St. Mary's Church
Rosenhayn, NJ
November 12, 2006
Dear Parishioners,
You may have heard and read that the Diocese of Camden is in the process of studying how best the Church of Camden can continue to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Due to the fact that the demographics of our diocese have changed and the number of priests is going down, the Bishop has requested that each parish establish a planning team to help him reorganize the parishes in the diocese to better serve the needs of the people. This will help to better use the priest personnel, which is predicted to be 22 % fewer in five years, and 50 % fewer in ten years.
Our parish planning team met for the first time on October 5, 2006. At the first meeting, the team discussed the purpose for the team, the Bishop's hopes, and the changing demographics. On November 16, 2006, the planning team will meet again and, at that time, will discuss the spiritual, physical, and financial aspects of our parish. Their report will be sent to the Diocesan Planning Commission.
Some members of our team will attend a general diocesan meeting on December 9, 2006 at St. Mary's Church in Williamstown. Also, on January 6, 2007 the team will attend an "In-Service Day" at Camden Catholic High School. This will initiate the parish planning throughout the diocese. The entire planning phase for the diocese will end in April 2008. On September 1, 2008 structural changes in parishes and schools will be initiated. In the words of Bishop Galante, "I have no idea what the Diocese of Camden will look like."
Our Parish Planning Team is composed of the following members of St. Mary's Parish:
Mike Takacs, Chairperson
John Montana
Pat Hannum
George Olivio
Deacon Chris Nichols
Beth Takacs
Rich Falk
Tom Cushane
Marilyn Szalay
Theresa Bifulco
Kathie Downie
Dona Veight
Roseanne DeFrancisco
Tina Bidic
Joan Frith
Vince Trovarelli
Joe Veight
Joe Webb
Sharon Shephard