News

Faith Alive forum draws crowd

By Brian Kohls
Compass Correspondent

	TOWN MEETING: John Reid and Maureen Gallagher of The Reid Group lead a listening session on the Faith Alive proposal Nov. 9 at Legends in De Pere. (Rick Evans photo)

DE PERE -- Some 400 people attended a Faith Alive project listening session Nov. 9 to learn more about a proposal for Green Bay area parishes to work together in nine different ministries.

In September, The Reid Group, a Seattle consulting firm hired by the diocese for Faith Alive, issued a preliminary report that called on parishes to pool resources and work together on adult faith formation, Catholic schools, evangelization, liturgy & music, outreach & pastoral care, peace and justice, religious education for children, stewardship, and youth and young adult ministry.

But the question-and-answer part of the listening session focused primarily on Catholic Schools.

"This process is about nine different ministries, not just Catholic education," said John Reid of The Reid Group.

One basic fundamental of the Faith Alive proposal is that parishes be clustered geographically to work together on the parish ministries considered essential by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Part of The Reid Group's first recommendation states: "This does not assume that all parish ministries need to be collaborative, but that joint programs and processes will be designed, structured, and implemented which will enhance ministry and reflect the wise use of resources."

Part of the rationale for greater collaboration among parishes is that some parishes are using a large percentage of their budgets to support one or two ministries.

St. Mary of the Angels Parish, for example, uses more than 80% of its annual budget to support St. Thomas More School. Less than 20% of the parish budget is used for other ministries, staff salaries and education, utilities and property maintenance.

If Bp. David Zubik approves the current Faith Alive proposal, St. Mary of the Angels would be clustered with St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, St. John the Evangelist, St. Willebrord and Ss. Peter & Paul parishes. Each of these east side parishes would provide a certain percentage of their annual budget to support St. Thomas More School.

Related articles: from Nov. 3, 2006 issue: • Catholics invited to Faith Alive town meeting     Consultants and diocesan officials will be at the Nov. 9 session from Oct. 20, 2006 issue: • Faith Alive process continues     Consulting firm seeks response to recommendations • Editorial -- Take time to comment on Faith Alive     Still time to comment on the proposal from Sept. 22, 2006 issue: • Faith Alive taps support for working together     Listening sessions show that parish leaders want to work     together on schools, ministry from Sept. 15, 2006 issue: • Faith Alive calls for more education, ministry collaboration     Green Bay parishes and schools would work together more     Sidebar: Faith Alive Feedback     Sidebar: Parishes in the Faith Alive Project from Mar. 17, 2006 issue: • Cooperation plan work begins     Parishes, schools, diocesan agencies join in the effort from Feb. 3, 2006 issue: • Life after GRACE: Work starts soon     Work will begin on finding ways to cooperate on efforts     Sidebar: Bishop outlines future actions • Positive reaction greets decision     Bishop heartened by the sheer number who got     involved in discussion from Jan. 27, 2006 issue (article posted 1/30/2006): • Unified Green Bay school system plan delayed     No schools to close for 2006-07 unless parishes ask from Jan. 6, 2006 issue: • GRACE comments from individuals, parishes compiled     Process continues this week from Dec. 9, 2005 issue: • Bridging the Gap by Bishop David Zubik --     Bridging the Gap: G-R-A-C-E     This is a time for exploration and for collaboration from Nov. 25, 2005 issue: • Plan released for unified Green Bay system     Proposal would close three schools, consolidate two     and form one K-8 school system     Sidebar: Green Bay school proposal     Sidebar: Schedule for action from Nov. 4, 2005 issue: • Release delayed on school planning report     Proposal for consolidating the Green Bay area schools     into a system due after Thanksgiving from Sept. 2, 2005 issue: • GRACE subcommittees form     Proposed plan for a unified Green Bay Catholic school     system continues to advance from July 8, 2005 issue: • Unified Green Bay Catholic school system under study     No decisions have been made from June 24, 2005 issue: • Groups ponder schools' future     Proposal considers ways to guarantee the financial     solvency of Catholic schools

Under the current proposal, parishes with Catholic schools on their campus would use 30% of their annual budget to support the school; parishes without Catholic schools on their campus would use 20% of their annual budget to support the school. The proposed Catholic school system would open for the 2007-08 academic year.

The clustered parishes might, for example, pool resources and work together on outreach and evangelization to Hispanic and Hmong families or organize community service projects for youth or young adults.

"I see the proposal as good for parishes," said Cathy Kerwin of St. Mary of the Angels Parish and president of St. Thomas More School board. "More shared resources, more teacher resources are good. Having a common curriculum, so everyone is on the same page, is great," she added.

One drawback Kerwin sees with Faith Alive is its pace.

"There is a rush to get it done," Kerwin said. "That was a lesson we learned from GRACE (Green Bay Regional Association for Catholic Education). If there is a more thoughtful approach ... it would be more receptive."

One person at the Faith Alive listening session said he had only recently learned of the plan to unify Catholic schools and have parishes work more closely together on certain ministries.

Reid responded that the Faith Alive process started in January 2006 and that listening sessions were held in February, March, May, October and November. The preliminary report, which can still be viewed on the Green Bay Diocese's website, came out in September. The final report and proposals are due on Bp. Zubik's desk on Friday, Nov. 17.

Rose Adler, St. Thomas More School principal, said she has at least one reservation about the Faith Alive process, but is also hopeful for the future of Catholic schools and ministry collaboration.

"I'm concerned that parents and guardians were only able to attend one listening session," Adler said. "In order to dispel rumors, the priests and principals were together (to discuss Faith Alive proposals with The Reid Group). I'm hopeful (because) I feel that every child should have a relationship with God."

Fr. Tom Wojciechowski, pastor of St. Mary of the Angels, is bothered that news reports only seem to connect Faith Alive with Catholic schools.

"It is a shame that the media is focusing on (Catholic) schools," he said. "It (Faith Alive) is more that just schools. It is about other ministries (too). We need to blow our own trumpet with what we are doing in our other ministries."

Several parents of Catholic School students asked questions about tuition increases and the proposed cost-based tuition/needs-based assistance model for funding Catholic schools.

"Current funding is slowly killing (some) parishes," Reid said. But, he said, he does not expect Catholic school tuition to jump from $1,700 to $4,000 - the approximate per-pupil-cost to educate a child in a metro Green Bay Catholic school.

A cost-based tuition/needs-based assistance model bases tuition on the actual cost-per-pupil. Tuition assistance is then provided to families with documented needs; parish subsidy and other funding sources are used to create a tuition assistance pool. This model, The Reid Group said, needs to be rooted in a high quality parishioner and parent education program.

"You need to find a fair and just way" to keep Catholic schools operational, affordable and accessible to all families who want their children to attend, said Maureen Gallagher, another consultant for The Reid Group. "How are you going to decide (which funding model to use for Catholic schools)?"

Other Faith Alive recommendations include:

• developing metro Green Bay Catholic Youth Ministry programs;

• having several diocesan departments help parishes organize collaborative ministries;

• establishing a Collaborative Ministry Board and a unified Catholic School Board with pastors providing leadership and administrative support for the Collaborative Ministry Board;

• establishing and implementing an equitable formula to support all essential parish ministries;

• having the diocese create and implement a cost-based tuition/needs-based assistance formula to keep Catholic schools viable and welcoming to low income and immigrant families;

• enhancing programs for special needs students in religious education programs and in Catholic schools;

• developing and implementing a comprehensive response to the needs of immigrant families relating to religious education and Catholic schools;

• creating a foundation to subsidize children who wish to attend Catholic schools.

More information on the Faith Alive proposal is on the diocesan website, www.gbdioc.org.

(Kohls is a member of St. Mary of the Angels Parish Council and is its liaison to the St. Thomas More School Board.)