representative from the Archdiocese will be present at these meetings on behalf of the Archbishop, to collate the responses to the Pastoral Area Report. Individual written comments can also be made and submitted to the Dean; Fr Ron Johnson VF St Catherine of Siena, Newton Road Lowton, WA3 1LB Once this process is complete the Archbishop and his advisors will consider all the details of the report and any comments received through the consultation process before making any decisions. However, it is important to keep in mind that there is no suggested time line for implementation of the report. We envisage that the plan, even if it is accepted, will probably be implemented in stages and some of the recommendations might need to be altered to reflect changes in the Pastoral Area. The situation with St. Catherine of Siena has given urgency to our discussions and it has been recognised that this situation must be resolved for the sake of parishioners as soon as possible.
Appendix 1 - Clergy Resources St Edmund Arrowsmith Pastoral Area 21 The number of Priests available in a given area can change dramatically; for example, the Benedictine Community has recently announced that it is pulling out of four parishes in the Archdiocese over the next few years. The first to go is in South Liverpool, St Austin s Grassendale, where currently three Benedictine priests have been based; also in that area another diocesan priest is taking early retirement on health grounds. This means that between now and September the number of priests available in that area will decline by about 25%. To help bridge the gap Fr James Preston has moved from Leigh, leaving the whole of Leigh with 3 priests, again a reduction of 25%. While in our Pastoral Area we are blessed to see such dedication in the lives of our priests, especially the older priests who have served this area so faithfully for so many years, the age profile and the health of the priests is one of the most concerning issues in the Pastoral Area. We have to prepare for a time when the number of priests available to the Pastoral Area is reduced, because there just are not other priests available within the Archdiocese. 100 80 60 40 20 0 Fr Ron Fr John G Fr Fr Vin Fr Tony John J Fr Brian Fr Joe Fr Frank Fr Tom Retirement Age Profile of Priests
Appendix 2 Mass Attendance St Edmund Arrowsmith Pastoral Area 21 The most worrying issue facing the Pastoral Area is the question of regular Mass attendance, as shown by the graphs below. Pastoral Area Mass Attendance (2008) by Age Range 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 50% 23% 16% 6% 5% 12 to 21 years 22 to 35 36 to 50 51 to 65 66+ Since then Mass attendance has dropped from a little over 3500 in the October Count of 2008 to a little under 3100 in the October Count in 2010. That is a fall of approximately 400 parishioners in three years or a fall of about 12%. Does this suggests that even amongst some of our good Catholics regular Mass attendance no longer means every week but perhaps once a fortnight or once a month? 3600 3400 3200 3000 Pastoral Area Trend 2800 2008 2009 2010 2011 The only cluster group to have seen an increase is the Newton and Haydock Cluster over this period, of nearly 50 parishioners, but this should be considered against the background of the dramatic decline in the other clusters of around 450. 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 Hindley, Hindley Green & Platt Bridge Ashton, Bryn & Stubshaw Cross Lowton, Golborne & Croft Newton & Haydock
Appendix 3 Finance Review St Edmund Arrowsmith Pastoral Area 21 There are also financial realities that cannot be ignored. The table below 3 shows that more parishes are failing to meet their day to day expenses on the normal income they receive. By 2010 the vast majority of the Pastoral Area parishes are running at a loss year by year. Some parishes are covering these losses by using up their historical reserves while others are already running up a large overdraft, though fortunately most are managing to end the year within a few thousand pounds in credit or deficit... Yearly Income/Expenses Parish 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 St. Benedict Deficit Deficit Credit Deficit Credit Sacred Heart Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Holy Family Deficit Deficit Deficit Deficit Deficit Hindley Cluster Credit Deficit Credit Credit Credit St. Wilfrid Deficit Deficit Deficit Deficit Deficit Our Lady Deficit Credit Deficit Deficit Credit St. Oswald Credit Credit Deficit Deficit Deficit Ashton Cluster Credit Credit Deficit Deficit Deficit English Martyrs Credit Deficit Deficit Deficit Deficit St. Patrick Credit Deficit Deficit Credit Deficit Sts. Mary & John Credit Deficit Deficit Deficit Deficit St. David Deficit Credit Credit Deficit Deficit Newton Cluster Deficit Deficit Deficit Deficit Deficit All Saints Credit Credit Deficit Deficit Deficit St. Catherine Credit Credit Deficit Deficit Deficit St. Lewis Credit Credit Credit Credit Deficit Lowton Cluster Credit Credit Credit Credit Deficit Parish Reserves A number of Parishes in the Pastoral Area have been using reserves over the past few years to meet day to day expenditure. Based on current expenditure (2010) 3 parishes have no reserves and are running in deficit 5 parishes have less than 6 months reserves 1 parish has between 6-12 months in reserve 4 parishes have over 12 months of reserves The average reserves for the whole Pastoral Area is 10 months 3 This table, based on the parish returns sent to the Archdiocese by each parish, shows movement in the parish current account between 2006 2010 minus brewery discount, assessment fund payments and large one-off legacies.
Appendix 4 - Building Resources St Edmund Arrowsmith Pastoral Area 21 The costs outlined below are for works identified by the surveyors from Cassidy and Ashton and in some cases include an adjustment based on the finding of our own surveyors. Not included are extra costs for works that may be incurred in maintaining closed clubs, for desirable works the Parish Priest/parishioners might like to see carried out or works to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). Up to an additional quarter of a million pounds has already been approved for works deemed urgent and necessary works, and the costs are for works still to be done. The total for property repairs for the Pastoral Area would be in the region of 1.5 million. Cluster Total Amount Hindley, Hindley Green, Platt Bridge 198,060 Ashton, Bryn, Stubshaw Cross 185,396 Haydock, Newton 368,643 Lowton, Golborne, Croft 587,038 Of the 13 parishes only 4 are likely to have the funds to complete the works. 400000 Estimated Building Costs 350000 300000 250000 200000 150000 100000 Estimated Building Costs 50000 0
St Edmund Arrowsmith Pastoral Area 21 Appendix 5 - Why have these Churches been selected? Holy Family This parish has already reduced to one Mass on a Sunday because of the St. Wilfrid St. Patrick St David reduction in Mass attendance over recent years. It is recognised that based on the current Mass attendance the parish is running at a loss and is relying on a large legacy from 2008 to offset this loss. In addition, despite work carried out in recent months, there are still a number of large costly repairs required. This parish is a vibrant community which will be financially viable now that the large loan repayments for the repairs and refurbishment undertaken in 2000 has been repaid. However, the building, of wooden construction, is already well past the projected life span and, looking forward, spending on this site would not be prudent as there is plenty of capacity for the congregation in the principal Church for this cluster group. This Church is too large for the needs of the Parish which never grew to the size predicted. The congregation is small and the Mass provision has already been reduced to one Sunday Mass. Surveyors reports have highlighted that in the near future a great deal of expenditure is required on the main roof areas of the Church and the cost of these repairs is greater than the congregation can afford. For the moment it is recommended that this Church should be retained as long as three Churches can be maintained in the area, as this part of the area may yet be developed for housing. However, the financial position is very delicately poised; the parish has no reserves and only just about manages to cover the day to day expenses. It should also be noted that the finances in the principal Church in this area are a cause of concern as expenditure regularly outstrips the income. St. Catherine Although this parish has been well supported by a congregation of over 200 people, the building reports highlight a great deal of expense on this site. This level of investment (nearly a third of the total repair build for the Pastoral Area) would place an unreasonable burden on the people of this cluster as there are works required in the other buildings too. This burden would be great, especially when there is only one priest for the three Church communities.