September 23, 2014

The Case for ChangeFr. Dan Fox, Our Lady of Grace Historic PartnershipFr. Kevin Maksym, Blessed Sacrament Special Challenges for Our Lady of Grace Fr. Pat O’Connor, St. Brigid of Kildare MACC Partnership in Action Fr. Joe Griffin, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 Our Diocese:  Fewer priests, fewer parishioners, same number of parishes  Only constant in human life is change  Our Partnership Will:  Offer enhanced experience of faith community  Offer great talent and opportunity from a larger pool of resources  Allow us to shape the future instead of merely reacting to events

A partnership is a group of people who collaborate together for a common purpose. Keys to partnership success:  Trust and mutual respect  Commitment to not just build up our parishes, but to also build up our wider faith community  An attitude of cooperation in finding opportunities to enhance quality of ministry  Faith in the direction; a sense of humor on the journey A good partnership will result in a more vibrant parish, diocese and wider church.

St. Brigid Blessed Sacrament Assumption St. Philip St. Agnes St. Anne Linked/ Joint Programs Clustered

 Coordinated Mass Schedules; added Sunday evening Mass  Joint Seasonal Reconciliation Services; Shared Thanksgiving and Memorial Day Mass  MACY  Joint Vacation Bible School  Grief support and divorce recovery programs  Christ Renews Retreats  Open retreats, missions, and prayer groups  Coordinated visits to local hospitals and nursing homes

 One parish council (St. Anne and St. Philip Neri)  Joint music/liturgy (St. Anne and St. Philip Neri)  Joint catechetical program (St. Anne and St. Philip Neri)  Partnered mission (St. Anne and Sacred Heart, Gladwin)  MACY (St. Agnes and Midland clustered parishes)

Clustered Linked/ Joint Programs Merged St. Brigid Blessed Sacrament Assumption St. Philip St. Agnes St. Anne

 On July 1, 2013, St. Agnes, St. Anne and St. Philip will merge, forming one new parish community. St. Agnes will serve as the parish church. Mass also will be celebrated each weekend at St. Anne, which will serve as an additional church.  After July 1, 2013, St. Philip will be designated a church for occasional use. Regularly scheduled Masses will no longer be celebrated at St. Philip; however, permission may be granted for occasions such as weddings or funerals of former members.

 Geographical Distance from one another  Strong Sense of Tradition: Self-Sufficient  A Partial understanding of merged parishes: Coleman/Edenville  Forgotten History: The story of our origins

Geographical Statistics Our Lady of Grace Parish Covers 55% of Midland County, serving a 290 sq mile area. Bounded by Gladwin county to the North, Isabella county to the West, Gratiot county to the south, and M-30 to the East. Three worship sites are each approximately 12 miles apart. St Brigid, Blessed Sacrament, and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary are approximately 3 to 5 miles apart in a more densely populated area.

Clustered Midland Area Catholic Community Linked Merged St. Brigid Blessed Sacrament Assumption St. Philip St. Agnes St. Anne

 Beginning no later than July 1, 2014, Assumption, Blessed Sacrament and St. Brigid will partner or collaborate with the newly formed parish community of St. Agnes, St. Anne and St. Philip.  Parishes in partnership share resources to enhance the quality of ministry in each parish such as offering joint programs or common committees.

A Foursome of Grace St Brigid of Kildare Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Our Lady of Grace Blessed Sacrament

 Is an advisory body to our four pastors for partnership projects  Includes representatives from each parish  Focuses on building up the partnership more than the parishes  Is not an additional layer of bureaucracy, but provides resources for project planning and implementation  Is still in transition and formation

 Supporting the merger of St. Philip Neri, St. Anne and St. Agnes into Our Lady of Grace  Documenting our history  Developing an MACC communication plan  Developing a process for chartering partnership projects  Chartering a team to build community among our parishes through the planning, implementation and participation in a 2015 mission  Researching partnership models and best practices in partnering Stay tuned…..

 Our partnership will thrive if people engaged in ministry in our four parishes gather to talk, dream, plan and do.  Members from all four parishes have begun to reach out to one another in the following areas:  Liturgy/Music  Christian Service  Faith Formation  Who’s next?

YOUR Ministry! Pastoral Care Bible Studies Christian Service Liturgy Assumption of the B.V.M. Blessed Sacrament Our Lady of Grace St. Brigid of Kildare

We Are All Swimming in the Same Soup Featuring Rev. James V. Marchionda, OP  A mission event to be hosted by your MACC parishes.  Four days—four churches!  Mass, teaching, prayer, food, fellowship, a concert!  Child care will be provided!

 Ask questions!  Volunteer! We need volunteers for our Communications and Mission Planning teams.  Fill out the survey, including any unanswered questions! Thank you!