News on Cluster 7 Roll Out

Information on Cluster 7’s recommendation will be presented the weekend of October 7/8.

Below, please find some information the Diocese has put forth on the Diocesan Plan for re-Evangelization and the mission of the various clusters.

1. • Our cluster work provides a sound basis for vibrant and alive communities that are able to focus on mission and can go well beyond bare subsistence and maintenance. Clusters will find among themselves greater resources of people and finances than any individual parish would have on its own. It removes from each local community a sense of isolation and strengthens it by associating it with other local communities who share the same faith journey. This is especially important in groupings of small, rural parishes.
2. • Our cluster work seeks to provide ongoing sacramental ministry as broadly as possible. This is best demonstrated in the unwavering attention paid in all reports to ensure to the importance of weekend Eucharist, which sustains and nourishes the people, building up their hope through a lively sense of God’s presence.
3. • Our cluster work seeks to provide continued pastoral presence throughout the diocese. We believe our blueprint represents a reasonable compromise between the needs of our more rural northern and eastern parishes and those of our larger southern and southwestern parishes.
4. • Our cluster work attempts to build on already existing links between communities. As much as possible, we have linked parishes who have shared a common working history and links communities with other existing bonds, e.g., being in the same school district or commercial district.
5. • Our cluster work is based on a history of consultation and collaboration. Our blueprint builds on earlier efforts at collaboration (e.g., Vision 2000). We believe the process of ongoing collaboration and consultation will both evangelize those involved in it and serve to help build up the Body of Christ in our diocese.
6. • Our cluster work recognizes and respects cultural differences. Our planning process has been sensitive to grouping parishes with those of like cultural orientation. It also seeks to be sensitive to the fears of some smaller communities that they will simply be swallowed up or pushed aside by the larger or wealthier ones.
7. • Our cluster work has relied on the people of each grouping of parishes to assess their needs in light of the mission of the Church in their area, and to come to a life-giving decision that best meets those needs. We continue to focus on collaboration for the common good.
8. • Our cluster work continues to be a "wake-up call" to all people of the Diocese of Portland. Priests have begun to understand they can not serve the cluster in the same way they could serve a single parish community. Likewise, lay people have begun to understand that the old understanding of "parish" is no longer workable. Our implementation of the cluster groupings will call for ongoing formation – education and training – for lay and clerical Church leaders, and for all parishioners.

Click here for the Bishop’s office response to the recommendations.

Click here for an Adobe PDF file of the cluster 7 recommendations made to Bishop Malone as a result of the Cluster 7 committee’s work over the last 10 months.

The Cluster 7 Parishes will be hosting a Diocesan Seminarian from May 28th to August 5th.

WELCOME JONATHAN HOFFMAN

Information on the Naming of the Church

The final votes have been tallied for the naming of the parishes.  A total of 665 ballots were cast across our new parish, and in ascending order of votes leading to our winner we have the following tally:

Jesus Savior:                                                 63

St. Jude Thaddeus                                        85

Blessed Mother Teresa                                109

St. Peter the Apostle                                    111

St. Michael the Archangel                            126

And our winner is:

Our Lady of the Snows                                 171

Here are statements from Bishop Malone concerning the TABOR initiative and the upcoming elections.

Here is Bishop Malone's response to our Cluster recommendations for Re-Evangelization.

New: Click here to see "A Summary of the Statement by the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops" on voting in the upcoming election.

Parish Youth Ministries are invited to "Climb Bradbury Mountain" with the Bishop on Saturday morning, Sept.9, 2006. (9AM-noon). Charge for state park is $3 per person. Come and enjoy the easy climb, good company and beautiful view, with a teen prayer service on Environment at the summit 10:30-11:30, followed by optional lunch and games at the state park picnic area. For more

Help rebuild the Church and rebuild hope in New Orleans and Biloxi on August 26th & 27th. This special collection focuses on rebuilding churches, schools, and other essential parts of the parishes’ infrastructure which are needed to rebuild people’s hope. Rebuilding the Church and her structures is critically important now, as many civil jurisdictions declare that they are no longer able to assist those who were displaced by the 2005 hurricanes, and will be unable to do so in the future. The need is great. And your participation can make a difference.

Bishop Richard J Malone has requested that all parishes within the Diocese of Portland join together to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Please place your donation in the basket at the back of your church Thank You!

What is a Catechist?

Catechist (n.): A person charged by the Church to formally hand on the Catholic faith to learners of all ages.

Our parishes currently have vacancies as teachers, aides and substitutes in Grades K-5, Youth Ministry Grades 6-8, and in the RCIA Adults faith formation programs.  Are you able to share your time and talent in helping to provide guidance to our youth or adult parishioners in their faith formation?

Please consider attending a Catechist meeting on August 16th or 17th for more information. There will be no obligation to commit at this time. At the meetings you will discover how simple yet rewarding this opportunity will be. Catechists are provided with training, prepared lesson plans and an opportunity to grow in their own faith.

A special program will be aired on A & E beginning this Sunday evening (Easter) at 9 PM. It’s a 5 part series called "God or the Girl". It’s a "reality" type of program giving viewers a personal encounter with four Catholic young men who allowed A&E to journey with them as they contemplated the most important decision of their lives - the choice between priesthood or marriage. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is approving of this program because it’s a testament to the faith of these men who seriously consider the possibility that they are called to the priesthood, something not often seen on commercial TV and in prime time. Its portrayal of what pious young men endure in choosing a life of service to the Church versus a business career and family is powerful.

To see a review and further details about this series click onto: http://www.catholic.org/ae/tv/review.php?id=19242

Click here for the PowerPoint presentation made at the Town Meeting on June 24, 2006 about the Cluster activities. Please note there is no link back to our web site, so you may have to reload our home page from scratch.

Alma M. Faucher Memorial Stewardship Award

Who Inspires You Within Your Parish Community? The Stewardship Committee is accepting nominations for the newly created Alma M. Faucher Memorial Stewardship Award. This award recognizes an individual that not only emulates the characteristics of a good steward in giving their time, talent and treasure, but who also demonstrates some of the Corporal and Spiritual works of mercy. Forms will be available for your nominations beginning March 25 and need to be returned by dropping them in the collection basket or mailing them to the parish office. All nominations must be received by May 29.

A retreat being held March 31 to April 1 at Marie Joseph Spiritual Center in Biddeford Pool is designed to help answer questions about all aspects of priesthood and the process of acceptance to seminary. For more information and registration material, please contact the Vocations Office at 689-2033 or email vocations@portlanddiocese.net

There will be several opportunities for Lenten Enrichment of Faith. Click the link for more info.

Part I:  Sunday, February 26^th, 9:15-10:15am at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish Hall

Part II: Sunday, April 23^rd, 9:15-10:15am at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish Hall

This program is designed to teach children how to protect themselves against sexual predators.  The developer of the program, Ken Wooden, interviewed convicted pedophiles and discovered common “lures” used to entice kids from safety.  The program asserts that most people are good and kind but we have to protect our kids from people that might want to hurt them.  Parents are encouraged and most welcome to attend with your children.  Please extend an invitation to any family in the community; it is free and open to the public.

The representatives from St. Agnes’, St. Anne’s, St. Francis Xavier/St. Paul’s, & St. Thomas Aquinas/Holy Family Parish continue to look at the data from each of the individual parishes. We have begun to look at the four models that have been given to us from the Diocese of Portland to see which one would work best for our cluster.

Change is rarely easy. We are hopeful that with the support of the good people of Cluster 7 we can unite together as church to serve each other and God during this time of re-evangelization. During this Season of Renewal please continue to pray for us as we continue to move towards a decision.

There will be an informational Town Hall Meeting held on Saturday, March 25th at 10:00 AM at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 45 High Street, Dover-Foxcroft and again on Saturday, March 25th at 1:00 PM at St. Anne’s Parish Hall, 58 Free Street, Dexter.

We are fortunate that Ernie Lebel, Director of Diocesan Planning will be able to join us as facilitator. All parishioners within the 4 parishes of cluster 7 are urged to attend.