By Renée St. Martin Wizeman

Following an intentional delay to accommodate implementation of the Third Roman Missal, the diocese-wide Living Stones process to plan for allocation of priests is back under way.

Living Stones is in the parish input phase, according to Sister Rita McGinnis, pastoral planning director for the Diocese of Helena. At the heart of this process is the acknowledgement that there are not enough priests to assign resident pastors in every parish and mission of the diocese to provide quality pastoral care throughout the diocese.

“Our timeline became linked to the Roman Missal timeline,” Sister Rita said. “We knew we couldn’t do anything until after the first few weeks of Advent.”

Shortly before Christmas, pastors and administrators received materials for Living Stones’ parish input portion. They were asked to launch it in their parishes last weekend, Jan. 14-15, by including in the parish bulletin their respective deanery plan and the parishioner input form.

Living Stones originated with the diocesan pastoral plan, Come to the Light, which Bishop George Leo Thomas promulgated in February 2007. In the plan, creating a proposal for future distribution of priest personnel while maintaining quality pastoral care was identified as an important priority, which then became central in Living Stones.

The Living Stones process began with questions – 228 of them, to be exact. In the fall of 2009, each parish and mission in the diocese completed the 228-question inventory. The responses, along with demographic and financial information about the parishes in each deanery, were provided as thick notebooks to deanery planning groups, giving each group a detailed picture of its deanery.

In 2009 and 2010, parishes held meetings to receive parishioners’ input through a series of questions about changes they might experience in their parish and deanery if there were fewer priests in the deanery. Pastors and parish administrators were asked to invite a parishioner to represent each parish and mission on the newly forming deanery planning group. Each of the six deanery planning groups consists of the pastors, parish administrators and parishioner representatives from the parishes and missions in that particular deanery.

Throughout 2011, the groups met to develop their plans. Sister Rita said each of the deanery plans differ, given that each deanery’s challenges and demographics vary widely. Phrases that appear in the deanery group plans include “clustered parishes,” “amalgamated parish,” and “Church of Occasional Worship.” These reflect the groups’ efforts to provide workable solutions to the priest shortage.

Now parishioners will have another opportunity to give their thoughts and opinions. Each parish and mission has been asked to schedule a parish conversation to allow parishioners to discuss the proposed plans and their reactions to them. Attendance is not a requirement for offering input, however; parishes made the three-question input form available outside of meetings. Parishioners are asked to submit only one signed form, per person.

The form asks: What are the parts of the plan that you support and affirm? What parts of the plan cause you some concern? And lastly, are there recommendations you would like to share with the planning group? “Parishioners’ participation in this process is really important,” Sister Rita said. “It’s also important to note that these plans, when they are finalized, will go into effect gradually, on an as-needed basis. The plans will not happen all at once, but rather as there are needs brought forth due to priest retirements, health issues and the like.”

With each of these deanery plans, the “trigger” for putting the plan into action activates when there is no longer a priest available to serve in a deanery. While the deanery plans are specific to the deaneries, the lack of a priest in one deanery could potentially affect the personnel distribution in another.

Sister Rita explained that the diocesan Personnel Board, made up of pastors in the diocese, examines the “jigsaw puzzle” of priest personnel placement across the diocese and uses that analysis in giving the bishop recommendations.

People may study the plans that were included in the parish bulletin, or view the plans and an accompanying video on the diocesan website at www.diocesehelena.org. The input forms should be returned to the parishes by Feb. 8. Parishes’ reports to the diocese are due Feb. 17.

Parish reports will be made by the parish pastoral councils, with the councils offering categories of affirmations, concerns and suggestions, and noting the “weight” of comments in each category. Pastoral Planning Services then will give the reports to the deanery planning groups. Those groups will review the councils’ reports to determine if plans need to be modified. The deanery planning groups will then recommend advancing their plans to the bishop’s consultative body, the Prebysteral Council/College of Consultors, which will study each plan and ultimately recommend a final version for the bishop’s approval.

Once approved, the entire Living Stones plan will be published. Under the proposed timeline, the Presbyteral Council/College of Consultors would receive the deanery groups’ final plans by March 28.

Sister Rita said the need to offer solutions in communion with the larger Church has been emphasized throughout the Living Stones process, as has the priority of preserving priests’ health, safety and wellbeing. She said the deanery plans also try to honor the intention to not have these changes born on the backs of rural parishes. Sister Rita said the rural parishes had the same voice at the table as did the larger parishes, since each parish and mission has a representative in the deanery planning group. Representation was not by parish size.

“Every effort is made to maintain the identity of the rural parish, and to associate them with a city parish,” Sister Rita said.

For example, the Missoula deanery group has offered the concept of a mission ministry team to assist rural parishes. Another suggestion from a deanery group plan called for the diocese to provide good training for lay ecclesial ministry and parish and pastoral administrators, all with the goal of serving rural communities and helping them to maintain their identities.

As noted in each deanery plan, all sites throughout the diocese will be part of an annual sustainability study. It will examine parish Mass attendance, annual offertory income, debt retirement, parish plant maintenance, parish and diocesan financial obligations met, parish vitality and engagement. Study results may result in deanery plan adjustments.

Bozeman deanery plan excerpt:

It is recommended that Bozeman maintain two priests to serve the two sites in that city. Holy Rosary Parish is the largest parish in the Deanery and in the middle of a major building project. Resurrection Parish is likewise planning for a major project and has a unique ministry to the university population in Bozeman.

Also, part of the Bozeman plan would change the designation of Valley of the Flowers Mission in Belgrade from mission to parish status and change Holy Family Parish in Three Forks to mission status. The rationale for this change is that the population growth is projected to be much accelerated in the Belgrade area, which is confirmed by the parish demographics. The Belgrade and Three Forks area would maintain a priest to serve the parish and mission.

The current projection is that the diocese continue to plan for a priestly presence in the White Sulphur Springs/Harlowton area.

Maintaining a Pastoral Administrator is important as the vision is that West Yellowstone and Big Sky would continue to be served by retired clergy in the future.

Butte deanery plan excerpt:

The proposed plan would maintain two priests to serve the city of Butte; one for the North Unit and one for the South Unit.

There would remain one priest serving the Dillon area churches; it would be helpful to have a priest who had some Spanish language skills or perhaps a deacon with some Spanish language skills. The plan calls for discontinuing the Mass in Wisdom and evaluating continuing to provide a Mass in Lima. Dillon and Melrose would be served by one priest.

In the Sheridan/Laurin, Ennis and Whitehall area, the recommendation is for one priest with a pastoral administrator at Whitehall. Service to the Twin Bridges Church would be discontinued or it would become a Church of Occasional Worship**.

There would be one priest serving in Deer Lodge. There was also conversation about one priest with a deacon or two priests and a supportive staff serving the Anaconda and Deer Lodge area.

There would be one priest and one deacon or, if possible, two priests in Anaconda.

Conrad deanery plan excerpt:

The Planning Group wanted to ease the responsibility for the priest serving Shelby, Cut Bank, Sunburst and Valier, by moving one of the clustered churches to a different configuration. The new configuration would include Cut Bank, Shelby and Sunburst and these sites would be clustered with one priest. As financially feasible, there would be assistance from non‐ordained to provide pastoral support for this area. Dupuyer would remain as it is with the designation of a ** “Church of Occasional Worship” and with Mass celebrated in the Church at least once per year.

The parish at Valier would be *clustered with Conrad with one priest serving the area.

Choteau and Fairfield would be *clustered with Power and Dutton. The mission in Augusta would remain open as a **“Church of Occasional Worship,” but would not have a regular weekend liturgy celebrated there. The plan also envisions maintaining Parish Administrators at both Power and Dutton for as long as it is financially feasible, with Dutton as the parish and Power as the mission.

Heart Butte and Browning currently are assigned two priests, one in the Heart Butte area and one diocesan priest in Browning. This plan envisions no change in this configuration.

Helena deanery plan excerpt:

Our Lady of the Valley in Helena (with a mission in Wolf Creek) will remain as it is as long as the priest assigned there serves part‐time as pastor with other duties.

The plan envisions two priests at the Cathedral (with a mission in Avon) and foresees the possibility that Helmville and Lincoln may be added into the Cathedral cluster as that becomes necessary.

When the diocese can no longer provide a resident priest for Boulder (St. Catherine and St. John), it is envisioned that it will be clustered with a parish in Helena or East Helena. If it is economically feasible, there will be a pastoral administrator appointed to serve the parish.

When the diocese can no longer provide a resident priest for the parish in Townsend, it is envisioned that it will be clustered with a parish in Helena or East Helena. If it is economically feasible, there will be a pastoral administrator appointed to serve the parish.

Saint Mary in Helena and Ss. Cyril and Methodius in East Helena each maintain a priest and, as it is necessary, will cluster with either Boulder or Townsend.

There was also a possibility discussed that Saint Mary in Helena and Ss. Cyril and Methodius would be clustered under one pastor but with a pastor and associate (two priests) serving these parishes.

Kalispell deanery plan excerpt:

St. Matthew Parish, Kalispell remains as it is currently with one priest.

Blessed John Paul II in Big Fork would continue with the services of one priest. When there is no longer a priest available to serve there, there is a possibility that St. Matthews and Blessed John Paul II would share a priest with a Pastoral Administrator on site.

St. Richard, Columbia Falls and St. Charles, Whitefish would be clustered parishes with one pastor serving both sites. The proposal is to look for land in an appropriate place between the two sites to form, in time, one amalgamated parish. Risen Christ, Kalispell would, in time and when is there is not a priest available to serve, look at the possibility of becoming part of the amalgamated parish from the Columbia Falls and Whitefish sites.

Our Lady of Mercy in Eureka would remain with one priest but would need to look for other options for service for Eureka in the long run.

St. Joseph Parish in Libby and Immaculate Conception Mission in Troy would remain with the services of one priest.

Immaculate Conception in Polson would retain one priest who also serves Sacred Heart Parish in Ronan. The Mission church at Charlo becomes a **Church of Occasional Worship” or service there is discontinued.

St. William, Thompson Falls, St. James, Plains and Sacred Heart Mission in Hot Springs are all served by one priest from Thompson Falls. The mission at Noxon is discontinued.

Missoula deanery plan excerpt:

Areas where no change is recommended at this time: Hamilton, St. Francis of Assisi with a mission in Darby; Drummond/Philipsburg; St. Ignatius, Arlee and Jocko; Gold Creek; St. Mary in Stevensville.

Long range: Study the location of Blessed Trinity Parish in relationship to the population growth in Missoula to determine the best placement for this parish.

Future possibilities to implement as it becomes necessary:

If there were one fewer priest in the Missoula deanery and the Bonner/Seeley/Condon corridor is impacted:

• Missoula City parishes could be clustered with Living Water Mission, Seeley Lake and St. Ann’s in Bonner
• Our Lady of Swan Valley, Condon, may be a part of a larger discernment regarding the ministry of the Sycamore Tree Retreat Center

If there were one fewer priest in the Missoula deanery and the Frenchtown/Alberton/Superior corridor is impacted:

• The city parishes could be clustered with St. Mary Queen of Heaven Mission in Superior, St. John the Baptist in Frenchtown and St. Albert Mission in Alberton

Study the possible combination of the St. Joseph Mission in Florence and Spirit of Christ in Lolo missions.

Explore and develop the concept of a mission ministry team to serve the more rural areas of this deanery.