PARISH CLUSTER REPORT

St. Mary

For October 2005

Clustering Brings Gifts Together

For the first time ever, councils and committees from all 3 parishes gathered on one evening in one place. It begins a trend that will bring about the sharing of gifts among the three parishes. Clustering is an opportunity to bring the best of all three parishes, (St. Hedwig, Holy Trinity and St. Mary's) together for the sharing of ideas. Instead of trying to duplicate gifts and what parishes offer, we can share them and do jt all in one place. It will require people sometimes to go outside their parish boundaries to an event that may be going on in another place.

The Cluster Mission at St. Hedwig's is a perfect example of bringing all three parishes together for one event. I came from an area of the diocese where clustering is not happening, so you would see neighboring parishes putting on Missions back to back. Each parish is doing its own thing without consideration to its neighbor. This seems unnecessary. Clustering makes everyone stronger and helps produce a bigger community of disciples. Anyway, having been at St. Mary's for only 3 months now, I like what I see with clustering and I can see what an advantage it is to share gifts among parishes.

One of the things I enjoy doing is showing slides of places in the Bible. I have a collection of over 7000 slides and in my time in Bay City, I hope to share a good portion of them in talks about places of the Bible. So stay tuned for that.

Fr. Steve Gavit

St. Mary