Parish Triad in the Diocese of San Bernardino, USA

Maureen with parishioners

Mexican dance

The recent synod on the Eucharist pointed up differences in perception of what a “clergy shortage” means in different parts of the world. Here in the US over the last 30 years many dioceses have been dealing with diminished numbers of clergy who are also aging. This has coincided with a blossoming of lay involvement over the same time period in what are now called “lay ecclesial ministries”. Dioceses have different approaches to providing parish communities with leadership, in some priests pastor several parishes, in others the bishops have used  a provision of canon 517.2 which allow appointment of deacons, religious or laity to lead parishes without resident priest pastors. Sacramental ministers can be retired priests, priests who have other ministries or who for some reason are unable to be named pastor.

This staffing option, with the leader called a pastoral coordinator,  has been used in the diocese of San Bernardino by both its founding bishop Phillip Straling and the current ordinary Bishop Gerald R. Barnes.  The diocese, founded in 1978, dedicated its efforts from the beginning to develop lay ministry and lay leaders through adult education programs. Laity has served as pastoral associates, directors of religious education, and business managers almost since the founding of the diocese.  Rapid population growth over the past 10 years has made this option even more critical. The Catholic population is over 55% Latino, with a large population of Asian and South Pacific immigrants, as well as African American and Native American Catholics makes the diocese a “minority majority” one in which persons of other Euro-American ancestries comprise only 25%

Because of this growth, many parish churches are too small to accommodate the rapidly growing Catholic population that has been swelled by many diverse ethnic immigrant groups.  In San Bernardino city the Bishop has asked three inner city parishes to work toward becoming one parish. The plan is to build a large worship center and parish center on a property located approximately in the center of the territory of the three parishes within the next few years. He asked Maureen Chicoine, rscj who was finishing a nine year term as pastoral coordinator of another parish to become the new leader or pastoral coordinator and guide the merger. She began this task in July 2004 when Christ the King and Our Lady of Fatima parishes were entrusted to her. In July 2005 the third parish, St. Anne became part of the triad of parishes.

Each parish has a distinct personality and history. Even though the population is predominantly Spanish speaking there is diversity of country of origin, ages (with many young families and children as well as elderly) and economic status. Many are immigrants, poor and some of those lack documents, but there are also owners of small businesses, technicians, factory workers and college students among the population. Increasingly the younger population is more comfortable in English than in Spanish.  Between the three parishes there are 12 weekend Masses in three different languages (Spanish, English and Vietnamese)  Together the new parish would have an initial population of about 4,000 families and because of the size of the new church would need only 4-5 Masses to accommodate the different languages and needs of the parish. .

Over the last year and continuing this year parish programs and activities such as religious formation, initiation of adults into the faith (RCIA), youth formation, will continue to work toward consolidation. Some small programs have been merged and others allow parents to participate in cross parish enrollment. This enables parents and their children, volunteers and adults from all three parishes to mix with each other. Worshiping together is more difficult since none of the three churches is big enough to hold all three. Some devotions were shared during Advent and Lent and 2 smaller English Masses combined. However most of the Spanish Masses are so full that there is no possibility of combining and one more may need to be started to accommodate the people. A recent Mass census of the triad showed 885 persons at English Masses and 2615 at Spanish Masses.

In the meantime the daily life of three parish’s communities: sacramental, social, spiritual, educational needs to continue. Maureen is assisted by 3 pastoral associates (a deacon, a laywoman and a Sister of the Holy Names) who work with the communities in areas as diverse as leadership development, marriage preparation, pastoral counseling and bereavement ministry. In two parishes another deacon is director of religious formation and he also oversees the combined youth Confirmation program that meets on one site each week. In the third parish a laywoman is coordinator of the religious formation at that site. Two priests work with the parish as sacramental ministers with a third coming to the triad in January. Two belong to the Missionary Servants of the Blessed Trinity who have come to the diocese to work with this type of alternative leadership model.

Guiding this process will be the newly elected Pastoral Planning Committee which will plot a five year plan leading to the union of the communities, assisting with the rituals for closing and opening the parish and doing needed research of community needs.  5 representatives are from each of the three parishes with 2 persons representing the Vietnamese community.  They will plan for even more ways that lay leadership of each parish can grow together.