Updates
I will provide you with offical communication and development updates on the planning process. I encourage you to be patient, and if you have any questions about the process, do not hesitate to email me.
Blessings
Fr. Juan
May 2024 Update on the Planning Process:
As you know, next June 18, we grow into the Family of Eight Communities. We continue our planning and working together. I praise God for the wonderful energy and passion around this process. We all understand that it is a process that must happen. In February, every catholic in the Racine area received a letter from all the priests of the deanery and the archdiocese announcing the plan. I have made a video explaining the process and the steps that we have taken on this. This video also explains the vision and the next steps in this planning process. The video is my attempt to make the letter you all received more personable. The video is on our YouTube page, Catholic Community in Central Racine. I hope you can watch it. This is not just a video; it’s an opportunity to gather, watch, and discuss with friends. It will be a good summer night opportunity for you to get together with fellow parishioners and friends and actively engage in our community’s planning process for the future.
I want to share some metrics on the upcoming group of eight communities. Currently, we have 21 masses on the weekend for the eight parishes. The mass attendance is as big as an average of 330 people per mass and as small as 51 people per mass. This is our reality. Some of our masses are small. This is not news since you see it every time you come to mass. We also have 16 masses during the weekdays, and when school is in session, we have 17 masses during the week. We are also in charge of a weekly mass in the Jail. So, the total of weekday masses is 18. Currently, for the four priests who will configure the team, there will be 39 masses to be celebrated from Monday through Sunday. This number of masses does not count funerals, weddings, quincieañera, or other celebrations that may happen during the week. Between the eight parishes, we have 13,212 parishioners, and 2,956.57 come on average to mass every weekend. Our average attendance is 22.38%. Close to one out of four members come to mass on the weekend. We must work on this to bring more people back into our churches. Two parishes comprise 64.2% (8,481) of the Family of Eight members, with 38% (8.33) of the masses celebrated during the weekend but 55% (1,627.9) of people who come on Sunday to mass.
It’s evident that we can be more efficient with our resources and spaces. We have a dedicated group of planning individuals from each of our communities who are examining the mass schedule to see if restructuring is possible. However, as of June 18, we will continue with our current mass schedule. We aim to present a proposal in the fall for a new schedule of masses, starting on the first weekend of Advent, December 1, 2024. I urge you to keep this process in your prayers and maintain an open heart to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we strengthen our Catholic Community in Racine.
Video Update about planning process:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vY_U4Nui34&feature=youtu.be
Updates:
Grace and Peace to you, my brothers, and sisters:
As many of you have probably heard, my favorite liturgical time of the year is Easter. Easter, to me, is an opportunity to renew our mission as baptized and confirmed Catholics. This time challenges us in our discipleship of the Lord to imitate our first brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to imitate the boldness of Peter, who stood in the temple preaching about the Resurrected Christ. We are to imitate the passion of Paul, who took to challenging roads to bring Christ to those who didn’t know him. And we are to imitate the openness of Philip, who the Spirit took from one place to another to baptize and preach Christ, as well as the persistence of the women who were the first to testify to Christ’s resurrection when others did not want to believe. Easter season challenges us to be bold, passionate, open to the Spirit, and persistent in our commitment to the Gospel.
I find it fitting for this season to make this official announcement to all of you, my fellow brothers, and sisters in Christ. As of June 18, 2024, I will be the pastor of the Faith Communities of Saint Sebastian, Saint Lucy, Saint Richard, Saint Edward, Saint Patrick, Sacred Heart, Saint Joseph, and Saint John Nepomuk. This is a monumental task to take on. With the help of your prayers and the Holy Spirit, I believe God will provide the wisdom, knowledge, and passion needed to fulfill this task. There is not an ounce of doubt about that.
But this task is not for me alone. I will share this task with three great brother priests. Fr. Michael Petersen will be part of the team; he brings a wealth of experience as a priest. He has experience serving in many communities throughout the archdiocese. Fr. José Mario Nieto has been part of the Family of Four Parishes, he is an excellent biblical scholar and priest, as already known.
Finally, Fr. Craig Richter. He will be newly ordained and bring a fresh passion for ministry. Our job as his first assignment is to help him become a great pastor of souls. Soon you can meet all of them and get to know them better.
I invite all of you to pray for the upcoming planning process for the Catholic Church in Racine. It is a bold move, but necessary to secure and strengthen our Catholic presence in the city. I believe the team of priests set for this task have a passion for Christ and his Church, which will help us to undertake this task. I would like us to become a church more missionary and evangelizing rather than one simply maintaining itself. I know that this requires a tremendous amount of flexibility, but I assure you that if we all pray and work hard on this, we will be stronger. Let us pray unceasingly for this process all the time and trust in the Lord that the result will be a renewed church and vibrant community of believers.
Our parishes’ websites have information about the planning process under the tab Renewing Faith: Creating Vibrant Communities. I will post information there and keep you updated on the process. Any official communication regarding this planning process comes directly from me and will be posted there.
Blessings and praying for you, Fr. Juan M Camacho