SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME—14/15 January 2017
St. John the Baptist-Arcadia/Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Mount Carmel/St. Bernard-Breda
[Lec. 64A]
   
Imagine you are standing on the banks of the Jordan River, watching John baptize the crowds.  All of a sudden, you see him looking at a man who is approaching.  John cries out, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!”  What do you think when you hear those words?  Later John the Baptist asks you to follow this man, Jesus, no matter where He goes or what He asks of you.  Are you ready to make that commitment? Are you ready to follow the Lamb?
 
Today in our Diocese we, in a sense, are on the Jordan River with John the Baptist asking us to follow this man, Jesus, no matter where He goes or what He asks of you.  Our acceptance of this will require a great trust and commitment.  Today our Diocese encompasses 24 counties in northwest Iowa with more than 28,000 households.  We have 108 parishes including 6 mission parishes, five [5] worship sites, and a couple of oratories served by 54 priests [43 pastors and eleven [11] parochial vicars (assistants)].  We also have a declining Mass attendance,  [where is everyone?], sixteen [16] Catholic school systems providing a faith-based education to more than 6000 students every year, plus other ministries including serving hospitals, retirement facilities, one Catholic university, and a growing Hispanic population.  At the same time we have a declining number of active priests including the retirement of three [3] priests last year + one [1] on a medical leave of absence in July 2016 and five [5] priests to retire in July 2017 along with the continuing change of demographics of people tending to move to larger towns and cities and away from our small towns.  Thus we are faced with the dilemma of how to provide priestly ministry to all of our parishes, schools, and other ministries.
 
With these facts a committee of priests several years ago began work to find a solution to find the best way to assign our declining number of priests fairly across the diocese [continuing the work began in the early 1990s under the leadership of Bishop Soens with Ministry 2000 [Our Baptismal Call]].  This lead to the hiring of a consulting firm who has worked with other dioceses, including the Diocese of Sioux Falls, to assist us in long range plan for the diocese and they were able to provide U.S. Census and financial data to help develop the plan.  Priests and deacons began taking part in a series of meetings beginning in August 2015 to provide ideas and feedback over the proposals.  Since then several drafts of the plan were developed and tweaked and a proposed plan was announced on February 25, 2016.  This was followed by deanery level meetings with parish leadership [priests and laity] to obtain additional feedback.  As a result of these meetings the Pastoral Planning Committee received a ton of feedback including concerns raised by parishioners and pastors of the thirteen [13] parishes in Carroll County regarding doing the least harm to our Catholic school—Kuemper and this lead to many changes being made to the proposed plan of February 2016 including several changes in parish cluster alignments so that 31 priests may provide the necessary pastoral care to all of our parishioners and other ministries in 2025 and we may be able and to create vibrant parishes and priests, and Diocese.
 
On Thursday, January 12, the Pastoral Planning Committee announced its final draft of the Pastoral Plan—Ministry 2025.  In short, the plan calls for all thirteen [13] parishes in Carroll County to become one new parish [i] with a Catholic School [Kuemper Catholic School].  The next steps in the process will include:  
This process of merging several parishes into one new parish is happening more and more today due to decline in the number of priests, the declining number of parishioners and Mass attendance, population shifts away from small towns to larger towns and to cities, and the ease and convenience of travel from horse and buggy when many of our parishes were founded to cars, vans, and SUVs with AC, satellite radio, and heated seats.  This process has been done in Fort Dodge with two [2] large parishes in Fort Dodge (including the oldest parish of the Diocese [Corpus Christi]) and at least three [3] outside of the city limits to form Holy Trinity Parish of Webster County.  And this has been done in Le Mars with two [2] large parishes in Le Mars three [3] parishes outside of the city limits to form All Saints Parish. And this process will be done in Sioux City:
          -Saint Michael and Blessed Sacrament to become Holy Cross Parish  
The next step in the process of us in Carroll County will be for each pastor to appoint four representatives from each of their parishes to be part of the facilitated pastoral planning process beginning in August 2017 to  
During this time each of us and each parish need to avoid isolation, rumors, working alone; avoid speculating how and what is going to happen, pray, remain faithful and hopeful, engage in healthy and constructive dialogue.
 
We know that change is always difficult, unsettling and uneasy, sometimes filled with mistrust, fear, and anger.  Yet change is also energizing, creative, collaborative, and inspiring
 
You and I will likely experience all of this.
 
Even for my part, I do not know where I will be after 2018, what the new parish will look like or even be called, other than we will possibly be the largest parish in the diocese.
 
When I was ordained 24.5 years ago my dream was to become a pastor of a small rural parish like this one.  Not a pastor of two, or three, or more parishes; or even of an entire county.
 
I feel some fear and anger as we prepare to hold numerous county-wide meetings over the next year or so.
 
Yet, I also feel hopeful and inspired by the possibilities for all of us and for the diocese
 
Again, I ask you to join me as we work together through Ministry 2025 learning, praying, and dialoguing to a deeper faith, collaboration and unity as the faithful of the Diocese of Sioux City and to accept the invitation of St. John the Baptist to conform our lives to the life of Christ so that we might bear witness to the truth and hope Jesus brings to us as individuals and as a community of faith.