Patty Gerber, parish director of St. Peter, Cameron, presented Bishop James P. Powers with a plaque commemorating the ninth anniversary of his ordination as bishop on Feb. 18. (Catholic Herald photo by Anita Draper)

Anita Draper
Catholic Herald staff

Editor’s note: This article contains background information. Further details on the event and the new pastoral plan will follow in the next issue.

Diocese of Superior Bishop James P. Powers, clergy from parishes across the diocese and Chancery officials gathered Tuesday, Feb. 18, at St. Peter, Cameron, for the introduction of the new Maintenance to Mission Pastoral Plan.

Detailing the bishop’s strategy for deeper engagement of parishioners, outreach to nonpracticing Catholics and an emphasis on missionary discipleship, the document instructs parishes to develop a plan for enriching and revitalizing their communities.

The plan is the next step in the diocesan Maintenance to Mission initiative, an effort started before the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen Catholicism across the 16-county region. The creation of the Office of Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship, directed by Chris Hurtubise, was one of the first public actions of the initiative; another was hosting a series of deanery meetings inviting local Catholics to talk about their parishes.

The Diocesan Planning Committee is composed of Bishop Powers, Fr. John Gerritts, Fr. Gerald Harris, Fr. Andrew Ricci, Dcn. John Grek and Chancery office directors Peggy Schoenfuss, Dan Blank, Chris Hurtubise, Christine Newkirk and Steve Tarnowski. Together, they have designed the plan to confront some of the challenges in the mission diocese – cultural and societal shifts away from Christianity; rural depopulation; graying population; declining participation in Mass and the sacraments; and falling enrollment in Catholic schools and faith formation programs.

As introduced by Bishop Powers in his “Pastoral Letter on Evangelization” released on Pentecost in 2023, the plan envisions a diocese moving from Maintenance to Mission – from complacency as a church to active evangelization – by first forming clergy, who will then inspire the faithful to grow in holiness. As parishioners’ faith grows and develops, they will inspire changes in the wider community by praying, investing in Christian friendships, investing in relationships in their individual spheres of influence and responding to others.

The Holy Spirit, “not us,” is the primary agent of this mission emanating outward from parish communities, Bishop Powers wrote in his pastoral letter, so taking the time to build parishioners’ faith patiently and attentively – focusing on a long-term, permanent rejuvenation of faith in the diocese, rather than quick, short-term programmatic fixes for shrinking parish communities – was one of the key points of both the pastoral letter and the Cameron meeting. Another was the need for clergy “not to sit by idly,” in the words of Fr. Gerritts, but to begin to galvanize their flocks.

Following a morning Presbyteral Council meeting and a soup-and-sandwich luncheon served by St. Peter parish director Patty Gerber and director of faith formation Mindy Hamilton, the afternoon meeting began in silence with Eucharistic adoration.

Addressing clergy in the church as adoration concluded, Fr. Gerritts, pastor of St. Patrick, Hudson, noted the momentous nature of the occasion. Seldom does the bishop call everyone together, he observed, so when he does, it is important. Drawing on the image of the paralytic being lowered through a roof to Jesus by his friends in Mark 2:1-12, Fr. Gerritts spoke of the friends’ accompaniment of the man, and how they were not deterred by obstacles. He invited listeners to stand and announce their willingness to go out on mission “with the zeal of the early apostles.”

“The parish is the rock of people’s faith,” Fr. Gerritts continued, not a school district, a library or simply a business. It is where people are baptized, receive forgiveness for their sins, meet God through the sacraments. It is where they are instructed in their faith together, dine together, feed the hungry and fulfill other Christian obligations. He urged clergy members to stand up, as they did at their confirmation and their ordination, and announce their presence.

All the priests and deacons stood and announced, “present.”

Fr. Gerritts then invited everyone to return to the parish hall for their introduction to the Maintenance to Mission Pastoral Plan.

This article on the Pastoral Plan and the Feb. 18 meeting will be continued in the next issue.