Members and friends of St. Jude Parish:

            Several years ago St. Jude Parish entered into a cluster proposal established by the Diocese of Manchester along with St. Mark the Evangelist, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas and Holy Cross. The purpose of the cluster was to study how these five churches could maintain vibrant parishes in the face of the declining number of priests while at the same time removing two priests from the cluster to serve other areas of the Diocese if and when needed.  The task was a formidable one.  During the Fall/Winter of 2005, our parish representatives, John Ahern and Sandy Lagueux met with representatives and pastors of the other parishes in an effort to achieve the objectives of the Diocese. The cluster was efficiently and pastorally facilitated by (Hon.) Donna Sytek, former Speaker of the NH House of Representatives.

            The first proposal submitted to the Long Range Planning Commission (LRPC) of the Diocese suggested a twinning of St. Thomas Aquinas with Holy Cross with two priests (Franciscans) serving both parishes and tripling St. Jude, St. Mark and St. Francis – creating a new parish, with two priests serving the three communities while maintaining three worship sites with their individual identities. That proposal, after much deliberation, was rejected by the LRPC and the Bishop. Part of the consideration included the agreement with the Franciscan Superior that the Franciscans could only be responsible for one parish. There were also concerns relative to the ability of two priests adequately addressing the spiritual needs of three large worship sites.

            In December of 2006, the cluster reconvened to restudy the objective of removing two priests from our cluster while maintaining four vibrant parishes in 2012 and beyond.  Every alternative was studied and each representative on the task force struggled with options while respecting the concerns of each individual parish. Prior to Christmas, a second proposal was submitted to the Diocese which suggested the Twinning of St. Jude and St. Francis and the twinning of St. Mark and Holy Cross while leaving St. Thomas as is. Substantive consideration was given to the growing demographics of our area, current facilities and seating capacity, sacramental duties, Mass schedules, etc.  This was no easy task.

            On August 17, 2007, Rev. Robert Gorski, Director of the LRPC notified the parishes in the cluster that after a comprehensive study by the LRPC to determine if there were other viable alternatives to the proposal; the LRPC found that at this time the recommendation outlines the best options for the foreseeable future. 

 

            Bishop McCormack, after carefully reviewing the proposal and the comments submitted by the Cluster Task Force, has endorsed the LRPC conclusion and recommendation. Rev. Gorski clearly indicated that “At such time that the Bishop of Manchester cannot assign resident pastors for all the parishes in your cluster, then he will implement all or part of the recommendation.”

            What does this mean?  Twinning is not merger. Each parish being twinned will remain an individual parish entity.  The difference between our situation today and the situation under twinning is that there will be one priest/pastor to serve both parishes – a difficult but workable solution. While administrative functions of the parishes can be addressed by religious or lay employees, only a priest can hear confessions, anoint the sick, and celebrate Mass. Those duties cannot and will not change. Weddings celebrated outside of Mass can be celebrated by a Deacon. Funerals outside of Mass can also be celebrated by a Deacon, religious or a trained lay person if need be. While there are certain canonical duties that a priest/pastor must execute, a religious sister, brother or a lay person can manage a parish and we should encourage such participation.

            As we vision for the future, we should consider the possibility that the pastor of the two parishes (with eight weekend Masses) may have to rearrange or may have to reduce some Masses only if there is a lack of priests to assist.  The emphasis is on may since this is not definitive, but a possibility and every effort will be made to avoid such a scenario. In order to avoid potential conflicts, the scheduling of the sacramental life of the parishes will require careful coordination. Should the pastor, in consultation with the consultative councils of both parishes, decide that the number of Masses needs to be reduced, he will also have to consider the seating capacity of existing facilities. Currently, there is no church in our area large enough to handle a significant increase in attendance.

            Several years ago, St. Jude Parish began a Capital Campaign for a new church. While we made a good start, we still have a long way to go. We recognized the need for a new church even before twinning discussions started. In light of the twinning, increased numbers of new parishioners, the possibility of some Mass adjustments in the future and steady growth in North Londonderry, it should be obvious, that a new St. Jude church to accommodate increased membership is not a luxury, but a necessity.  I urge those who have made pledges to meet their commitment and urge those who have not yet done so, to consider making a pledge.  We will reactivate our capital campaign in the near future.  In the interim, please pray for and encourage more vocations and continue to pray for the continued success of St. Jude Parish and the Diocese of Manchester.

In Jesus and Mary,

Fr. Bob

Rev. Robert Couto, Pastor                                                           September 8, 2007