Important Information from Father Steve

By now you may have heard or read about a proposal and consultation process that the Archdiocese of Boston has begun to explore. It will be a new organization of the existing parishes that will greatly influence the assignments of our priests and change the administration of parish staff. It WILL NOT mean the closing of parishes. What the proposal does is merge and ask parishes to collaborate with each other. There are presently 295 parishes in the Archdiocese. Each of those parishes has a pastor and in some cases, like us, an additional Priest and Deacon to administer the parish. The new proposal that is being discussed would create 150 Parish Service Teams to administer the existing parishes. Each team would be lead by one Pastor, one Parochial Vicar, a Deacon and a support staff as well. Each team would have two or more parishes. The present proposal has St. Mary’s linked with St. Jude’s in Norfolk. Please know that this possible change is not set in stone. It is a proposal that is being discussed throughout the Archdiocese. It would most definitely mean a change in assignments for all priests and deacons (Fr. Brian, Deacon Paul and myself included). I will most definitely keep you updated about this possible change to our parish.

If you have any comments or questions about this please feel free to talk to me. I know that for some this may be difficult news to hear; believe me, I am not thrilled about it either. At this point I am comforted by the fact that the idea is in its infancy stages and still being discussed as a possibility.  Stay tuned!!