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Northern Burlington Deanery Update

July, 2007

Bishop receives recommendations as Northern Burlington Deanery Study concludes

The Northern Burlington Deanery Study officially concluded July 19 when members of the study's steering committee presented to Bishop John M. Smith a final report and recommendations on parish restructuring and development.

Clergy, religious and laity representing the 14 participating parishes gathered for a Closing Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Willingboro, where they were warmly thanked by the Bishop and Father Joseph A. Tedesco, director of the diocese's Office of Research and Planning.

The recommendations will be reviewed by Bishop Smith, who is expected to announce his decisions sometime in September. Restructuring models cited in the recommendations include merger (in which two or more parishes become one new parish); twinning (in which two or three parishes share one pastor but retain separate identities), and establishing a principal parish with a mission parish. In two of the three clusters, the study group recommended several restructuring options for the Bishop to consider. Depending on the options Bishop Smith accepts, anywhere from four to six of the 14 parishes will remain unchanged in structure, but will be called to implement ongoing cluster discussion and cooperation.

The recommendations follow.

In the Northern Cluster - Five parishes with five administrations would be reduced to four parishes with three administrations accordingly:

• The parishes of St. Mary, Bordentown, and Assumption, New Egypt, would remain unchanged in structure.
• St. Clare Parish, Florence, and Holy Assumption Parish, Roebling, would merge.
• St. Andrew Parish, Jobstown, would twin with the newly-merged parish (former St. Clare and Assumption Parishes), and would be moved to Columbus.

In the Central Cluster - Two options were suggested to reduce three or four parishes (depending on the option), each with their own administrations, into two parishes with two administrations accordingly:

Option #1

• The parishes of All Saints and St. Paul, both in Burlington, would merge.
• The parishes of Corpus Christi, Willingboro, and St. Joseph>, Beverly, would merge.

Option #2

• The parishes of All Saints and St. Paul, both in Burlington, would merge.
• Corpus Christi Parish would remain unchanged in structure.
• St. Joseph Parish would be included in the Southern Cluster restructuring.

In the Southern Cluster - Three options were offered to reduce five or six parishes (depending on the option) each with their own administrations, into four or five parishes with four administrations accordingly:

Option #1

• The parishes of St. Casimir, Riverside, and Holy Name, Delran, would merge or become a principal parish and mission parish (not yet determined which would be mission).
• The parishes of St. Peter, Riverside, and St. Joseph, Beverly, would be twinned or merged.
• The parishes of St. Charles Borromeo, Cinnaminson, and Sacred Heart, Riverton, would remain unchanged in structure.

Option #2

• The parishes of St. Casimir, Riverside, and Holy Name, Delran, would merge
• The parishes of St. Peter, Riverside; Sacred Heart, Riverton, and St. Charles Borromeo, Cinnaminson, would remain unchanged in structure.

Option #3

• The parishes of St. Casimir and St. Peter, both in Riverside, and St. Joseph, Beverly, would merge
• The parishes of Holy Name, Delran; Sacred Heart, Riverton, and St. Charles Borromeo, Cinnaminson, would remain unchanged in structure.

General Recommendations for all Clusters

• Each parish will participate in a Cluster Committee that would be formed to coordinate ministry and collaboration between the parishes.
• Parishes of each Cluster would work together to achieve the goals and objectives developed by each of the Cluster groups.

All pastors of parishes undergoing restructuring would be reassigned and a new pastor would be brought in. All parishes that are merged will receive a new name, different from the names of the former parishes, however, the churches themselves (structures) will retain their existing names. There is no recommendation to close any of the churches, so the restructured parishes would have more than one worship site. It would be up to each parish to determine how Masses would be scheduled among the sites.

The recommendations were built on a number of goals identified through the study process. Among them were to provide faith formation opportunities to people of all ages; encourage greater lay participation in the ministry of the church; reach out to inactive and non-Catholics through strong evangelization programs; embrace ethnic diversity; foster and implement the tenets of social justice; offer a strong and engaging youth ministry program; deepen parishioners' spirituality; maintain financial viability, and develop a strong spirit of cooperation and communication with other parishes.

The recommendations were developed through a series of monthly study sessions that officially began Oct. 19, 2006 and included the participation of each pastor and two parish representatives from all 14 communities. In addition, the study was shaped by an initial parish survey taken in June, 2006, the input from parish leadership teams and a series of town meetings open to all parishioners.

Based on the decisions of the Bishop in September, plans to implement restructuring would begin immediately afterward, with all changes becoming effective July 1, 2008.

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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