BEACONS of LIGHT

Parishioners have consistently said that the Archdiocese will come in and close the smaller churches no matter what the community thinks or does to prevent the closure. How did they successfully address this mindset?

Decisions are made by the pastor in consultation with the pastoral council.  At the outset of Beacons of Light, the archbishop decided that any closure of churches would begin with the recommendation of the pastor and his unified pastoral council. The St. Isidore the Farmer Family of Parishes can support all five campuses at the current level of resources.  We have nothing to gain by closing any of our churches.

Who owns the current church property (land and buildings), and thus, who has the authority to sell such property if that ever becomes a consideration down the road?  Where would the proceeds go?

The property is owned by the parish; the archbishop is the trustee.  Decisions to sell property are initiated with the pastor and his pastoral council requesting permission from the archbishop to go forward with the sale.  The Document on Temporal Affairs, which is law for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, requires at least two appraisals and consultation with the Archdiocesan College of Consultors and Archdiocesan Finance Committee, before the Archbishop approves of the sale (or purchase) of property by the archdiocese, its parishes, or affiliates (Catholic schools, et. al.)

When property is sold the assets stay with the people.  If a parish is closed, the assets stay with the people in the parish that they are now a part of.  There is no assessment on income received from sale of property. It is also the case that debt would follow the people.  If a parish is in debt when it closes, the debt would also be transferred to the parish to which the people now belong.

I've seen little (if any) comment regarding having more than one school in a family.  Is the possible merging of two schools a consideration or possible scenario that might be considered down the road?  Is it a recommendation in any Beacon discussions?

It is true that decisions concerning Beacons of Light will consider the schools as well.  Again, decisions are made at the local level by the pastor in consultation with the pastoral council and the school principals.  

In our situation, it does not make sense to merge schools.  The two schools serve different communities and are not competing for students within the same market. With the EdChoice expansion in Ohio, both schools set tuition based on cost per student, and that makes them very viable for the foreseeable future.

We have a great opportunity in our family of parishes because our staff currently includes four people who have or have had long tenures as principal or superintendent.  We will bring a lot of experience in school administration when we have identified and set about answering questions pertaining to our schools and the implementation of Beacons of Light.

Many people miss the personal connection of having "our priest" and our priest knowing his people.  It seems that with all the running the priests now must do to various campuses and the sheer added volume of parishioners in the new family (versus previously), this personal connection will likely be impossible. How can the sorrows of that reality be lessened?  

One very real challenge of the current arrangement is establishing a closeness between the priest(s) and the people.  In any arrangement there will be a trade off of benefits and challenges. The previous arrangement was exhausting to our priests.  Beacons of Light came about as the archbishop’s response to what he was hearing from his pastors. Our shared future will require some adjustment of expectations.  At the same time, once we have identified a challenge, the Family Leadership Team or the Pastoral Council can work with the pastor to recommend creative solutions that may offset or at least mitigate the consequences. A small example of this was introducing a monthly letter from the priests in the bulletin.

The number of parishioners and the geographical distance will remain a challenge. The trade off are the practical benefits of having multiple assigned priests. We do not have to cancel weekday Masses when a priest is away. It is easier to find substitute priests when special events come up. For me, it is healthier to live and minister with other priests than to live alone and have all of the clergy responsibilities fall to me alone.

How can the sorrows be lessened?  I recognize a sense of loss in this. It is hard for the priest as well. 

That being said, I offer two suggestions: gratitude and perspective.  It is different having three priests instead of just one.  Make a decision to recognize the good qualities of different priests and be grateful for that richness.  When taking a broader perspective, we are spoiled in the United States.  There are places in the world (Latin America among others) that only see a priest once a month, twice a year, or once a year…and priests from those countries come to serve you in the United States.  At weekend Masses you see a particular priest only every three weeks.  There are places not so far away that won’t see any priest but once or twice a year!

Relationships (the feeling of belonging) are important, and they are suffering.  Building community cannot be forced. How do we preserve the sense of belonging, which is so important?

Times of transition are difficult - even when change is necessary and/or for the better.  Once a challenge is identified, we can work together to identify creative solutions.  I would like to consult the pastoral council and the stewardship commission to look closer at the challenges, successes, and disappointments in this area of belonging.  Specifically asking: How have our churches fostered a sense of belonging in the past?  What is working?  What is not working?  What is the role of parish organizations or staff in building a sense of belonging?  What is the role of individual parishioners?  What is the role of the priests/pastor?  We might also ask, What does belonging look like to different generations of the population?

In summary, creating a sense of belonging is a real challenge.  I do not have the answer at this time, nor do I believe there is any one, sufficient answer.  How will you as a member of the parish and how will we as a parish rise to address that challenge?

It seems that the increased extensive costs of added full-time staff were just thrown at parishes in the middle of a fiscal year when this started.  It seems that this topic has not been addressed in communications from the Archdiocese.   As we all must adjust to those new large budgetary items, has the Archdiocese considered reducing its "take" from the parishes for a few years? 

The assessment is a separate matter.  The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has an assessment that is considerably lower than most dioceses in the United States.  The diocese does provide support to parish staff in addition to necessary services and protections.  That’s not really on the table right now.

As to adding full time staff.  For the past two years, any new hires were announced to pastoral council and included in the budget prior to being hired.  They were included in a budget that was approved by the pastoral council.  Often times a position would be in the budget for two months or six months or more before the hire was made, resulting in a small favorable variance in the comparison between the budgeted expense and the actual expense.

I am confident moving forward with the staff that is currently in place. We have made efforts to make director positions more visible across the five campuses. I look forward to parishioners sharing my enthusiasm and confidence in the staff serving our parishes, when I am able to focus my attention on communicating the faith to the people rather than just communicating rationale and staffing decisions.  That will come with Phase 4 and Phase 5 of Beacons.  Currently we are on the cusp of Phase 3.  Phase 3 is Culture.  As of July 2026, together with the staff we have a sense of what Phase 3 will entail.  Phase 4 is Planning.  Phase 5 is Mission.  Tell me to get in gear, so we can get to phase 4 sooner!

How does Beacons of Light help our priests be better priests?   would love to hear their personal take on this.  

The benefits and anticipated benefits for me (Fr. Rob) are priestly fraternity, shared mission, and healthy delegation.

When I was pastor and lone priest serving three churches, I seldom met with other priests.  In part, the workload was demanding making it hard to carve out time away from the parishes.  In part, the nearest priest was some distance away, busy serving his own parish(es).  In part, I had not reflected on the value and importance of such fraternity.  By creating families of parishes, most priests are now working alongside another priest or priests while serving the people entrusted to their care.  It does not guarantee that the priests will see each other often, but it sure helps.  …and I like living with Fr. Prashanth much more than living by myself.

One of the anticipated benefits of implementing Beacons of Light is the ability to bring on additional staff by pooling resources across the family of parishes.  This has already been realized for St. Isidore the Farmer Family of Parishes.  The director roles - evangelization (beyond CCD), communications, marriage and family, and liturgy - did not exist in any of the five parishes prior to implementation of Beacons of Light.  This helps with shared mission and healthy delegation.

When working in ministry alone one is more prone to discouragement. (There is a reason Jesus sent out disciples two by two.) The treasures available to us in Jesus Christ are so great!  But dying to self to live for Christ is difficult, and some will leave Jesus to seek an easier path. That can be discouraging to see. If it happens within your family, you know this.  Having others beside you striving to grow in holiness and to work for God’s Kingdom reminds the priests (and other staff and volunteers) that it is worth the struggle.  We have a shared mission.

Again, the treasure available to us in Jesus Christ are so great! A pastor’s heart knows this and desires these riches for many more people! The pastor is only one person, only in one place at a time. Having more people to share the work - whether parochial vicars or directors or other disciples - allows the Word of God to be proclaimed to more and more people and for the seed of the Word to be watered and grow across a wider section of our parish. Healthy delegation allows pastoral initiatives to be run more effectively, especially when run across multiple campuses.

The parish must account for its receipts and expenditures.  (Having five entities instead of one, sometimes requires accounting for things five times instead of once, as well.)  The parish funds include both Restricted Funds, which must be spent in accord with the donor’s wishes, and General Funds / unrestricted funds.  The most frequent Restricted Funds are donations toward the school endowment, tuition assistance, or mission collections (OLG).  It can also include donations for capital improvements.  The largest contribution to General Funds comes through the Sunday collection / online giving.  Its largest expense is employee and teacher salary and benefits.

Restricted Funds will continue to be held for their designated purpose. It is not immediately clear whether capital improvement funds will stay with a specific church or move to a capital improvement account available to all campuses.  If we decide (pastoral council recommends) to become one parish, each finance committee will sign off on a financal agreement.  The agreement will be created in consultation with pastoral council and the finance committees.  The agreement may restrict current capital improvement funds to its respective church.  The agreement might also set a fixed amount to each campus based on other criteria. 

We have to ensure that there is enough money in the general funds to continue to pay operating expenses in the time immediately following the merger, as well as having money available for new initiatives that will proclaim the Word of God and form disciples.

We have published annual reports, generally in September.  One primary aim of the Family Unity Discernment in February, March and April is to ensure that the pastoral council and interested parishioners have the necessary information to support the pastor in making the best decision for our family of parishes and for promoting the Catholic faith in the territory served by St. Isidore the Farmer family of parishes.