Northern Burlington Deanery Update

January, 2007

Discover phase findings turned over to parish leadership teams for review, feedback

The Northern Burlington Deanery Study team concluded the Discover Stage of its work Dec. 14, having gathered data and input on each of the 13 parishes involved and explored many facets of life in the deanery.

Grouped into three clusters - North, Central and South - team members used the information collected to develop a snapshot of each cluster, identifying the strengths and limitations of its parishes, as well as the external opportunities and challenges that exist beyond the parishes in the local communities. In addition, each cluster provided its assumptions about the future of the deanery and named the critical issues that new ministry models must address within its four- to five-parish region.

The potential influence of population and demographic trends drew a great deal of attention and discussion by all three clusters, with some aspects identified as new opportunities and others listed as challenges that had to be overcome. Team members specifically cited a rising Catholic population; a trend toward more residential development and away from industrial; the influx of Catholic immigrants; the aging of certain parish communities, and the accessibility of commuting resources like the Riverline as factors that could impact the clusters.

A projected increase in the cost of living was seen almost universally as a significant cause of a series of challenges surrounding quality of life and lifestyle issues. These included a widening gap between the rich and poor; a growth in the homeless population and a deepening need for low-income housing; the need for dual income families leaving little time for adults to volunteer or become involved in parish life, and the scheduling conflicts confronted by families who seek to do more in their week and on the weekends.

Societal ills such as the ever-growing number of latch-key or unsupervised children; a move toward secularism and materialism; the proliferation of drug and gang activity; a rise in crime overall, and a general breakdown of the family were cited as serious challenges in the community by all three clusters.

A number of trends in the Church were identified as critical issues that any new model of ministry would have to address. Chief among those trends is the shortage of clergy, pointing to the likelihood that most parishes will have only one priest, and that some parishes will face reconfiguration, either as merged or twinned communities. Other Church-related concerns noted was a growing hunger for spirituality; the increased need for better lay formation and paid positions for lay ecclesial ministers; outreach to emerging Catholic communities, such as the Portugese; evangelization efforts centered on non-Catholic and non-active Catholic persons, and a decline in the number of active parish families. Consistently represented in the feedback is the clear commitment to Catholic education, whether through support of the local parish school, the new diocesan elementary school, Pope John Paul II Regional in Willingboro, or the diocesan secondary school, Holy Cross High School, Delran.

The results of the Discovery stage, compiled into a series of worksheets for each cluster, have been forwarded to each parish for feedback. All of the 13 local communities were asked to form parish leadership teams of 10-15 individuals. Typically, the team is comprised of members of the parish pastoral council, finance council and leaders of parish organizations. The 13 parish leadership teams were to have reviewed the information over the past two weeks and issue their responses. Their feedback will be presented at the study group's Jan. 18 meeting, and will be used to develop goals and methods for the cluster.

Also at its Jan. 18 meeting, the NBDS team will be given a presentation by Msgr. John Dermond, diocesan judicial vicar, on the canonical options and considerations for parish reconfiguration.

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Update is issued monthly to all parishes involved in the Northern Burlington study.

Director: Rev. Joseph A. Tedesco
609 406-7400 ext. 5635
Fax: 609-406-7444
E-mail: jtedes@dioceseoftrenton.org

Associate Director: Michael Fabian
609 406-7400 ext. 5636
Fax: 609-406-7444
E-mail: mfabia@dioceseoftrenton.org