Pastoral Planning Update

The Pastoral Planning Group for the Fitchburg parishes met on Wednesday, July 15, at St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School library. Five priests as well as two lay representatives from each parish met with members of the Diocesan Pastoral Planning Committee.

We continued to discuss what our goals are for the Church in the entire City of Fitchburg, not just each parish. Although at times it might have seemed tedious, at the end of the second meeting we began to see the direction we were heading in and how well thought out the process has been.

Over the past six months or so, several proposals have been submitted with suggestions for the reconfiguration of the parishes. Of course, every parish’s plan includes themselves as a future parish center. How to get beyond our natural instinct of self-preservation?

Our assignment for this month is for each parish’s Focus Group to meet and develop a plan for Fitchburg as if our own parish never existed! In other words, we focus on everyone else’s good points, and let others look for ours. This removes the Focus Group’s concern for our own parishes and focus on the larger picture.

Our Focus Group will meet on Wednesday, August 5, at 7:00 PM in the Church Hall. That gives us two weeks to think about plans before the meeting and another two weeks to refine our plan until the next citywide meeting, which is August 19.

Our Focus Group members are: Jim Adams, Linda Allaire, Kevin & Kristine Caravella, John & Kathy Cullinan, Ellen DePatie, Debbie & Tony Mercadante, Cyndi & Pete Merrill, Rosalyn Piro and John & Vicky Zarrella, with Father Bob and Deacon Sal.