Martin E.
Marty
Martin E.
Marty
(CONTEXT - Dec. 1, 2000)
…..let's rest with a nitty-gritty parochial subject. Here is Ed Wojcicki, a publisher in Illinois and active Catholic layman, writing about why he's fed up with parish committees:
"Church members' attacks on other members are not pretty, but they happen all the time, often behind the scenes. People feel so strongly about certain issues that they become unreasonable, uncharitable, and obnoxiously self-righteous. 'Why not round up all of these relentless complainers from every parish and create a new parish for them, called Our Lady of Misery?' a priest once mused in a conversation with me.
"The trouble is, so many committees are so dysfunctional that Catholics are fading away not only from committees, but also from their beloved parishes or, even worse, from active practice of the faith altogether. And most parishes are large enough that the rest of the parish doesn't notice them slipping away. But all of a sudden, they're just gone. The church's failure to deal pastorally with burned-out, frustrated fadeaways is a pervasive problem." Put it on the agenda? Wojcicki wants not to whine but to be helpful and offers "a few suggestions for making parish committees more effective":
"1.Let's stop saying that collaborative processes will get 'everybody' to 'buy into' committee decisions. Never did, never will. A collaborative style helps leaders and followers alike move toward a common goal, but ultimately somebody has to make decisions and move on. So please, committees and pastors, realize that the parish is looking to you to make decisions. Go ahead and make them and accept the fact that you will have some dissenters.
"2.Set clear objectives and then follow through.
"3.Either give priests training to be administrators, business managers, and plant managers, or stop expecting them to be experts at all these things. It's not fair to them. Tell them to hire people who can handle these functions better than they can. The parish doesn't have the money? Maybe not. So ask for more volunteer help, find the money, or reduce your expectations.
"4.Give me a short-term project or assignment, not a lifetime committee assignment. Give me a starting date and ending date. Like most parishioners, I am stressed by family and work obligations. I want to participate, but I also want a safety net that tells me it's OK not to take part all the time.
"5.Start a Re-member Church or similar program that invites fadeaways or inactive Catholics back. But don't announce this program in church. The people you're seeking aren't there. .
"6.Let's stop portraying the church as a place for saints. We're all sinners, very imperfect ones. Why can't we operate as if Saint Paul were right in saying that in his weakness he is strong? Every parish is a place where sinners operate and probably do the best they can with their weaknesses, which inevitably lead to frustrations, misunderstandings, jealousies, and other emotions that cause divisions. But that's precisely why we need a Savior, isn't it?"--(U.S. Catholic, September 2000)
Reprinted with permission from CONTEXT, Claretian Publications, www.contextonline.org 1-800-328-6515