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Nov. 2, 2006
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Demographics shape future of West Allis/West Milwaukee parishes |
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Archbishop endorses consultation,
acceptance of ‘new challenges’ |
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WEST ALLIS — Members of seven West Allis parishes and one West Milwaukee parish came to St. Rita Church Oct. 24 for a “town hall” meeting at which Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan was the featured speaker. For 23 minutes he addressed more than 700 people about the future of the church in their communities, but he summarized much of what they heard early in his presentation: “That’s all due to that one word – demographics.”
He noted, “Sixty to 70 years ago, and even before that, eight wonderful parishes sprang up in West Allis/West Milwaukee. Huge Catholic families were moving in in droves. We couldn’t build parishes fast enough. We had a bounty of priests and a treasury of sisters that could staff our parishes and schools. We have to be realistic; that isn’t accurate anymore.”
While a planning task force comprised of each parish’s pastor and two representatives from each of the parishes has been meeting almost every month since May 2005, this was the first time the archbishop had addressed the pastors, lay task force members and parishioners at one gathering.
Archbishop lays out three options
Archbishop Dolan said the future of the church in the West Allis/West Milwaukee community could be handled one of three ways. One would be for him to decide which parishes would stay open, which would consolidate, and which properties would be sold, but he said that he didn’t like that approach.
“That doesn’t happen to be a very good model as the way our church should operate,” he said. “I’m supposed to be your pastor, your servant. I’m not supposed to be your dictator, your boss.”
Nor did he endorse doing nothing. He said that if that method were employed, if and when parishes closed, people would ask, “Why didn’t the archdiocese do something? Why did the archdiocese let this happen? Couldn’t they see this coming?”
“That is not a good model of church – let struggling parishes die, let strong parishes survive,” he said. “Survival of the fittest is not in line with the Gospel.”
Archbishop Dolan proposed what he termed the “hardest option” – one that would “take more work, more time, hard work, and an immense amount of patience.”
“We’re proactive, realistic. We come together as Catholics and plan truthfully and patiently, we listen to each other, consult till we’re blue in the face; we let everyone be heard, we come up with a fair, promising program for our future. That way, we’re all winners, no losers,” he said.
Alluding to the consultation that led to the establishment of one West Allis/West Milwaukee Catholic school with two campuses in 2004, and which periodically serves as a point of reference during planning task force discussions, Archbishop Dolan noted some people were not happy with that consultation process, that they thought the decision was “pre-ordained.”
“One thing we have to promise ourselves is that we would not let that happen again,” he said of the way the process was perceived.
The archbishop was interrupted by applause when he said, “Whatever our decisions, whatever our plans and hopes will be, we’ve got to continue to keep and strengthen your excellent school (Mary Queen of Saints) in the West Allis/West Milwaukee area.”
Welcome seniors, Latinos, says archbishop
Archbishop Dolan said that the Catholic community was called to do more than maintain buildings and parishes.
“We’re into mission; mission is what drives the church. As much as we love our parish, church is more than parish,” he said. “We are into spreading the faith, serving those in need, bringing others in.”
Elements of that mission, according to the archbishop, are seniors and Latinos. He also said that neighborhood renewal, caring for the poor and outreach to the unchurched needed to be part of the West Allis/West Milwaukee mission.
“We must be attentive to all of these new challenges,” Archbishop Dolan said.
The archbishop’s reference to demographics, particularly seniors and Latinos, mirrored data provided to the planning task force Oct. 27, 2005 by John Stibal of the West Allis Planning Commission.
Discussing the demographic trends in the community, Stibal noted, “The market for West Allis/West Milwaukee senior housing is phenomenal.” He added that “the loyalty of seniors in this area” is strong.
Stibal also noted that schools which were no longer used were attractive properties for those looking to convert buildings into senior housing.
He said that the population trend in the community would include an increase in the number of Latinos and “more minorities in general” moving into West Allis/West Milwaukee. According to data he distributed, Latinos comprise 3.5 percent of West Allis and 12 percent of West Milwaukee.
Possible models
Over the time it has been meeting, the planning task force has been listening not only to each other, but to members of their parish councils. In May, all of the councils were invited to a meeting in which models of parish configuration were examined. A subcommittee of the planning task force took that feedback and developed two possible plans – one for the west cluster, which includes Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mary Queen of Heaven and St. Aloysius, and one for the east cluster, which includes Holy Assumption, St. Augustine, St. Florian, St. Mary Help of Christians and St. Rita.
Marge Wilbur of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish presented the west cluster’s plan at the town hall meeting. The first alternative includes a three-phase plan. The initial phase notes the current three-parish, three-priests structure, but calls for parishes to enter into a “formal covenant relationship.”
Among areas in which they would be expected to collaborate pertain to declining membership or revenues, aging buildings and staffing. Parish councils from each parish would meet to determine what services, ministries and staffing would be shared, particularly in areas of Christian formation and human concerns. They would begin preparing for merger alternatives.
In the second phase, based upon two priests serving three parishes, Mass schedules would be adjusted to ensure eucharistic celebrations on Saturday and Sunday evenings, and on Sunday mornings. A blending and adaptation of liturgical styles would occur, as would implementation of merger alternatives.
The third phase, based upon one priest serving three parishes, calls for the three parishes being merged into one or two parish sites.
The west cluster’s second alternative is to “merge now into one parish with one or two sites and voluntarily reduce the number of priests to two.”
The east cluster is a “multi-phased plan depending upon the number of priests available for the cluster and the financial status of each parish,” according to Alexandra Miller of St. Florian, who made the town hall presentation.
The first phase is predicated upon the availability of three priests. A Discalced Carmelite priest would continue to serve as pastor of St. Florian and take pastoral responsibility for Holy Assumption. St. Augustine will continue to be staffed by a Franciscan friar and St. Rita will be staffed by one archdiocesan priest.
The plan takes into account what Archbishop Dolan termed an “urgent situation” – the status of St. Mary Help of Christians. The parish membership has been declining and it no longer has the financial resources needed to operate. Fr. Denis Weis, who is retiring at the end of November, had told the planning task force that the last Mass will be celebrated at the parish between the Feast of the Epiphany and the start of Lent.
The second phase of the east cluster’s plan notes that St. Augustine will remain open as long as a Franciscan friar is available to serve. The archdiocese is not expected to assign a priest to the parish. St. Rita will continue to be staffed by an archdiocesan priest.
Like the west cluster, the parishes will enter into a “formal covenant relationship” and jointly address declining membership and revenue, aging buildings, and staffing.
Questions, comments
Forty-five minutes of the meeting were devoted to questions from audience members. While no answers were provided that night, facilitators recorded the questions and promised that those, as well as those submitted afterward in writing, would be answered around Thanksgiving.
Among the oral questions and statements were:
“Who has put us in this poor financial condition?”
“It doesn’t matter what building we’re in; what matters is we can go someplace and worship.”
“What we must do as Catholics is try to get our sons and daughters back to church.”
“Could we get a Spanish speaking priest or Spanish Mass?”
“Has any thought been given to helping our elderly get to church?”
Timeline
Mark Peters, archdiocesan parish consultant who has been facilitating meetings of the planning task force, reiterated that as the consultation continued, attention would be paid to buildings, finances and staffing over the next few months.
He said that the task force hoped to have a model ready for presentation at a town hall meeting in January, with recommendations being made to parish councils by the end of that month. A recommendation would be made to Archbishop Dolan in February.
“We are working on a very aggressive timeline,” Peters said, adding that if work were being done that required additional time, he wouldn’t hesitate to provide it.
Peters reminded the assembly, “Planning will not be over.” He said that “convenanting with each other … collaborating together” would need to take place during the interim between the time the recommendations are presented to the archbishop and the time they are implemented. |
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