Diocese may reduce number of parishes

By: Vanessa S. Holt
   The Northern Burlington Deanery Study team last week recommended reducing the number of Diocese of Trenton parishes in the northern Burlington County area from five to four and replacing pastors in three of the churches with one shared pastor, though it has not recommended closing any of those churches.
   The Northern Cluster is currently comprised of the parishes of St. Mary, in Bordentown; St. Andrew, in Jobstown; Holy Assumption, in Roebling; Assumption, in New Egypt; and St. Clare, in Florence.
   Under the recommendation submitted to Bishop John M. Smith on July 19, the parishes of St. Mary and Assumption would remain unchanged in structure. The parishes of St. Clare and Holy Assumption would merge, and the parish of St. Andrew would twin with the newly merged Florence parish, and share a pastor.
   According to the diocese, the merged parishes would receive a new, yet-to-be-determined name, different from their current names, but the churches themselves will retain their existing names. The churches will not be closed, but will act as separate worship sites.
   The recommendations were prepared by a study group consisting of clergy from the 14 parishes in the Diocese of Trenton and the bishop is expected to make a decision based on those recommendations in September.
   In addition to the individual recommendations for the Northern, Central and Southern clusters, the study group recommended that each parish participate in a Cluster Committee that will coordinate ministry and collaboration between the parishes. It also recommends parishes within each cluster to work together achieve their individual goals.
   Rayanne Bennett, director of public relations for the diocese, said that the study group did not recommend closing any of the churches in the diocese.
   If the recommendations are accepted by the bishop, this would mean for the merged parishes of St. Clare and Assumption, which are both within Florence Township and serve a total of about 1,200 families, but the names of the churches themselves would not change. They would share a pastor, and the Mass schedules would be altered to split the pastor’s time between the two sites, which are within one mile of each other.
   Under the recommendation, St. Andrew in Jobstown, which serves 454 families, also would be twinned that parish, and would share the same pastor although it would be administrated as a separate parish.
   The merging of the parishes may not mean any physical differences in the buildings were services are held, but it broadens the religious community, said Ms. Bennett. "It might seem like a small distinction, but they will basically double," she said. "When they go to parish events, they will have people (attending) from the former parish down the road."
   Priests from the former parishes would be transferred to other positions within the diocese, which is not unusual, said Ms. Bennett, as there are rotations within the diocese every year.
   There are a total of about 20,000 Catholic families in the northern cluster identified by the diocese, she said. The Diocese of Trenton, which encompasses four counties, consists of more than 800,000 Catholics.
   One of the factors propelling these changes, said Ms. Bennett, is the expected reduction in the number of priests that will be available in the diocese. There are currently 118 priests in the diocese, but a study conducted to examine the next 30 years indicates that there may be fewer than 100 active priests in 2037. Demographic shifts, with growing Catholic populations in suburban and developing areas, and new immigrant populations, also bring about changes in where the highest concentration of parishioners is gathering, she said. "Finances also enter in, but they’re not the driving force," in the recommendations, she said.