C L U S T E R C O R N E R

Bay City Southwest Cluster

St. Hedwig, Holy Trinity and St. Mary Parishes

Bay City, Michigan


CLUSTER COMMITTEE


CLUSTER TOWN HALL REPORT

From Bulletin Report of May 1, 2005

1. LIST SOME POSITIVE CONSEQUENCES

    OF THE PRIEST SHORTAGE?


Financial


Larger, fewer parishes

  • Decreases/consolidates financial/economic costs through clustering

  • Coordinates, combines and improves services

  • Reduces costs for housing, retirements, etc.

  • Improves use of resources and services


People/Church


Cooperation/Unitv /Sharing

  • Challenge/opportunity for all to be more active/involved in the parish/church needs

  • Removes parish boundaries and becomes larger, extended family

  • Parishes share new ideas, gifts, activities, talents, treasure, knowledge, challenges and expediencies

  • Brings people/parishes/faith community closer/together; broadening the community

  • Makes Catholics change from going to church to being a church

  • Makes us more aware that we are a part of the diocese rather than just a part of our parish


Input/Decision Making

  • Final decisions more in tune with the people

  • Promotes ownership when more people involved in decision making


Responsibility / Ownership

  • People accept (1) their potential skills and (2) responsibility

  • An obligation to our baptismal call

  • Makes us want to be more responsible for and take ownership of our own actions as a Catholic community

  • See what we are - ministers/servants of God

  • Become personal disciples


Faith

  • Makes individual faith and the faith community stronger

  • More emphasis on faith formation at all ages


Structure/Physical


  • Video masses

  • Look outside our Diocese -worldwide maybe

  • Share mass at a different church with different members

  • Renewed emphasis on Catholic education and schools


Clergy


  • Focuses on essential responsibilities of priests

  • Better appreciation/value of clergy we still have and not taking take them for granted

  • A more active role for our sisters as pastoral administrators


Future


  • A late wake up call -the decisions made today by the elders affect the future of our current youth/church


Miscellaneous


  • Get the youth more involved

  • Stirs some imagination in the Catholic Church

  • Accept change as a positive

  • More parishioners to do outreach



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