Father Binsfeld: When ritual meets renewal

By Father Steven Binsfeld

A CHURCH IN TRANSITION

In life, we see patterns repeat themselves. We are used to repeated patterns as Catholics. Isn’t that what “ritual” is? A repeated action that has meaning and gives meaning to the community.

As Catholics in the Diocese of St. Cloud, we are being invited to work towards a new vision of being Church called “All Things New.” This planning process is challenging all of us — people and priests alike — to imagine how we can be a more vital and purposeful Church at a time when vocations to the priesthood are waning and people are dropping away from organized religion. Some parishes will be merging and some may be closing; others will be welcoming parishioners from both groups. We still have our rituals, but we are asked to consider when and where they are to be celebrated.

People from parishes which are closing or merging may ask, “Why can’t we just get together and have a communion service or a prayer service?” because a parish is much more than the priest who pastors it. Yes, it is true that each parish is itself the Body of Christ in a local community. But a communion service is not an alternative equal to the Mass.

At Mass, the priest and community gather to listen to the Word of God and then to make Christ present at that time and place through the invocation of the Holy Spirit. At the Last Supper, Jesus said, “Take and eat, this is my body; take and drink, for this is my blood.” Then he said: “Do this in memory of me.” Jesus asked us to remember him by celebrating the Eucharist. That is why the Mass is the most important form of Catholic worship. That is why we need both people and priests — together.

I had the luxury of serving eight years as a parochial vicar, where I was formed by two seasoned pastors before I became a pastor myself. That is no longer the case. A newly ordained priest may serve for two years as a parochial vicar and then be named pastor of not just one, but of multiple parishes. Frankly, I don’t know how these men do it today!

I was ordained because I felt called to the privilege of living among a faith community, getting to know and serve the people and to raise up leaders within that local Church. How difficult that is when you are pastor of three to eight parishes! Some parishes are financially solvent, while others cannot meet the expenses they incur even now.

Indeed, some communities have been losing parishioners as well. Some have adequate ministries to meet the needs of the community, while others cannot find enough even to fill out ministries needed for one Mass.

All Things New is trying to bring people together to think creatively about how we can make our Church vital and alive — with people and their pastors. We priests must look at how we need to change and grow as do you, the Body of Christ. Even though I am retired, I have seen many people in parishes involved in the All Things New process, trying to re-imagine themselves as a Church. Don’t be afraid of the future; embrace it and move forward with hope and openness!

Along with necessary changes, however, come loss and accompanying grief. Some parishes have been home to families for years, indeed generations. They will experience loss as some of them must close and as many are merged into a larger area parish. But that does not mean we have lost our faith, does it? The challenges are great, but not insurmountable. Jesus is still present to us in his Church.

How can we do this well?

I have been part of closing a parish community, and it is not easy. At that point, there were no models of liturgies for the closing of a parish. But I believe we have to pray our way through all stages of our lives, so I created a final liturgy for my parish. I remember sitting in the empty church after everyone left following the last Mass and weeping. It was tough.

People need to pray about the loss that is being experienced, whether their parish is being closed or is merging into a larger parish identity. The Diocesan Liturgical Commission has prepared prayer planning helps for parishes which are closing or merging with other faith communities.

1. The first of these is a prayer service celebrated before the closing liturgy with the bishop.
This prayer service celebrates the story of the people of the community and uses some of the items that are part of that parish, such as the sacramental record books, the chalice used at Mass, religious education textbooks and the Roman Missal. There are many options from which to choose.

2. Ideas for the official closing liturgy with the bishop are also included in the prayer planning helps prepared by the Diocesan Liturgy Commission and available from the Office of Worship. Most often this liturgy will take place on a Sunday, using the readings of that day.

3. Finally, ideas for welcoming new members from communities that are closing are included.
It is important for people of the churches which are receiving new members to consider how they can be welcoming to those who are experiencing the loss of what is so familiar to them.

As we reflect on how best to do this, we should also recognize that the welcoming parishes are also grieving. If they are open to the gifts of those coming from parishes that are closing/merging, the welcoming parish will be changed. The welcoming parish will not be able to say “This is how we do it” because the “we” will be changed. How to move ahead must be worked out together. It is a challenge to let go of “but, we’ve always done it that way,” and be open to the new, so that we can say, “Now this is the way we will do it.”

From the beginning it will be important to look at commonalities, remembering that the celebration of the Eucharist is common to all. We need to ask things like “What common musical repertoire do we have? How can ministers — readers, extraordinary ministers of communion, servers, ushers, singers — be incorporated together, even at the first liturgy together?”

Many dioceses around the country are experiencing what we are. We no longer have some of what we had, but we still have Christ in the sacraments and in each other. All Things New is trying to bring people together to think creatively about how we can make our Church vital and alive — with people and their pastors. Priests and parishioners alike must look at how we need to change and grow.

This is a time calling for imagination and hope, even amid loss and sorrow. It is a time of change in which we must find a way to “make all things new.” Let’s not be afraid of the future; let’s embrace it and move forward with hope and openness!