The following article appeared in the April 18th Bulletin, following pulpit talks from both Fr. Brian and Fr. Ray at their resepctive churches...

Over the past few months, Fr. Brian and Fr. Ray, Administrator of St. Margaret of Scotland, Lowell, and members of both the Finance and Pastoral Parish Councils from all three parishes—St. John the Evangelist, St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Mary—have been holding meetings. The idea of adding St. Margaret to the Chelmsford Catholic Collaborative has been discussed. Some of the reasons for thispartnership are as follows.

• The number of priests in the Archdiocese is decreasing. It is expected that this trend will continue. In five years, it is estimated that there will be 140 priests and 270 parishes.
• As a result of the statistics, several discussions, and prayer, we recommend that a proactive approach is needed and to take our destiny into our own hands.
• Our proposal is for St. Margaret of Scotland to join the Chelmsford Catholic Collaborative. In doing this, each parish would maintain their own financial resources. At the moment current Mass schedules would remain in place.
• Among the many benefits are creating administrative efficiencies, expanding the Faith Formation program, a larger faith community and a greater opportunity for evangelization.
• A larger collaborative would perhaps assure continued support from the Archdiocese.
• Each parish would maintain its own identity and allow all three parishes to build off these successes.

This is not a done deal. Parishioner support and prayers are needed with this grassroots proactive proposal. According to the below
schedule, Fr. Brian and Fr. Ray will host Town Hall Meetings using the capabilities of Zoom, LIVEVIEW, as well as offering in-person
attendance. At these meetings, parishioners will be able to express views and concerns as we further this exploration. It does not matter which parish you belong to; you can attend the meeting that best fits your schedule or you can attend all three! ZOOM invites will be sent via FLOCKNOTE as we get closer to these dates.

Additionally, a 3-question survey will be sent to parishioners on April 24th via FLOCKNOTE, allowing for additional input from you. For those who do not have access to a computer, paper questionnaires will be made available. Details on how to access these will be available in next weekend’s bulletin. Lastly, as we attempted to foresee questions that may arise, we have authored a Frequently Asked Questions document which you can find on the tab to the right. We kindly ask that you read through these before reaching out with questions, as you may very well find the answer there!

Why should we consider joining with St. Margaret?

Adding St. Margaret to our collaborative would enrich our community. It would help to strengthen our faith sharing and sharing of finances expenses for staffing, which would hopefully allow us to add more staff and be able to meet the needs of the communities in a better way. It also would allow us to be more proactive in determining how to face what is going to happen in the not-too-distant future concerning the number of priests available to service parishes.

Are either St. Margaret or the CCC in trouble? 

No, all are viable parishes.

How would this affect our Mass schedule? Will they change again?

The schedule will not be affected at this time. At some point changes may need to be made, but this would be due more to the decline of available priests rather than changes to the Collaborative.

How will this affect our Daily Mass? 

The Daily Mass times would remain unchanged. At some point changes may need to be made, but again, this would be due more to the decline of available priests than changes to the Collaborative.

How will this affect Fr. Ray?  Will he still continue to say Masses? 

Fr. Ray will stay with the parish and continue to serve.

Will Fr. Ray move into residence with Fr. Brian? 

Yes.

How will this affect our parish finances? 

The finances of each parish would not be affected.  Each parish would contribute towards collaborative expenses; ie: staffing, Faith Formation, but otherwise finances would stay with the individual parish.

How will this affect the CCC staffing at St. John [offices]?

The staffing at St. John [offices] would remain in place.  If we add St. Margaret to our collaborative we would likely increase staffing so as to meet the needs of the communities in the best way possible.

How is Faith Formation at CCC doing with St. Margaret registrants,
and are all age levels being serviced? 

Faith Formation is doing very well with St. Margaret registrants, for all age levels, from K-Confirmation.

Will the St. Margaret bulletin information be incorporated with the CCC bulletin?

Yes, with areas within the bulletin for each of the respective parishes.

Will any of the churches be closing?

No.

Where would the parish offices be located? 

The offices would be located at St. John’s. 
In time we would explore what we would need to do to serve St. Margaret.

Each parish has similar ministries, would these ministries have to merge into one, or would they stay at their own parish? 

Each ministry would stay with their own parish, but would be able to work collaboratively as they wish.

What happens to the Parish and Finance councils? 

There would be one combined Parish council, with members from each parish. Each parish would have separate Finance Councils.

How would sacramental preparation work? 

Sacramental preparation would be shared by all three parishes, with celebrations at the parishioner’s parish.

Would the lay ministers and altar servers be able to serve at all of the  parishes, or would they stay with their current parish? 

They would be able to serve at all of the parishes.

How long would this take to be finalized and what is the timeline? 

We would like to move as quickly as possible, with a venture on July 1, 2021.

What would our parish identity be? Would we retain our parish name, or would there be one name for all three of the parishes? 

Each parish would keep their name, but would operate under the umbrella of the not-yet-named collaborative.

How is the final decision made, or who makes it? 

The pastors will reflect on the input they receive from parishioners and, if they find that the parishes want to move forward, they will present that recommendation to the Archdiocese for Cardinal Sean’s blessing and approval. 

The Survey is NOW CLOSED... Thank you to all who participated!

Thank you to all who participated in our Town Hall meetings!

Monday, April 26 at St. John the Evangelist
LIVEVIEW, In-person and ZOOM
ZOOM invite can be found in April 25th bulletin and will be sent via FLOCKNOTE on Sunday, April 25th

Wednesday, April 28 at St. Margaret of Scotland
In-person and ZOOM
ZOOM invite can be found in April 25th bulletin and will be sent via FLOCKNOTE on Sunday, April 25th

Thursday, April 29 at St. Mary
LIVEVIEW, In-person and ZOOM
ZOOM invite can be found in April 25th bulletin and will be sent via FLOCKNOTE on Sunday, April 25th

LIVEVIEW