News

Reconciliation helps ease transition

By Jeff Kurowski
Compass Assistant Editor

Fr. Michael Weldon, OFM, will speak from personal experiences at "Leadership Convocation 2007: We Believe," Friday, Oct. 5, at St. Norbert College.

Fr. Weldon, director of Spiritual and Human Formation at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wis., will present "Pardon Our Dust: Catholics Re-Designing Themselves" and "Pardon Our Dust: Rebuilding Church on Reconciliation." Both workshops will address issues related to parish restructuring, consolidations and closures.

While serving as pastor at St. Anthony Parish in the Mission District of San Francisco, Fr. Weldon led the consolidation of a neighboring church following the 1989 earthquake.

"There is something in the Catholic imagination that strongly ties people to the church building," he said. "I saw the trauma the people experienced. We do so much ritually to build a faith community, but all it takes is a letter from the bishop to undo the community. That's not adequate. We need to do more."

Fr. Weldon explores the roles of rituals and pastoral care in parish restructurings in his book A Struggle for Holy Ground (Liturgical Press, 2004). The work features interviews conducted with participants in the San Francisco consolidation and the 1990 consolidation of ten parishes in Chicago. Fr. Weldon proposes a series of new rites to help people impacted by parish restructurings.

"I was a pastor in San Francisco for 12 years before going to Chicago for doctoral studies," he said. "Those lovely people gave me permission to tell the story of our surviving. I'm a liturgist so I've studied rituals. In situations of consolidation or closure, we need to try to move toward reconciliation. I use reconciliation in the sense of personal forgiveness and social healing."

In his presentation "Rebuilding Church on Reconciliation," Fr. Weldon will discuss the conclusions of the Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development (CPPCD) study on parish restructuring and forgiveness studies. Mark Mogilka, diocesan director of Stewardship and Pastoral Services, chairs CPCCD's Multiple Parish Pastoring Committee.

Fr. Weldon said he prefers the term "reframing" rather than "restructuring" of parishes.

"A new frame is being thrown around the faith community," he said. "Included within that frame are the stories, experiences and history of the parish. It's a long process. It often takes ten years to adjust and reframe as a Catholic community."

Fr. Weldon does consulting work for parishes in transition. He also continues to write, including a new set of articles for New Theology Review.

(For a Leadership Convocation registration brochure, visit www.gbdioc.org and click on "Leadership Convocation 2007 We Believe.")