The following questions are ones that have been posed to Cluster Committee and Parish Staff members. Some can be answered completely now, while other details will be worked out in the coming months. We are committed to good communication and transparency. Please keep your questions coming!
Not at this time, although we expect to have a combined bulletin sometime in the future as other clustered parishes do. For now, copies of each parish’s bulletins will be available at both St. Catherine and Transfiguration, and both bulletins will include Fr. Rob’s column.
Weddings and funerals will continue to be held in both churches. The process for arranging either will be the same as in the past.
Yes, they will. Fr. Rob has already met with deacons Eric Bessette, Kevin Carges, and Pat DiLaura to work out the preaching schedule through the summer and fall. Since Fr. Rob also prefers to have a deacon assisting at all weekend Masses, the schedule of which deacon will serve on the Altar each weekend has also been created. Transfiguration parishioners will have their first opportunity to meet Deacon Kevin Carges the weekend of June 26-27 when he serves on the Altar at all Masses at both churches. St. Catherine’s parishioners will meet Deacon Eric Bessette the weekend of July 10-11 and Deacon Pat DiLaura the weekend of July 24-25. We look forward to Deacon Jim Carra’s return to ministry as his health allows.
No, we won’t have a new name—we are still separate parishes under both church and secular law. We are still the Church of the Transfiguration and St. Catherine of Siena. The situation in Rush/Henrietta is different. The parishes of Good Shepherd and Guardian Angels in Henrietta as well as St. Joseph’s in Rush were clustered many years ago. After several years as clustered communities, the parishes went through a process of discernment and recommended to Bishop Clark that they be joined into a single parish. He did so, and he named the new parish St. Marianne Cope. The church buildings retained their original names. Change continued with the eventual closure and sale of Good Shepherd. Today in our diocese parishes may be asked by Bishop Matano to share a Pastor—become clustered—but there is no expectation that they will later merge and become a single parish.
Put most succinctly, we do not have enough priests to continue life as we have known it. Our diocese has 64 parishes or clusters needing a Pastor; some of these parishes and clusters include so many churches—or are so large—that an assisting priest is needed. Only 38 of our Pastors are younger than 70.
Our diocesan clergy are aging, and the number of those being ordained does not equal the number of priests moving into senior priest status, getting seriously sick, or dying. The diocese currently has 55 priests under the age of 70. There are 32 priests between the ages of 70 and 75, although some of these are not able to minister. 54 are over age 75, some of them still in active ministry.
59 diocesan priests currently have senior status, a group Fr. Mike Bausch will be joining in June. “Senior status” is similar to what the rest of us call “retirement.” Priests in senior status choose where, how, and when they want to minister. The Bishop does not appoint them to particular ministries or parishes. Their generosity supports those priests in active ministry and allows parish communities to have Masses when assigned priests are sick or away for vacations or retreats.
Yes. Our intent is to livestream the 8:45 am Mass at Transfiguration and the 10:45 am Mass at St. Catherine.
Yes. Beginning Monday, June 21, the daily Mass schedule will be Mondays and Wednesdays 6:45 am at Transfiguration with Masses Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:00 am at St. Catherine.
The sacrament of Reconciliation will be offered Saturdays at 3:00 pm at Transfiguration and by appointment at either parish (contact Fr. Rob at 624-4990).
Much depends on whether Fr. Rob will be assisted by a retired priest (which is highly likely). If a second priest is available, we expect that the Mass schedule will be similar to what it has been in the past. If Fr. Rob is the only priest, he will need to consult with both staffs and those involved in preparing the liturgy to choose the best schedule possible. Mass times and locations will be communicated to parishioners when they are determined.
With much prayer, thought and consideration, our Music Directors (Sue Wallace at Transfiguration and Pam McInerney at St. Catherine) have consulted with each other and with members of their music ministry to share ideas and possibilities for the future. They heartily agree on welcoming anyone from either church who wants to sing or play at the Masses. We have been blessed this past year with music recorded by our combined choirs, and we hope to continue to offer a variety of music styles to support the prayer of our parishioners.
Faith formation and sacramental preparation are important ministries of both of our parishes. We are fortunate to have talented staff and parishioners involved in this work. In particular, Anne Gallagher, Karen Luke, and Vicky Wejko have long worked together well, shared ideas, and supported one another. They hope to meet together soon to begin imagining possibilities for the future. We expect that each parish will be strengthened by the gifts of the other as we are linked under our shared pastor, Fr. Rob.
Sacramental preparation will ordinarily continue to happen at each parish, although we will likely look for opportunities to collaborate between St. Catherine and Transfiguration. The sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, and First Communion will continue to be celebrated in each person’s home parish unless different accommodations need to be made for particular families.
Fr. Rob welcomes all his new parishioners! He can be reached by phone at 624-4990 or by email at [email protected]. To reach him in an emergency, please call 269-9828.
Yes. Beyond Masses, he will be regularly at both parishes—meeting with parishioners and staff, attending meetings and programs.
Many of our parishioners contribute to their parish through online giving. If you use a collection envelope, though, and put it in the basket at the other parish, it will be returned to your own parish. If your donation is cash, it will stay with the parish you visit unless you place cash in an envelope labeled for your own parish.
Fr. Rob has already met once with Deacons Eric Bessette, Kevin Carges, and Pat DiLaura to work out the preaching schedule for the coming months, and their future responsibilities will continue to be worked out. All are on board and looking forward to getting to know each other’s community. We look forward to Deacon Jim Carra’s return to ministry as his health allows.
Both communities value the participation of parishioners that allows such a flourishing of ministries. Right now, Margie Benza and Sr. Ruth Maier are reaching out to liturgical ministers, while Pam McInerney and Sue Wallace are in contact with music ministers. Parishioners can choose how and when they will volunteer.
The work of the Clustering Committee will likely carry on at least through the summer. Beyond continuing to coordinate regular, transparent, two-way communication with parishioners and staffs, the committee will do everything it can to ensure a smooth transition into Fr. Rob’s new role and the new relationship between St. Catherine and Transfiguration.
Up until now, each parish has had its own Pastor, even as we collaborated with each other and with other neighboring communities such as St. Louis. From June 29 onward, we will remain two separate entities under both church and secular law. However, Transfiguration will be adjusting to the end of Fr. Mike’s longtime pastorate; St. Catherine will be adapting to sharing their Pastor, Fr. Rob. We will be keeping our own identities but, at the same time, developing a new, shared identity. Much like two individuals getting married remain separate persons but begin to develop a new, shared identity as a married couple, we will be balancing our individual parish identities with our identity as clustered parish communities.