April 27, 2023

Dear Parishioners,

Please visit the homepage (BostonCatholic.org) the Archdiocese of Boston's plan for responding to the "Satancon" convention in Boston, April 28-30, 2023.

There is also a link to the lists for locations where prayer and adoration will be held. This list may be updated daily so we would encourage you to review each day through the time of the event.

The link to access all of this information is available by clicking here.

Thank you very much. May God bless you and protect you always.

Parish Merger Meetings

Members of the Collaborative Parish Council will be available to meet with parishioners to discuss the possible merger on the following dates:

Saint John the Baptist: Tuesday, May 9th at 6:30PM in the Parish Hall

Saint James: Saturday, May 13th at 5:00PM in the Parish Hall

Any questions may also be submitted to the following email as well: sjandsjbmerger@gmail.com

Merger of St. James and St. John the Baptist Parishes

Why, Part I

Looking back to the 1970s, there were two full time priests at St. John the Baptist Church and three full time priests here at St. James. Each parish had their own religious education program, in addition to their own music and other ministries. Prior to that time St. James Parish also had resident nuns and a convent. However, circumstances have changed considerably since that time.

With the declining number of priests available, Parishes are forced to share, very few parishes have more than one priest. Over the next few years, the number of priests available to serve in parishes is likely to continue declining. 

Mass attendance has continued to decline each year, exacerbated by the Covid 19 Pandemic. There are several of our parishioners who have not returned to Mass due to health concerns. The number of sacraments celebrated are down. There are fewer students in the religious education program than ever.

For the past several years, the two churches have been functioning as a collaborative.  We have one priest serving both churches, the religious education program has been consolidated into one, and we have a shared bulletin which announces activities at both parishes.  We share office staff and music ministry. Our Parish Councils have been combined, but the Finance Councils are still separate, even though we do meet together, but there are two sets of financial records required to be prepared for our meetings and for reporting purposes.

Part II of ‘Why’ will appear in next weekend’s bulletin.  Please feel free to reach out to any Collaborative Parish Council member or reach us at sjandsjbmerger@gmail.com

Why, Part 2

The next logical step from the collaboration is to merge the two parishes into one. A merger will form a closer bond and a tighter knit community and help with cost savings.  It will also help reduce the stress on our pastor and staff by decreasing the number of  meetings, and the reporting on two separate entities.

A merger is NOT about closing a building.  There are no plans to do so. We will benefit from sharing resources more than we currently do. We will combine

activities and volunteers, increase our level of trust and eliminate inefficiencies.  We will be able to maintain our faith and position ourselves better for the future as one combined Parish. A merger will allow us to expand on what the Planning Committee worked on for 2  years to create one vision, a combined image and approach to evangelisation and future  growth.

In a merger, the finances, databases, committees and councils are combined. Each church keeps its current name, but the merged parish name will be a new name that reflects both churches.  Potential names to be submitted for consideration come from you, the parishioners. To submit your suggestion for the merged parish, and the reasoning for your name, please reach out to any member of the Collaborative Parish Council or submit it to sjandsjbmerger@gmail.com

The decision to pursue this option was made by Father Le with input by the  various councils, committees, and staff. It is not a result of a decision by the  Archdiocese, the Cardinal, or the Bishop. It was initiated by us in Haverhill who are  active in the parishes.

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How, Part I

In the past, mergers were proposed at the Archdiocesan level, but that is no longer the case. The request to even begin looking into a merger begins with the pastor.

He then brings his thoughts to the Collaborative Parish Council, Finance Council, and staff for discussion and approval to move to the next step.  In our instance, the Collaborative Parish Council, Finance Councils and members of the staff unanimously agreed to move forward with the next steps.  Again, it is important to know that this is not a done deal, it is a process that is still in its infancy.

The Collaborative Parish Council met with Sister Pat Boyle,  the Associate Director of Pastoral Planning from the  Archdiocese, for her to provide guidance since her role is to guide parishes through the merger process.

We are now at the next step, having meetings with members of each parish to receive input, questions, and any concerns.  Members of the Council have spoken at each Mass as well as established an email address for parishioners to be in contact with us.

As was mentioned earlier, part of the process includes coming up with a new parish name, and we want the input of parishioners in this process.  Each of the churches would retain their original name - St. James Church and St. John the Baptist Church. The parish name will join us together as a new parish community.

When thinking of a name to propose it is important to keep in mind that it cannot be a name that is already in use in our immediate area or region.  For example, we could not be St. James Church of Sacred Hearts Parish because Sacred Hearts is already a parish name in our community.  When submitting a name, it is also important to include the reason why you think it would be a good name, since the rationale for the name needs to be submitted if we reach that point in the process.

Again, we are at the point in the process where we come to you, the parishioners to determine what the majority feeling is regarding moving forward with the merger process.

If there is the necessary support to move forward we would then begin to work with the Archdiocese to ensure the necessary steps are followed correctly, otherwise we will remain as we are.

                                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How, Part II

This week we look at the ‘How’ of the merger process.  As was presented in past bulletin announcements, the steps to look into a merger began at the parish level by our pastor.  He brought his thoughts to the Collaborative Parish Council, Finance Council, and staff for discussion and approval to move to the next step.  In our instance, the Collaborative Parish Council, Finance Councils and members of the staff unanimously agreed to move forward with the next steps.  Again, it is important to know that this is not a done deal, it is a process that is still in its infancy.

The Collaborative Parish Council met with Sister Pat Boyle,  the Associate Director of Pastoral Planning from the  Archdiocese, for her to provide guidance since her role is to guide parishes through the merger process.

We are currently at the next step, meeting with parishioners to receive input, questions, and any concerns.  Members of the Council have spoken at each Mass as well as established an email address for parishioners to be in contact with us (sjandsjbmerger@gmail.com).

Part of the process includes coming up with a new parish name, and we want the input of parishioners in this process.  Each of the churches would retain their original name - St. James Church and St. John the Baptist Church. The parish name will join us together as a new parish community. In upcoming bulletins we will share the names that have already been submitted for consideration. 

When thinking of a name to propose it is important to keep in mind that it cannot be a name that is already in use in our immediate area or region.  For example, we could not be St. James Church of Sacred Hearts Parish because Sacred Hearts is already a parish name in our community.  When submitting a name, it is also important to include the reason why you think it would be a good name, since the rationale for the name needs to be submitted if we reach that point in the process.

Again, we are at the point in the process where we come to you, the parishioners to determine what the majority feeling is regarding moving forward with the merger process.

If there is the necessary support to move forward we would then begin to work with the Archdiocese to ensure the necessary steps are followed correctly, otherwise we will remain as we are.

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