June 3, 2020
 
Dear Corpus Christi Family,                                                              
I pray this update letter finds you well, staying safe and healthy as we all continue to pray for an end to the Coronavirus and for peace, understanding and mutual respect of all peoples to grow in our country in these tumultuous days.

On Pentecost Sunday the Archbishop made an important announcement regarding a new direction he has discerned the Holy Spirit is leading the Archdiocese in the Unleash the Gospel Movement.  This new step will involve parishes joining together to form families of parishes.
 
 I heard about the families of parishes concept the Archdiocese was considering on May 15th, and then I learned on May 18th in a meeting the Archbishop had with the presbyterate that the Archdiocese had indeed committed to making this move to families of parishes.  While I knew at some point down the road that the Archdiocese needed to make adjustments due to the clergy shortage, I was initially surprised by the decision.  Yet after hearing the Archbishop's reasoning, and after reading the material on the families of parishes webpage, I do sincerely believe the Holy Spirit has been guiding our Archdiocese and is guiding this next step.  
 
The Archbishop has explained that: "The current health and economic crises have disrupted our lives and the life of the Church. This new reality has exacerbated some of the challenges we were already facing. Even before the pandemic, we knew that the way we function in our parishes needed to change. In addition to the shortage of priests available to serve in our parishes and the shortage of vocations for future ordinations, the parish structures we inherited served our mission well in the past, but they needed to be renewed and aligned for mission."  

Certainly, no two parishes are the same and I would encourage us not to receive that quote as a judgment on our parish or any other parish, as all of the parishes are in some way doing great things for the Lord.  The Unleash the Gospel Movement continues to inspire the Archdiocese more and more into a missionary focus, even in the midst of the progress in the mission already happening in parishes all over the Archdiocese. 
 
I personally believe and am confident that the Holy Spirit has been powerfully at work in the missionary conversion of the Archdiocese over the last six years, and I do think this next step is Holy Spirit inspired.  Certainly, there will be challenges that accompany this step, but if the Holy Spirit is leading, then the challenges are worth enduring.

I would like to invite you to visit this very thorough website the Archdiocese has established to learn more about the Families of Parishes concept that the Archdiocese is moving to. (See the link at the bottom of this letter.)  The video and letter from the Archbishop are particularly helpful to understanding this decision and the reasoning behind it, while all the content on the page is good information.  
 
The Archdiocese has begun a discernment phase that is scheduled to be completed by Advent of 2020 to determine which parishes will be grouped into which families of parishes.  A description for what this new reality will look like is given by the Archdiocese: “Families of parishes are groups of parishes, generally three to six, sharing resources to advance the mission. This new model will allow the priests, deacons, and lay staff associated with each parish to better share their gifts and talents with the whole Family of Parishes.”

At this time, it is important for me to inform you that I have chosen to remain as parish administrator for the next year (July 1, 2020 – July 1, 2021) rather than to seek the office of pastor at this time.  I have spoken with Archbishop Vigneron about this and he has agreed to assign me at this time to another year as parish administrator.  I love this parish and am happy to continue to serve here in a leadership role and I believe God has great things in store for Corpus Christi.
 
There are two reasons for my decision to remain as an administrator that I’d like to share with you.  First, with the new Families of Parishes model, the Archdiocese intends to utilize the gifts and talents of priests better for a missionary focus as they work more collaboratively on teams that serve a family of parishes.  It’s no secret that I struggle with administration. While I am certainly open to continuing to serve in a role of administration, in the new structure of Families of Parishes, it may be the case that I would serve more impactfully on a team led by a priest who is gifted with an administration charism, whereas my primary focus would be the pastoral and evangelistic endeavors that align with my God-given passion and gifts. 
 
Second, as the Archdiocese is heading into this discernment phase, I would be uncomfortable taking on the office of pastor knowing that the discernment the Archdiocese is going through could yield a result that would have me effectively step-down from being pastor after only being one for a short time.  Such a change could be unnecessarily difficult for our parish, which I would like to avoid if possible.  Whatever the discernment yields, I will gladly serve the Lord in any capacity to which I am called and I’m committed to walking with Corpus Christi through this time of discernment.  Should it be that I’m called to become pastor of Corpus Christi, and perhaps another parish or two as well in a family of parishes, I welcome the Lord’s will in my life with open arms.

Corpus Christi is a beautiful parish! Thank you for being a vibrant part of it.  I love that we exist to share Jesus and to radiate his presence, and this parish does it wonderfully.  I’m confident the Lord has great plans for Corpus Christi.  Let's pray for our parish and the Archdiocese, that the Holy Spirit will guide us through this discernment.  Please know that I will keep you updated, and also, that if you visit the families of parishes website, you can sign up on the bottom of the website for email updates from the Archdiocese as well.
 
God bless you,

Fr. Patrick