Using the results of a diocesan survey as their guide, three north state parishes have come together to find common ground.

Parishioners from Our Lady of Mercy and St. Joseph Parishes in Redding, and Sacred Heart Parish in the nearby town of Anderson, are discovering ways to share resources, talent and ideas.

“It’s a giant-sized undertaking,” said Our Lady of Mercy parishioner Sharon Plummer, who is one of the main organizers of the collaborative effort.

A survey designed by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) was conducted at 98 parishes within the diocese in the early spring of 2002. The intent of the study was to help parishes identify areas of strength and need, and to assist with pastoral planning in the face of changing demographics and dwindling clergy and staff personnel.

In February, Shasta Deanery parishes met with Bishop William K. Weigand at Sacred Heart Parish in Anderson to discuss the results of their individual parish self-studies.

“We broke up into groups,” Plummer said. “We got to meet our counterparts in the other parishes.”

Clusters of staff and volunteers from the myriad ministries that comprise a parish discussed all aspects of their work.

Buoyed by the meeting, Plummer didn’t want the energy it roused to evaporate. The next month, Our Lady of Mercy parishioners invited members from its two closest neighbors to continue those collaborative talks.

Plummer consulted Mercy Sister Eileen Enright, Vicar for Pastoral Ministry for the diocese, who helped her develop an outline and focus questions to be asked at the gathering. After sharing a potluck meal, and a period of prayer and reflection, participants again broke into small ministry groups.

“We considered what the gifts and strengths of each parish were, what the weaknesses were and where help was needed, and what some of the priorities were of the group as a whole,” Plummer said.

After nearly an hour they came back to a general session to discuss their findings. Each group funneled its notes to Plummer, who later typed and mailed them to the parishes.

Participants next met at St. Joseph Parish in May, where they discussed which activities could be shared and which would remain specifically parish-oriented.

As an example, Plummer said that those involved in teaching and spiritual development ministries for adults and children decided they could share workshops, retreats, and parish missions. Team leaders for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults are considering bringing their groups together for a combined format once a month, while each religious education program will continue to keep separate schedules.

In an upcoming meeting in Anderson, participants will develop a timeline and decide who will be responsible for specific shared activities.

Plummer acknowledged that establishing collaboration requires an enormous amount of organization and work in the beginning.

“It’s getting it off the ground that’s the hard part,” she said. “But once it’s in place people will see that it’s time-effective and productive.”

One combined project is a mid-September workshop for teachers. Coordinated by Jennifer Bragg, principal of Sacred Heart School in Anderson, the event will be open to anyone who teaches in parish programs, including Hispanic ministries.

“Our overall goal is to increase the training that they need to teach the faith,” Bragg said. “This is a beginning experience for many teachers, and we want to give them confidence for their calling.”

Joe Hudson, a eucharistic minister at St. Joseph Parish who has been participating in the process, thinks the meetings are preliminary moves that are helping to develop communication among the parishes.

“The parishes are in support of what is happening and definitely want to continue,” he said.

According to Chip O’Brien, youth minister at St. Joseph, the three parishes have a jump-start on collaboration when it comes to youth activities. Sponsoring any event that brings teens from other parishes together grabs the attention of the young crowd and the support of other youth ministers, he said.

“If you approach collaboration in the spirit of Christianity there shouldn’t be any competition,” he said. “If you use love and humor amazing things happen. You’ve got to check your ego at the door.”

Mike Evans, a permanent deacon at Sacred Heart Parish, said the collaborative efforts are a step in the right direction.

Evans expects that the diocesan synod recently announced by Bishop Weigand will prompt in-depth discussions and provide more diocesan direction concerning collaboration.

Although he concedes that there is much work to be done, he praised the move toward the three parishes working together as “a big, big beginning.”

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