Each week, our priests and leadership will address the top five concerns from the All Things New surveys collected from parishioners in the parishes of St. Nicholas, Immaculate Conception Church, and The Church of St. Mary.
The number one concern listed among responses was: Fear of closure or loss of identity of our individual parishes
In the September 21 ACC Bulletin, Father Matthew Kuhn wrote an article to help address this concern. Again, it was the number one concern expressed in survey answers as well as in dialogue at the ACC meetings in July. The version in the bulletin was edited down to fit the space, but this is his complete response to that topic.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus,
I want to take the next few bulletins to address some of the biggest concerns you brought forward in our survey about the All Things New pastoral planning process. We will start with your biggest concern: fear of closure or loss of identity of our individual parishes. These are very real fears that we must face as we work together to plan for our shared future. One of the diocesan planning requirements is to consolidate administration, even while maintaining multiple campuses. While I cannot guarantee how Bishop Neary and the diocesan planning committee will respond to our proposal for the Come to the Water ACC, I can tell you that none of our current plans involve closing any of our churches. We believe that all three campuses are necessary for our mission to serve the people of eastern Douglas County. At present, our ACC is a growth area; Mass attendance is up in all three churches. With responsible planning and maintenance, I believe we can sustain all three campuses, so let us set aside the question of closures.
The second question does remain open for us: how do we maintain the individual character of our parishes even as we work together and consolidate administration? We have been struggling with this question for decades as parishes became clusters, and now Area Catholic Communities. Our answer will come from another question: how do we best live out our mission “to build God’s Church across generations by living the Eucharist?” I believe that the distinctive character of each parish will continue to draw people in their own ways, and all three campuses will continue to grow and develop. Administrative consolidation need not change this. At some future point we may decidethat some other arrangement would better serve the mission, but not now.
Now, we do need to address our unified mission, and what practices we need to change to better serve our mission. We are challenged to celebrate together more frequently those solemn feasts that define our Christian faith, and to enrich our worship on every level. We are challenged to explore those areas of outreach and evangelization that we can do better together, and to focus our combined resources on our common mission at the direction of our bishop. We need to show a greater unity to the world.
Our Church hierarchy is arranged to foster a unified vision. From the days of the Apostles, each diocese has shared one bishop. The bishop is the Apostolic overseer and decision maker for all the parishes of our diocese, our general officer. Our three parishes currently share one pastor. The pastor is the boots-on-the-ground captain or lieutenant who cares for a designated group of people in a designated portion of the diocese. Having one bishop gives us a principle of unified vision for the diocese. Sharing a pastor gives our ACC a unified vision for ministry in our area. The difference now is that we are looking together at a larger area than we may have in the past. We are looking at Eastern Douglas County as a unified area, not one church campus, township, or municipality. Our bishop has asked us to think like Catholics—to see the broader mission together and put our combined resources at the service of that mission—one unified mission.
But it is not the bishop who lives out our mission in our parishes—you do. It is not the pastor who makes each parish a unique, welcoming, prayerful, living, and growing community—you are. Each campus will continue to express the mission of the universal Catholic Church in a unique way, because you are unique. Even if we consolidate the administrative realities of the parishes into one legal entity, the life of faith lived out at St. Nicholas, Immaculate Conception, and St. Mary will be your unique part of the greater mission. We can and do share one vision in a diversity of expressions. Your parish representatives on our ACC planning committee are fighting hard to protect the individuality of each parish throughout this process; this is a priority for us. Legitimate, healthy diversity within the broader Church is a good thing that we will continue to foster. One unified vision, lived out in a variety of ways.
Please note: We do not want to manufacture differences, for example by making one campus the “conservative” church or one campus the “progressive” church. Such distinctions do not serve a unified mission; we do not define ourselves against each other. Some healthy competition is good for us, as long as we are on the same team, not working against each other. Some people prefer the smaller parish experience; St. Nicholas and Immaculate Conception will appeal more to them; others prefer the larger parish feel of St. Mary. All three of our campuses have different art and architectural styles, and different musical preferences. These differences are different emphases within the richness of the broad Catholic tradition; in the words of the Mass: “it is right and just.”
The good things that make each parish unique will endure because they are good. The things that our bishop is asking us to share are also good. We cannot pretend to stand alone against the world, as if the survival of one parish depends on the failure of another. Nor can we ignore our responsibility to be contributing members of our Diocese of St. Cloud; we are part of one Body of Christ. Our mission is bigger than any of us. Our unified mission is what keeps our diverse expressions of that mission together within reasonable bounds. Everything we do can and must be judged by how well it conforms to our mission.
We will explore together where uniformity serves our mission best and where different practices serve our mission best. We will maintain good traditions that serve our mission, and we will adapt to new practices that will serve our mission in new ways. We will pray. We will trust that the Holy Spirit is guiding our bishop, our diocesan and ACC staff and committee members throughout this process. Our three parishes will be Catholic—sharing in one universal mission; we will collaborate to share the mission, and where greater, more visible unity will better serve to build God’s Church across generations by living the Eucharist, we will pursue that together. Three campuses, one Catholic Community, working together, thinking like Catholics—this is our plan.
Peace in Christ,
Fr. Matthew Kuhn, pastor
For more information from the Diocese of St. Cloud regarding “ALL THINGS NEW”, click on this LINK.
On September 27-28 Fr. Dan Ruprecht addresses the second most brought up topic regarding the All Things New planning process; “Declining Membership.” Below is his response for the bulletin:
Dear Friends,
In this bulletin I will address the second biggest concern that came from the All Things New surveys; Declining membership and Generational Gaps. It is important to look at actual trends in our area. If we look at what’s happened over the last 25 years or even the last six years, the story is consistent. St. Mary’s has increased the number of registered members, St. Nicholas has remained stable, and Immaculate Conception has experienced a decrease in this statistic. The drop at Immaculate Conception likely better represents the trend in membership if we look at churches across the Diocese of St. Cloud and across the United States as a whole. Participation at church has dropped over the last several decades, and the COVID event caused an additional drop. But besides the total number of parishioners, the percentage of parishioners that attend Mass regularly has also decreased across the diocese as a whole and among our three parishes. This shouldn’t surprise us, most of us have seen the statistics about the general decline of religion in the United States and the rise of Nones (those who don’t affiliate with a specific religion).
All that being said, I think it is more helpful for us to look at the current reality, and all three parishes have seen a slow but steady increase in Mass attendance since COVID. Another helpful statistic to evaluate the health and future of a parish is the baptism to death ration. Are we replacing parishioners that pass? In 2025 so far, St. Mary’s has recorded 37 deaths but also 48 baptisms. Immaculate Conception has recorded 4 deaths but 8 baptisms. St. Nicholas has recorded 6 funerals and 3 baptisms. More encouraging news, although Christianity has decreased in the United States in recent decades, Christians still hold the majority in society, and the rise in non-religion seems to be slowing and hopefully leveling off. There is still faith, even if it is less than it was 50 years ago.
Although we are maintaining a healthy replacement rate, there is concern among many that the younger generation is not as active in the parish as the older have been. There is concern that the new age of Catholics are less likely to volunteer at the parish and less likely to support the parish financially. There is a fear that many of the newly baptized or confirmed are not seen much around the Church after receiving the sacrament. I do believe that there is some legitimacy to these concerns. Fostering active participation in the life of the parish needs to be part of our strategic plan going forward. Asking others to join in our faith is an essential part of being a Church and being Christian. But when it comes down to it, personal invitation is the most effective way to get someone involved in parish life. This is something that we all need to take responsibility for. Below is a prayer that we sometimes pray at parish committee and staff meetings, and I think it would be valuable for us all to meditate on today.
Peace and Blessings,
Father Dan Ruprecht
My parish is composed of people like me; I help make it what it is.
It will be friendly, if I am.
It will be holy, if I am.
Its pews will be filled if I help fill them.
It will do great work, if I work.
It will be prayerful, if I pray.
It will make generous gifts to many causes,
if I am a generous giver.
It will bring others into its worship,
if I invite and bring them.
It will be a church of loyalty and love,
of fearlessness and faith,
of compassion, charity, and mercy,
if I, who make it what it is,
am filled with these same things.
Therefore, with the help of God,
I now dedicate myself to being
all the things I want my church to be.
Amen.
May God be praised!
In the October 4-5 Bulletin Fr. Matthew Kuhn addresses the third most brought up topic regarding the All Things New planning process; “how do we balance being a warm and welcoming church concerned with social justice and progress and being a reverent church concerned with traditional values and eternal truths?” Below is his response:
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus,
The third major concern voiced in the All Things New survey is a concern larger than the current planning process: how do we balance being a warm and welcoming church concerned with social justice and progress and being a reverent church concerned with traditional values and eternal truths? How can we work together when our larger culture is increasingly polarized? The answer, to me, is a classic Catholic “both, and.”
The Church, to paraphrase St. Augustine, has a beauty that is “ever ancient” and “ever new.” We are members of a body that has existed for millennia, and has grown and adapted to each new age, often at the leading edge of forming culture. The deeply-rooted beliefs we have been given by Jesus are the basis for each new emphasis we choose in response to new challenges. As consecutive generations face new challenges, each generation will naturally shift their emphasis, but no one generation owns the Church. We build together across generations.
There is only one Holy Spirit that inspires all that we do in Christ’s name. If we are truly following the movement of the Holy Spirit, then our worship at Mass will drive us to lives of self-giving in imitation of the Eucharist. This is what we mean when we say our mission is driven “by living the Eucharist.” In the same way, our concern for others expressed in acts of service should not be divorced from our desire to draw them to Christ’s Church and the Sacraments that will benefit their souls as well as our own. We cannot care only for the bodies of others, nor keep to ourselves the faith that inspires us. We must both pray and work, as Saint Benedict defined religious life in his rule–“ora et labora.”
Hospitality and prayer cannot be mutually exclusive, nor service and formation. Our Stewardship Way of Life includes all four pillars, and all four are essential elements to being evangelical missionary disciples. It is precisely this balance that we must constantly work to maintain: between the things we change and the things that change us. We need to embrace the whole wide range of Catholic teachings without getting so focused on one area that we exclude the others. We cannot become a community of social justice to the extent that we cease to offer due honor and praise to God in the Sacraments. Nor can we practice the Sacraments while ignoring our brothers and sisters in need around us. We must allow the larger mission of Christ to shape us and form us into well-rounded disciples.
We cannot become a church of extremes; we are called to a balanced Christian life. We avoid the polarization of the broader culture by constantly pulling that culture back towards our true center: Jesus Christ. While the balance will shift one direction or another over time, the heart of our Christian life must remain our mission: to build God’s Church across generations by living the Eucharist.
Peace in Christ,
Fr. Matthew Kuhn, pastor
On October 19th Father Matthew Kuhn addressed a concern outside of the top five concerns, as it has brought about some disharmony. It is doubt of the process and assumption of ill will in the forthcoming plans.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus,
In later weeks I will address what is listed as your fourth major concern from the All Things New diocesan planning process surveys as it is quite personal to me: (your worries about the health of our priests and parish staff). This week I want to address a related concern, further down the list: “How do we trust that this process will respect the desires of parishioners”, or to put it more bluntly, how do we expect you to trust our bishop to do what is best for us?
I love you as your pastor. I cannot, nor do I wish to, diminish the frustrations and fears you are feeling during this restructuring process. The fear of losing parish identity is a deep and very personal fear, and that must be respected. I do ask, however, for one thing: presumption of good will. Before speaking about the All Things New process, our ACC plan, or the decisions involved, please first know that I have committed myself to serving you because I love Jesus Christ, His Bride the Church, and you. I want the best for you, and everything I do as pastor is intended to show that love and to serve Christ’s mission in these three parishes. I want to hear from you, even if I cannot give you everything you ask. Bishop Neary has designed this process to allow you to hear his priorities and principles, to express your concerns, and to help shape a plan for our ACC. We must remember, however, that it is our bishop who has the ultimate responsibility for making the good business decisions necessary to care for the whole Diocese of Saint Cloud under his care.
I love our bishop! I pray each day that Bishop Neary, his diocesan staff, and all of us will be guided by the Holy Spirit throughout this process. I need you to be praying for this as well. I have promised to obey our bishop and his successors, and this promise is based on my trust that the Holy Spirit is guiding him to care for me, just as you trust that your spouse is guided by God in their care for you.
I believe that Christ will never abandon His Bride, the Church, and that this care for us extends from guiding Pope Leo XIV down to my own decisions each day as your local pastor. We are shepherds guided by the Eternal Shepherd, members of one flock, children of one Heavenly Father. Faith is a gift from God, and a necessary gift in moments like these. Please foster the gift of faith in your conversations.
I love being your pastor, even with the weight of responsibility that my office brings. Some of the decisions we must make are for the good of the parishes, some are for the good of your clergy, the bishop, deacons, and priests. One group cannot live without the other.
I want to be part of your lives, sharing a cup of coffee with you after Mass, and not always rushing off to the next Mass or meeting.
I want to operate our parishes in such a way that you, the laity, minister to others in Jesus’ Name as much as the clergy do. I deeply desire to exercise a fatherhood in the image of God’s love for us; I cannot do this if I am treated as an adversary, an indentured servant, or worse. I need you to express your care for me in patience and understanding throughout this process and beyond. I know that fathers must sometimes be “the bad guy” in order to be a good dad; please know that I pray each and every day that God’s Will may be done in All Things New and in all things. We cannot serve you without your love and support.
Related to this support, I need each of you to be an advocate for Bishop Neary and for me. When someone else expresses frustration or distrust with one of us, please listen in a supportive way, but also challenge them to try to understand the perspective and responsibility of a bishop or a pastor. Far too often, I fear that those who voice the concerns and frustrations of others are also encouraging those frustrations instead of working to build peace and understanding. Please advocate for us as we do for you. I know that you do not always see us fighting for your needs and desires at the diocesan level. I cannot make public every conversation and negotiation in this process, but please know that I am focused on the long-term health and well-being of our parishes. I am grateful to our ACC staff and All Things New committee members who have been advocating for you and bringing these concerns forward. I cannot do my job as pastor without them. Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation and support.
I am grateful to our ACC staff and All Things New committee members who have been advocating for you and bringing these concerns forward. I cannot do my job as pastor without them. Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation and support. We have the priests that we have; the priests you have need your love and support, just as you need ours. I love you. I would not be here serving you if I did not. I love being a priest, and I want to be a healthy priest. The best way to keep our priests healthy and holy is to keep us human, connected to families, blanketed in prayer, and occasionally well-fed with good, healthy beef and venison.
Please pray for me, for our ACC, for our diocese, for our bishop, and for our shared future. Please join me in trusting God to lead us as we work to build God’s Church across generations by living the Eucharist.
Peace in Christ,
Fr. Matthew Kuhn, pastor