Merger Corner 2009

If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader to open Merger Corner, you can download it at http://get.adobe.com/reader/

November 15, 2009

A committee with representatives from each of the four merging parishes has produced a Mission Statement for our Parish of the Holy Cross that will be submitted to Bishop Galante for approval. The draft of our Mission Statement:

“The Mission of the Parish of the Holy Cross is to serve God by sharing the love of the Father, the Word of Jesus, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and devotion to Our Lady with all of God’s people.”

Other updates on the merger:

Priest Convener Father Ariel Hernandez and the Core Team anticipate the merger being completed sometime in the early spring of 2010.
The main office for the Parish of the Holy Cross will be at St. Teresa of Avila in Bridgeton, although there will be some evening hours at Immaculate Conception.
The process of hiring staff for the new parish is in progress and will continue at least through December.
If you have any questions about the merger of the four parishes or wish to provide input, please contact Father Ariel or a Core Team member.

June 28, 2009

The balloting for the naming of the new parish began last weekend and will conclude today. Please make your selection and return your ballot today. The results will be forwarded to Bishop Galante, who will review the results and select a name. Your input is very important in this process and your participation is much appreciated.
The Transitional Liturgy Committee met June 15 at St. Michael’s and started the process of selecting chairpersons for the various subcommittees. Nancy Ewing, from St. Teresa’s, and June Seiber, from St. Mary’s, will co-chair the Decorations/Environment subcommittee. The Transitional Liturgy Committee also decided that the Liturgy Committee for the new parish would be formulated in the same manner as the Transitional Liturgy Committee, with representation from each of the four merging parishes along with the Priests and Deacons. There was also a review of the various ministries at each church, particularly the music ministries, in preparation for the merger. The next meeting of the Transitional Liturgy Committee is July 6 at Immaculate Conception.
The next meeting of the Transitional Finance/Facilities Committee will be June 30.
A second Unity Hymn Sing is scheduled for August 21. The site is yet to be determined.
We thank you for your prayers and support as we move through this process.

May 31, 2009

The Transitional Liturgy Committee met May 18th at St. Mary’s. The committee reviewed recommendations for the Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors, Altar Servers and Decorating subcommittees. The Transitional Liturgy Committee also opened discussions on Greeters and Ushers. Meetings of the Transitional Liturgy Committee for the merging parishes of St. Mary’s Church, Immaculate Conception Church, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Michael’s are planned for twice a month. The next meeting is June 15.

Parishioners will begin seeing changes in their bulletins in the coming months as we move toward one bulletin for the merging parishes.

If you have any questions about the merger, please feel free to ask one of the Priest Co-Conveners or a Core Team member. The Priest Co-Conveners and Core Team members are listed below. We thank you for your prayers and support as we move through this process.

Priest Co-Conveners:
Father Ariel Hernandez and Father Michael Goyette

Core Team Members:
Frank Catalana, Manuel Sandoval, Maribel Santos, Pat Hannum, Ed Hilt, Mike Takacs, Darrin Krug, Marie Krug, Paul Wolfe, Ann Budde, Sandra Johnson, Robert Malestein.

May 10, 2009

The Transitional Liturgy Committee met last Monday at St. Teresa’s. Representatives from each of the four merging parishes provided an overview of some of the liturgical ministries of their parishes. The members of the Transitional Liturgy Committee will review the reports from the four parishes on their liturgies and return to the next meeting with recommendations. That process will be repeated until all of the liturgical ministries at each parish have been reported on and reviewed and presented to the Transitional Liturgy Committee for recommendations in the formation of the new parish. The Transitional Liturgy Committee plans to meet twice a month.

The other transitional committees - Finance and Facilities, Religious Education Committee, and Ministry Committee - plan to hold their first meetings before the end of the month.

A second Unity Hymn Sing will take place in July. A date will be announced soon.

The Priest Co-Conveners and Core Team end each Core Team meeting with a prayer for our parish planning process. We thank our fellow parishioners for your support and ask you to join us in this prayer:

Heavenly Father, we ask You to guide us as we enter into and continue the task of creating our new parish. Help us to maintain a balance between what we would like the parish to be and what we are capable of becoming. We pray that You send us the Holy Spirit, that he grant us the graces needed; not be threatened by the enormity of the task nor by the nature of what we have been entrusted to do. We ask Our Lady to intercede for us, and to keep us always focused on the fact that we are on this Earth to prepare for an eternity with You in heaven, and that all we do is for Your greater honor and glory and not our own. We ask this through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

March 29, 2009

The Priest Co-Conveners and Core Team will soon be contacting the Parish Councils and parishioners from the four merging parishes to form transitional committees to facilitate the merging of Immaculate Conception Church, St. Teresa of Avila Church, St. Michael Church and St. Mary’s Church. Each merging parish will be represented on the committees.
The transitional committees are: Pastoral Parish Committee, Finance Committee, Liturgy Committee, Religious Education Committee, Ministry Committee and Communications Committee. Other committees may be formed as the need arises.
The Priest Co-Conveners and Core Team are also starting the process of naming the new parish.

March 22, 2009

The Priest Co-Conveners and Core Team named committees to facilitate the merger of the parishes of Immaculate Conception Church, St. Teresa of Avila Church, St. Michael Church and St. Mary’s Church at a meeting on March 11 at St. Michael’s.
Sandra Johnson and Manuel Sandoval will chair a Pastoral Parish Council Committee, Frank Catalana and Ann Budde will chair a Finance Committee, Darrin Krug and Pat Hannum will chair a Liturgy Committee, Mike Takacs and Rob Malestein will chair a Religious Education Committee, Maribel Santos, Marie Krug and Paul Wolfe will chair a Ministry Committee and Ed Hilt will chair a Communications Committee. More information about the formation of these committees will be available soon.
Priest Co-Conveners Father Ariel Hernandez and Father Michael Goyette, along with other Priest Co-Conveners from all merging parishes, attended a luncheon meeting with Bishop Galante last week to discuss the merger. Father Goyette was commissioned as a Priest Co-Convener at this meeting. If you have any questions about the merger, please feel free to ask one of the Priest Co-Conveners or a Core Team member.

March 15, 2009

The Priest Co-Conveners and Core Team representing Immaculate Conception Church, St. Teresa of Avila Church, St. Michael Church and St. Mary’s Church met last week. Among the items on the agenda was the formation of committees to help facilitate the merger. More information will be available in your bulletin next week. Among the committees that will be established are: Liturgical Committee, Social and Parish Life Committee, Ministry Committee, and Finance Committee. Other committees will be formed as we move forward. If you have any questions about the merger, please feel free to ask one of the Priest Co-Conveners or a Core Team member.