As part of the process laid out by the Diocese of St. Cloud, each Area Catholic Community in the diocese needs to have their proposed plans for the All Things New campaign turned in by December 31, 2025. In order to have the plan turned in, the Diocese' CAP committee has offered to look through our strategic plans ahead of time. This will ensure that the proposed plans have a better chance of getting approved. Bishop Neary will have the final say as to what will happen within each ACC, and therefore has asked for each Catholic Community to express what "they" want to happen and how it could work, first.
As part of our communication plan we have continuously released information through the bulletin to let people know what our committee is thinking, based on your feedback and contributions, along with the recommendations and requirements laid out by the Diocese.
Here is the ATN Committee:
Committee members:
Sharon Marthaler, Mike Helwig, Tonya Beulke, Ellyn Ponicki, Darcie Boogaard, Francie Peterson, Josh Waltzing, Joe Korkowski, Todd Wentworth, Fr. Dan Ruprecht, and Fr. Matthew Kuhn.
Below are a few of the latest bulletin articles pertaining to All Things New at the Come to the Water ACC.
Fr. Dan Ruprecht- October 26, 2025 Bulletin Article-
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
One of the major concerns in the All Things New planning process is the health of priests. A recent survey of clergy nationwide has affirmed that “burn-out” is a real problem that many of our priests are facing. A common effect of burn-out is that the priest no longer finds life or fulfillment in their work. Rather than being on mission with Jesus, a priest can fall into the spiritual trap of simply doing things for Jesus. The priest may still be producing fruit and ministering effectively, but inside, they struggle. If burn-out is left unaddressed, it can lead to the man turning to un-healthy or un-holy things for fulfillment such as food or alcohol or disordered relationships. But even if they avoid these pitfalls, their ministry will begin to become stale and bear less fruit among the faithful. You may have heard the saying “You cannot give what you don’t have.” I think this is extremely relevant with regards to the priest. If a priest’s own interior life and faith is struggling, he will be less effective in leading others in the faith.
The Second Vatican Council defines the role of priests in Presbyterorum Ordinis “Priests, as co-workers with their bishops, have the primary duty of proclaiming the Gospel of God to all.” So, the primary job of the priest is the proclamation of the Gospel. The document goes on to explain how the priest does this in a variety of ways, through preaching, teaching, and the administration of the sacraments. If a priest can see the Gospel bearing fruit in their work, they are far less likely to suffer from burn-out.
Yet, there are many tasks that priests are asked to do that indirectly support their calling to proclaim the Gospel. These tasks we can refer to as administration (planning events, processing paperwork and emails, scheduling, managing repairs and maintenance on facilities, managing supplies, managing budgets, and the many meetings and correspondences that are associated with these things.) Many priests feel consumed by administrative tasks, to the point that the actual celebration of the sacraments and teaching and preaching seem like an afterthought; something they have to squeeze in rather than prioritize. This can lead to suffering internally and burn-out.
Pastoral Ministry, on the other hand, can be defined as activities in which the priest is directly proclaiming the Gospel (administering the sacraments, teaching, preaching, pastoral visits to the sick or families). In order to help maintain the health of priests, the Diocese of St. Cloud has included in the All Things New Plan the requirement that priests spend at least 50% of their time in pastoral ministry. Our current reality is that many priests report spending 80% or more in administration. The requirement for all ACC’s (parish groupings) to have a paid Business Administrator has been included in the diocesan plan to help with this issue. The goal is to shift administrative tasks from the priest to the laity. Many ACC’s, such as our own, have made great progress in doing this already, but the diocesan plan will require this of all ACCs. In the plan there is also a call for reducing the number of corporations and under-utilized buildings, and this will also help.
Brothers and sisters, I have great hope that the All Things New process will result in healthier priests in our diocese. This will allow them to focus on their personal calling to proclaim the Gospel, and in turn will result in healthier and more vibrant faith communities.
Peace and Blessings,
Father Dan Ruprecht
Fr. Matthew Kuhn - November 2, 2025 Bulletin Article- GOAL #1
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,
I want to spend the next three front pages laying out the goals and objectives for our proposed plan for All Things New; this proposal will be submitted to the bishops' Committee for the Affirmation of Plans (CAP) in November. This week we will begin with Goal #1: A Community of Growing and Evangelizing Missionary Disciples. Evangelization is the key to everything else as we go forward. We are blessed to be a growing ACC, and we plan to keep all three of our campuses, so our challenge is to fill them! We have broken down this goal into three S.M.A.R.T. objectives:
Short-term Objective #1: Develop Formal Plans to Welcome New Parishioners into our Area Catholic Community and Build Parishioner Sense of Belonging by June 30, 2026. Our Evangelization Committee is already preparing resources and recruiting passionate volunteers to equip each and every one of you to be evangelizing missionary disciples.
Short-term Objective #2: Provide Engaging Opportunities for Those Parishioners Who Have Become Disengaged by December 31, 2026. Some parishioners disengage from parish life without saying anything to other parishioners or parish staff. We want to equip you to reach out to these people and hear their stories. When possible, we want to bring these people back to full and active participation. We want to mend relationships and rebuild bridges for them and their families.
Long-term Objective #1: Increase Overall Mass Attendance From 51.07% to 55% by December 31, 2026 and 60% by September 30, 2027. This long-term objective is the measurable consequence of our short-term objectives. While we already have cleared the 50% minimum expectation of the diocese, we do not wish to relax our efforts. I believe the goals we have set are well within range and I hope and pray that we far surpass these numbers. Everyone should have access to the Sacraments and Christian fellowship; reaching out is essential to all that we do as members of Christ's Body, the Church.
We will delve into Goals #2 (simplified and efficient administrative overhead) and #3 (sustainable financial health based on stewardship as a way of life) over the next two weeks. Please continue to pray for our diocese, our bishop, and our parishes as we embrace this pastoral planning process. Feel free to approach one of our committee members with any feedback and please continue to share your thoughts and feelings with us.
Peace in Christ,
Father Matthew Kuhn, pastor
Fr. Matthew Kuhn - November 9, 2025 Bulletin Article- GOAL #2
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,
This is part two of three of our Goals and Objectives for the All Things New pastoral planning process. Goal #2 of our proposal is Simplified and Efficient Administrative Overhead. We want to be good stewards of our resources and focus on our mission, rather than maintenance. While we are committing ourselves to keeping all three campuses open, we feel that we can make more and better use of what we have been given, and we are challenging ourselves to objectively evaluate our facilities and plan for the long-term.
Our first of three objectives for this goal is short-term objective #1: Develop Plans for Underutilized Buildings to Increase Use for Mission or Removal by December 31, 2026. We have already assessed the maintenance needs of our three church buildings and have committed ourselves to a financial plan that includes scheduling necessary maintenance to keep them all safe, inviting, and serviceable. We are looking next to the other buildings on our campuses, including the rental properties, "Lighthouse," offices, and Education Center at St. Mary's, St. Agnes School, the convent building, and old garage at ICC, and the rectory, garage, and sheds at St. Nicholas. In addition to the buildings themselves, we are exploring new options for the use of each building and outdoor space. Our goal is functional spaces that serve our mission. We want to be honest about the state of our buildings and make practical choices.
Our first long-term objective is to Merge our Three Parish Corporations into One Corporation Effectve July 1, 2028. This is one of the parameters that was mandated by our diocese to reduce administrative complexity and free up our priests for more time in pastoral care. The merger of parish corporations will involve consolidating sacramental and business records, reducing our number of trustees to two for the ACC, bringing finance councils together into one council (as we already have for pastoral council), and operating on one consolidated financial plan (budget) instead of three.
Each campus will maintain its own name, as we do now within the Come to the Water ACC, but a new parish name will replace "Come to the Water" as our joint identity. We will share responsibility for our combined resources and plan together for all three campuses. Please note that the goal date we have chosen allows each parish time to address major renovations and manage debt before bringing the three corporations together.
Long-term objective #2 is to Merge Administrative Roles and Responsibilities into the Existing Parish Office Located on the Alexandria Campus Effective July 1, 2028. This goes with the previous objective. We have already merged our bulletins into one publication, and combined roles for various staff members to serve the whole ACC, especially faith formation, pastoral care and outreach. We will continue to maintain a pastoral presence at each campus, maintenance, and other day-to-day necessities, but administration (bookkeeping, HR, and resource-management) will be run from the office at St. Mary's. The details of what this will mean for staff and volunteers are still in development. Our goal is to streamline administration where possible and allow more of our time and attention to be devoted to evangelization, service, and education. I suspect these objectives will be the most controversial parts of our proposal, and we will spend a good bit of time breaking each objective down into practical details and working out implementation over the next months and years. Please keep in mind: this is a process. We will keep taking steps toward our goals, slowly and deliberately, with prayer and discernment along our way.
Peace in Christ,
Father Matthew Kuhn, Pastor
Fr. Matthew Kuhn - November 16, 2025 Bulletin Article- GOAL #3
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,
This week we tackle the third and final goal of our proposed plan for All Things New: Sustainable financial health based on Stewardship as a Way of Life. Financial stability is one of the priorities of Bishop Neary for all Area Catholic Communities, but we have reframed it in terms of the Stewardship model of Msgr. Thomas McGread. You can pick up a copy of Grateful and Giving, the short book that explains Stewardship as a Way of Life for the full details, but the core of the philosophy is this: we are grateful to God for the gifts we have received, gratitude spurs us on to service. We, as an ACC, want our regular giving to cover all regular expenses through conservative budgeting and responsible stewardship on the part of every parish family. All three of our parishes have already begun implementing this stewardship model, so we are well on our way to success already.
Our first objective within this goal is to approve and successfully execute annual plans with positive cash inflow for each campus beginning with Fiscal Year 2026-2027. As you can see from the bulletin financial summary each week, even with the financial challenges of the past few years, we are within spitting distance of this goal already. Our financial staff members, Todd Wentworth, Sharon Marthaler, Elizabeth Radil, and our parish finance councils have done great work to make our financial plans more efficient and more mission-centric each year. We are committed to being good stewards of our buildings and resources; just employers who pay a fair wage to employees; and responsible, mission-driven disciples. If we commit to this upward course in generosity, this first objective will be accomplished easily.
Our second objective is to increase regular sacrificial giving by at least 4% for the next five consecutive years beginning with FY 2026-27. Balancing our budget is only the first hurdle; we want to cross that line and keep going into greater outreach and evangelical service. The more we give, the more we can give. When every household gives sacrificially, we will have more than enough resources to be conspicuously generous. Our three churches are each the largest church in their township; we have an obligation, therefore, to be leaders in charity. We want our parishes to be known for our generosity and commitment to service, not for our glory, but for the sake of the Gospel. Each person in need who thinks: "I know that I can find help at the local Catholic church," is a victory for our mission.
Our third objective is to reduce the percentage of our total ordinary expenses funded by fundraising by 10% per year beginning with FY 2027-28. We want regular giving to cover regular expenses. Fundraising activities are great for community-building and drawing attention to particular needs, but we would prefer to direct such activities to external needs or to have community-building activities for their own sake. The Stewardship Way of Life is based on each person taking responsibility for the regular needs of the parish. Extraordinary needs may call for extraordinary fundraisers, but we desire to make regular giving a regular part of our lives.
That's it! Our proposed plan is less drastic than many have feared, mostly because of the hard work you have already done, and the sacrifices you are already making each week to build God's Church across generations by living the Eucharist. I am grateful to my predecessors, all the current and previous staff members, council members, and volunteers who have made our parishes as solid as they are. I cannot predict accurately what Bishop Neary ultimately will decide, but I am confident that our hard work will pay off, and that we will continue to serve Christ Jesus and His Bride, the Church, with greater hope and zeal for the future. May God bless you all as we continue in this pastoral planning process.
Peace in Christ,
Father Matthew Kuhn, Pastor
OUTLINE OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN SUBMITTED TO THE CAP Committee (Committee for the Affirmation of Plans)
