As many of you know this past July Cardinal Dolan issued his directives regarding all parishes in the Archdiocese. These directives were a direct result of the Making All Things New planning process. Over the last two years each parish collected data from their parishioners and ministries, this information was then brought to and used by the cluster to which the parish belonged. The information was then pooled together and shared with the Archdiocese, this information included but was not limited to Religious Education, Adult Faith Formation, Finances, and Sacramental Life. After reviewing and considering this information the Cardinal issued his directives to each cluster. Our cluster consists of the following parishes, St. Anthony, St. Augustine, St Francis and the newly formed parish of St. Paul/St.Ann.
Some of the goals that Cardinal Dolan promoted are as follows:
Enhancing the vibrancy of parish life
Foster a greater appreciation for and participation in the Sunday Eucharist
Support new initiatives for the youth and young adults
Ensure that all parishioners have opportunities for quality life long Catholic Education
Increase collaboration among all entities in the local, national and universal church
The directive that had the biggest impact on our cluster was the merging of St. Paul and St. Ann parishes, both parishes are working together to ensure a smooth transition for all parishioners and the cluster is supporting them in any way that we can. Both parishes continue to have representation at the cluster meetings. Each parish in our cluster has an implementation team as well as a lay representative on the cluster steering committee. Using both the directives from the Cardinal and the information gathered by each parish the cluster steering committee has prioritized its work and has created the following sub-committee’s in response to the Cardinal’s directives: Young Adult, Youth, Bereavement and Liturgy, each of these committees is led by one of the four pastors, and has a representative from each parish. We are planning several joint Liturgical celebrations, ongoing training for ministries and an increase in youth and young adult activities.
You may follow the work and events of our cluster at
www.matncluster.org. You may email any questions, thoughts or concerns about the Making All Things New process to
[email protected]. We are planning our first cluster event on Wednesday, November 25
th at 7:00pm. The cluster will be celebrating a Thanksgiving Family Mass with a reception to follow. Mass will be celebrated at St. Francis of Assisi in West Nyack, NY. Please join us as we give thanks for the many blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us as individuals, parishes, and as a newly formed cluster, keeping in mind that we are all Neighbors in Christ.
We look forward to seeing many of you there and we ask for your prayers as we continue to work together to Make All Things New.