In July 2024, St. Joan of Arc Parish in Aberdeen and St. Patrick Parish in Havre de Grace will form a Pastorate. A Pastorate means that both parishes will share one pastor in order to marshal resources and amplify the effectiveness of ministries and Catholic presence in the region.

The process for making this important transition has already begun with collaboration between Archdiocesan Staff, Parish Staffs and Pastoral Councils.

Updates will be posted here as we proceed!

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

APRIL 2024 UPDATE

As announced in October 2023, St Joan of Arc and St Patrick’s will be forming a pastorate by July 1, 2024. By forming a pastorate, the two parishes will be led by one pastor who will oversee and coordinate parish ministries and resources. The pastorate means that the two parishes will share a pastor, not that the two parishes will be merging.

Since our last update in December 2023, we have been busy and focused on our future. Representatives of the Archdiocese of Baltimore (AoB) Institute of Evangelization have helped facilitate planning sessions for our respective parish staffs and pastoral councils:

• In January we conducted a one-day retreat for both parish staffs. We began to develop relationships and shared our understanding of our parish identities and cultures.
• In February we held a joint pastoral council meeting to build our relationships and discussed our thoughts about a vision for the pastorate
• In March we followed up with a joint staff meeting and in the process are getting into the fine details of staff – staff collaboration aimed toward an integrated pastorate calendar.
• These activities and meetings have been held at both parish locations, so we are getting to know one another’s worship space and workspace.

To focus our efforts, in January we formed a Pastorate Formation Team. This group is comprised of our Priests, Deacons, parish staff, school staff and parishioners from both parishes. This team has developed sub-groups tasked to develop a pastorate prayer, a pastorate vision statement, and a communications plan to forward pastorate information through announcements bulletins, websites, and social media. You’ll be hearing and seeing the fruits of these efforts in the weeks ahead!

In April, we will be hosting a Sacred Purpose Workshop that will include parishioners from both parishes. And we’ll continue detailed planning and preparation with our staff, pastoral councils, and Pastorate Formation Team.

As we move forward in the next few months, we ask that you keep our pastorate formation planning and efforts in prayer. We invite you to intentionally visit each other’s parish at daily or Sunday Mass. You are also encouraged to join each parish for social or community events.

Thank you for your continued support.

Yours in Christ, Fr. Willie, and Fr. Francis

 

DECEMBER 2023 UPDATE

As announced in October 2023, St Joan of Arc and St Patrick’s will be forming a pastorate by July 1, 2024. By forming a pastorate, the two parishes will be led by one pastor who will oversee and coordinate parish ministries and resources. The pastorate means that the two parishes will share a pastor, not that the two parishes will be merging.

In October 2023, representatives of the Archdiocese of Baltimore (AoB) Institute of Evangelization helped facilitate information sessions for our respective parish staffs and pastoral councils, and for parishioners at both parishes. These meetings were very helpful as they provided the opportunity for us, along with the AoB team, to inform our parishioners of this initiative, and to receive feedback on your perspectives, recommendations, and initial concerns.

As we move forward, we’ve formed a Transition Team comprised of leadership from both parishes with AoB assistance. In January 2024, we’ll begin a series of workshops and meetings involving parish staff and pastoral councils to help us develop a common understanding and shared vision for the pastorate.

We will keep you, our parishioners, informed as activities and milestones are developed by posting updates in our parish bulletins and websites. Thank you for your continued support!

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Willie and Fr Francis
(December 6 2023)