The ATN Committee is publishing this document for the present. However there will be more details to come. Those details about possible options will be published on the website in the near future.
An Update from the “All Things New” Planning Committee for Our Together As One Area Catholic Community
As our committee reflects on the “All Things New” initiative, we recognize that this journey resembles the Sacred Triduum of Holy Week – moving with Christ through sacrifice and death toward a resurrection of renewal and new hope. This process may include the difficult step of closing one or more churches, but there is promise in emerging with a stronger, more vibrant parish community. To reach this new life together, we must be open to significant change which may feel like a loss, but ultimately can bring us to new life in Christ and help secure a lasting future for our local Catholic community.
With valuable feedback from parishioners and many meetings to evaluate all of our options, the “All Things New” committee has identified three possible “courses of action” (COAs) for our Together as One Area Catholic Community. They are (in no particular order):
- COA 1: Establish a new parish entity at the St. Michael’s site with a new church addition while keeping two other church buildings temporarily open for parish activities.
- COA 2: Designate St. Paul’s as our central church, maintain St. Michael’s as a future growth site and close both St. Joseph’s and St. Peter’s.
- COA 3: Explore a St. Cloud city-wide solution, merging efforts with other metro ACCs to address the broader needs of all Catholics in the wider Saint Cloud surrounding area.
Details on Each Course of Action (COA)
COA 1: A new parish at the St. Michael’s site
This plan would unite all four parishes under a new name and worship space at the St. Michael campus. The new church would be fully accessible and include features like a crying room, family restrooms and a bridal prep room. Previously completed infrastructure at St. Michael’s would help control costs on the worship space addition which would be connected to the current church building. Once the new church addition is finished, the current St. Michael’s worship space would become a parish hall with a modern kitchen and flexible spaces for gatherings. Efforts will be made to honor the heritage of all four parishes by including elements of each in this new space.
Consolidation enables a budget that supports staff to manage and improve all elements of a united parish. Parish staff, along with a stewardship committee, would be built from legacy committees, and would guide church activities and fundraising. A capital campaign would be required but that would be supported by proceeds from selling St. Joseph’s (proceeds from sale of school included), St. Peter’s, and possibly St. Paul’s (once a plan for All Saints Academy is established). St. Peter’s would continue to host religious education and other parish activities until we fully move to the new St. Michael’s campus, at which point St. Peter’s would close. Finally, a future study could consider the possibility of building a new school at St. Michael’s to replace All Saints Academy with a dynamic new school geographically placed to better support future growth needs of the St. Cloud area. The St. Joseph cemetery would be maintained by this new parish entity.
COA 2: St. Paul’s as Primary Church
This option would retain St. Paul’s as our ACC’s main worship site, using St. Michael’s for future growth and closing St. Joseph’s and St. Peter’s. St. Paul’s offers a large, welcoming church, handicap accessible access, a commercial kitchen, flexible meeting spaces, upgraded church acoustics, and proximity to All Saints Academy and St. Cloud Hospital. St. Michael’s would also host some masses and other parish activities and be available for future growth should that need eventually arise. Proceeds from the sale of our closed churches would support parish expenses and/or capital improvements. This plan includes a concentrated effort to memorialize the St. Joseph and St. Peter parishes by incorporating elements of each in the remaining parish buildings. St. Joseph’s cemetery would be maintained by the remaining two parishes.
Both COAs 1 & 2 would work to combine ministries of our various churches to maintain (and hopefully grow) those ministries that are valued and to add new ones given the combined membership and input we’ll have through our larger united community. This plan would also offer various cost-saving possibilities and allow our priests more time for pastoral activities and minimize time spent in administrative duties.
COA 3: A Metro-Wide Parish Plan
This plan proposes a city-wide approach and beyond, with all local ACCs working together to meet regional challenges more comprehensively. This would involve all of the parishes in Mahew Lake, St. Augusta, St. Stephen, St. Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, and Waite Park. Such a plan would work to create regional parishes that are dynamic and based on current and future population trends. Based on those realities, the ultimate goal of this plan is to establish a small number of parishes for the metro region. Discussions with neighboring ACCs are ongoing. Due to the complexities of this option, it will take longer to implement and we cannot predict which parish churches in Saint Cloud and the surrounding area will remain open. The hope is to unite Catholics together in more lively and active parishes of equal size.
Next Steps and Community Involvement
There are still many details to be worked out on all of these possible options. From now until early November, the committee will continue to look at options for these COAs. All parishioners are encouraged to continue to share their thoughts. You may always send an e-mail to AllThingsNew@taoCatholic.org, send comments to the parish office, or speak directly with committee members. Four additional meetings for our “Together As One” parishes are planned for November 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th (locations and times TBA) with the goal of submitting a final recommendation and a backup option to the diocese by the end of this year.
Thank you for your continued support of our parishes, for your prayers, and for your involvement in each of our Together As One parishes.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
The Together As One “All Things New” Committee