News

Bishop approves Faith Alive proposals

By Renae Bauer
Communications Department

Parish clusters for collaboration Here are the Parish Clusters for the Collaboration of Ministries • Allouez and De Pere -- Resurrection and St. Matthew parishes in Allouez; and Old St. Joseph (at St. Norbert College), Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Francis Xavier and St. Mary parishes in De Pere • Downtown -- St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, St. John the Evangelist, St. Mary of the Angels, Sts. Peter and Paul, and St. Willebrord parishes • East Side -- Prince of Peace, St. Bernard and St. Philip parishes in Green Bay; and Holy Cross Parish in Bay Settlement • West Side -- Annunciation, St. Agnes, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Joseph, St. Jude and St. Patrick parishes in Green Bay; Nativity Parish in Ashwaubenon; and St. John the Baptist Parish in Howard

Green Bay Bp. David Zubik on Wednesday announced his approval of two initiatives recommended by the Faith Alive project for the Greater Green Bay Area. (The text of Bp. Zubik's message is online here.)

Schools and supporting parishes Here is a list of the Green Bay Area Catholic Schools and their supporting parishes: 1. Allouez -- Resurrection School (PreK-8), a ministry of Resurrection Parish 2. Allouez -- St. Matthew School (PreK-8), a ministry of St. Matthew Parish 3. Bay Settlement -- Holy Cross School (PreK-8), a ministry of Holy Cross Parish 4. De Pere -- Notre Dame of De Pere School (K-8), a ministry of St. Francis Xavier and St. Mary parishes 5. De Pere -- Our Lady of Lourdes School (PreK-8), a ministry of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish 6. Green Bay -- Holy Family School (PreK-8), a ministry of St. Agnes and St. Elizabeth Seton parishes 7. Green Bay -- St. Thomas More School System (PreK-8) a ministry of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, St. Mary of the Angels and Ss. Peter and Paul parishes 8. Green Bay -- Trinity St. Joseph School (PreK-8) a ministry of Annunciation, St. Joseph and St. Jude parishes 9. Green Bay -- Prince of Peace School (PreK-8) a ministry of Prince and Peace Parish 10. Green Bay -- St. Bernard School (PreK-8) a ministry of St. Bernard Parish 11. Howard -- St. John the Baptist School (PreK-8) a ministry of St. John the Baptist Parish.

The first initiative calls on the 23 area parishes to work together on key ministries. With collaboration at the heart of the initiative, the parishes in Allouez, Ashwaubenon, Bay Settlement, De Pere, Green Bay and Howard could develop and implement as many as nine joint ministries, identified in the Faith Alive proposal. These nine ministries are Adult Faith Formation, Evangelization, Pastoral Care, Peace and Justice, Prayer and Worship, Religious Education for Children, Schools, Stewardship, and Youth and Young Adult Ministry.

"The objective is to work together to strengthen ministries and deliver them in a more effective way," said Bp. Zubik. "If three or four parishes work together collaboratively - and some already do - then the challenges are lessened. Alone, the work can seem formidable. Together, the work is far more manageable and more successful as people share a vision and support one another," he said.

The collaboration will happen by bringing neighboring parishes together in "clusters." To ensure the long-term success of the clusters, a Collaborative Parish Ministry Board will be created. It will be composed of a priest from each of the four clusters, six parish ministry representatives, and four diocesan resource staff. The clusters and the Collaborative Parish Ministry Board will be in place beginning July 1, 2007.

To address the details of creating the Collaborative Parish Ministry Board and the parish clusters, Bp. Zubik has asked two priests to appoint an Interim Task Force, which will operate from now until July 1, 2007. The priests are Fr. John Harper, who is the regional vicar (representative for the parishes of this area) and is the pastor of St. Mary Parish and St. Francis Xavier Parish, both in De Pere; and Msgr. James Dillenburg, pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Green Bay and a leader of the Faith Alive study of essential parish ministries. Both priests will be assisted by several diocesan staff, including Mark Mogilka, diocesan director of Stewardship and Pastoral Services.

The second collaborative initiative addresses the needs of the 11 Catholic elementary schools in the Greater Green Bay Area. Bp. Zubik has approved the creation of a Catholic school system that will serve the approximate 2,600 area students. The system will be fully operational no later than the 2012-13 school year, but "very little if any change will occur among our 11 area schools during the 2007-08 academic year," said Bp. Zubik.

To help guide the process, Bp. Zubik has asked Mark Salisbury to serve as the temporary coordinator for the next year. This role will be in addition to his current responsibilities as the diocesan Superintendent of Schools. Salisbury will work with parish, school and diocesan leaders as the school system becomes legally incorporated; as committees are created and begin working in areas such as curriculum, accreditation, technology, tuition and personnel; and as processes are developed for the migration of administrative, business and personnel functions.

The two initiatives are the result of more than 18 months of work by two different planning bodies. The first was GRACE (Green Bay Regional Area Catholic Education), which convened in August 2005 to study Catholic schools in the Green Bay area. More than 100 people were involved in the research and development of the GRACE proposal. GRACE then served as the springboard for the Faith Alive process which began a year ago. It examined all parish ministries, including Catholic schools, offered by the Green Bay area parishes. Hundreds of parish leaders and laity from all 23 parishes in the Greater Green Bay Area participated through meetings, discussions and surveys.