Clustering part two

Yesterday, I started explaining what clustering has meant to me these past three years of priesthood. I believe clustering is not all about "priesthood shortage" but is, in reality, a part of what it means to be catholic. Today, I hope to explain some things that I've learned about the process that goes with clustering. Members of Holy Trinity, Sacred Heart, and Holy Ghost parshes met with St. Mary Montgomery about two years ago and determined a parish leadership team. After a few introductory meetings, the process stalled for a few months because the leadership at Sacred Heart and Holy Trinity changed drastically. I became involved in meetings beginning in January of this year when St. Mary helped us begin coming up with a four-step plan to go from where we currently are to where we will be when we are clustered. We have finished step one which dealt with eight areas of where we are today in terms of staffing, proframs, and events as entirely separate entities. Now we are in the process of discussing step two which is based on what we can do without prompting a lot of changes for our parishes to combine a few things. In the future, we will be discussing the next step which will involve even more cooperation. Step four will envision the completed cluster. It became obvious, in the course of the meetings, that we didn't want to rush the process even though we all recognize that it is a necessary process for keepng our parishes alive. In general, we have a orgainic viewpoint toward clustering. In other words, we don't want to force a lot of changes on anyone but, instead, we wan to use opportunities as they present themselves to promote greater cooperation.