A Letter from the Bishop Regarding Clustering

Please accept my sincere gratitude for all the effort that you and the members of the cluster leadership in Cluster 10 have expended over the past year.  The pastoral planning committee and I have carefully reviewed your report on an alternative model in the event of one less priest being available to the cluster.

At this time there is no need to make changes in parish models within your cluster.  I encourage your cluster committees to continue discussion and development of the recommendation that was made in order to refine it and assure that it could be implemented, at least in principle, in the future.

The process of sharing ideas, learning about each other’s parish communities and beginning to identify opportunities for pastoral growth were equally important over this past year.  I appreciated the commitment to strategic pastoral planning that was evident as we plan for the future as Catholic communities of faith in our diocese.

Please keep me in your prayers as we continue on this critical journey in the life of our diocesan church.  Be assured that I will keep you and your parish in my prayers as you continue to collaborate in your cluster.