The Community of St. Malachi Newsletter  

· Future Church’s Annual Benefit Dinner
· Liturgy & Communications Committees Meeting
· Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
· Thanks to Christian Formation Folk
· Health Department
· Special Prayers Roster
· Membership Meeting
· Community Council Meeting
· Sexual Abuse Task Force Meeting
· Cluster Leadership Team
· St. Malachi Book Club
· Spiritual Development Committee
· ‘Praying With St. Ignatius of Loyola’ Retreat In Progress
· “Learn, Be Part Of The Blessing, Walk The Labyrinth
· Vine & Branches Gospel Discussion Forum

· Help Wanted
· Annual Reverse Raffle
· Monday Night Meal Menus
· Deadlines
· News From St. Malachi Center
  · 2007 Entertainment Books Are Here!
  · Thanks For Golf Outing, Steak Dinner Success!
  · Shower Program In Need
  · St. Malachi Center’s Max & Erma’s ‘Proceeds Day’
· Cleveland Women’s Ordination Conference
· “The Voice Of Women In Islam” Presentation
· Magnificat High School Seventh Grade Day
· Benedictine High School Open House
· St. Ignatius High School Open House
· Regular Weekly Collections Update

Newsletter Editor: Mary Englert MTEnglert@juno.com

  The Community of St. Malachi – First Personal Parish of the Diocese of Cleveland
Celebrating Faith in God and in the Future! 

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 

 Sept. 24, 2006

F u t u r e  C h u r c h’ s

5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3
The Holiday Inn, Independence

Speaker:
Dr. Paul Lakeland
Professor of Catholic Studies, Fairfield University
on “WE are the Future of the Church: Rediscovering our Baptismal Priesthood”

Tickets: $60 – Limited Income: $40
Information and Reservations: 216-228-0869

(Note: FutureChurch new address: 17307 Madison Ave., Lakewood, OH 44107)

Message from Kay Vine: 

CSM Liturgy & Communications Committees Meeting

“Next meeting of the CSM Liturgy Committee will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, in the rectory. It will begin with a joint meeting with the CSM Communications Committee to discuss announcements at our 11 o’clock Liturgy, Communion reflections (guidelines) and other information sharing at our Liturgy.

“The Communications Committee will then meet separately to discuss some current business: CSM logo, website updates, use of emergency e-mail alerts, among other things, including the need for a chairperson.

“The Liturgy Committee will continue its discussion of Eucharistic ministry, Communion stations and other planning for the coming weeks.  “All are welcome at both meetings!”

“Two dates to keep in mind: Oct. 29 Anointing of the Sick during Sunday Mass. Nov. 5 Mass of Remembrance at 12:30 p.m. for those who have been buried from St. Malachi during the past year. Anyone who can help with serving a luncheon after this Mass for the families and friends of the remembered, please call Kay Vine (440-871-5868) or Charlene McElwee (216-781-3110).

…journey of faith for adults interested in the Catholic faith. Sessions are held from 7-9:30 p.m. Mondays, beginning Sept. 18, in St. Patrick rectory, 3602 Bridge Ave., Cleveland.

Information: St. Malachi rectory, 216-781-3110

* * * * * * * * * * *  

Back to Top

• Director of Religious Education: Karen Duffy (440-331-5289).
• Christian Formation Chairperson: Diane Brinich (216-521-1360)

• High School: Jennifer DeJohn, Rick Zimmerman, Karen Duffy
• Junior High Host Home: Jennifer and Cal Elaban
• High School Host Home: Pete and Kathy Burke
• Also, Jan Leitch, who helps with sacramental preparation for Reconciliation, First Eucharist and Confirmation, and Ron Perger, who will be helping with Confirmation.

* * * * * * * * *  

Back to Top

COMMUNITY OF ST. MALACHI MEMBERSHIP MEETING – SEPT. 17, 2006

Kay Vine, CSM vice president, welcomed all and reported that the CSM’s Vibrant Parish Life Phase II Cluster Leadership Team has been meeting at least twice a month since spring to produce the report under discussion today. The meeting then opened with a sung prayer, “We are Called.”

Kay reminded those gathered that the CSM completed a survey a few months ago, highlighting charisms and values that the community wanted to be considered as most important as the Cluster Leadership Team tries to get a hold on the clustering process. Whichever clusters are to be identified and prioritized , CSM members said early on that St. Malachi Parish and the Community of St. Malachi should be in the same cluster, as partners.

Kay also reminded us that our discussion today is not the last clustering process step. CSM recommendations and the fruits of today’s discussion (Sept. 17) will be handed over to the community council, which will make a prioritized proposal to the diocese. That will take place in October and then in the spring the diocese will respond with reactions and recommendations. There will then be one more chance for dialog before the clusters are decided.

Marianne Kerr and Bob Simoneau then made a brief presentation on the proposed downtown (Detroit-Superior) cluster.

They pointed out that all the downtown parishes are “destination” parishes, growing in size and positioned to grow more with the planned downtown housing. St. Malachi community could be well positioned to offer advocacy for the homeless and poor who could be displaced by some of this urban renewal. Also, St. Malachi has meeting space to offer to the cathedral, which is very short on meeting space for adult education, catechesis, etc. We can also use our strengths with Youth Ministry and Christian Formation to help the downtown parishes and they, especially St. Peter’s, can help us with their strong adult education programs. Clearly, it’s a very different and new option because we do not have a long history with these parishes as we do with the near west side.

Questioners brought up that the cathedral might be an overpowering partner that might tell us what to do. Response was that Fr. Edward Estok is rector of the cathedral; Bishop Richard Lennon is the pastor, but we are talking about clustering with the parish which has some different boundaries than the cathedral. Fr. Estok is the one who brought St. John parishioners to the cluster meeting and they have a social justice committee, a pastoral staff, and family activities just like any parish.

Question about the difference between partnering and clustering…and what might be the possibility of clustering with suburban parishes? The response from the Vibrant Parish Life committee representative was that there is a difference between collaboration and clustering. The diocese asked us to consider geography in clustering. This does not mean that when clusters are established, there cannot be co-sponsoring of activities with suburban parishes. Some partnerships like this do already exist in the diocese.

What about lay direction? All of the parishes we’ve talked about have parish councils and lay involvement, but the Community of St. Malachi is much more lay led than any we are considering clustering with, with the possible exception of St. Colman.

Question was: What are some of the pluses that all of these proposed cluster partners have to bring to the mix…What are their strengths? Response was that the liturgy at St. Peter’s is still vibrant, reverent and moving, and that the adult ed programs there are string, planned a year or two in advance, and thousands participated in adult ed last year. Another comment was on how high the energy was at the meeting with St. John’s and St. Peter’s. The speaker felt humbled by her first reaction, which was not so enthusiastic, thinking the cathedral was too close to the bishop, but her opinion shifted when she saw how much those parish representatives admired the social justice experience of St. Malachi and how much they would like our help. She said that at her table during the cluster meeting enthusiastic members of St. John’s went on and on about their hopes for their parish , what they like about it , and how they are committed to the neighborhood downtown…many parishioners are living in the new lofts in the warehouse district…a lot of young people, and a lot who want to volunteer and put their money behind good causes.

Kay Vine then invited us to wrap up the discussion of the downtown cluster, and introduced Chuck Garven, who presented the proposal for the near west side cluster. Chuck acknowledged right up front that one reason we need to talk about the clustering process is a result of our Catholic leadership’s decision to ordain only celibate men. He also called for us at St. Malachi to continue working inside the clustering process even while hoping to expand some day recognition of those called to priestly ordination.

* * * * * * * * *  

Back to Top

Chuck felt we could be a unique presence, even inside a cluster of four or five parishes. He mentioned that it’s not an easy task, in a way, to lobby for the near west side cluster because it’s a little less exciting, and more expected. Chuck mentioned that he felt courted by the downtown cluster and that the near west side cluster felt a little like the easy but better known relationship with a longstanding wife. (This got a great reaction!)  But what we already share with the near west side is big. He noted that we’re integrated with other Catholic and ecumenical ministries on the near west side. And we have historical roots there. Our Christian Formation and Confirmation preparation, and Communal Penance services are already shared, and we have a history with Urban Community School, etc

Question: Was there any talk about the financial aspects of clustering? The questioner pointed out that if mergers come out of clusters, financial health would probably be a serious consideration. St. Colman was mentioned, for example, as having a lot of debt and a huge building to keep up, and would these challenges be taken on by their clustering partners? Answer was that right now there is no discussion of that…but many have said and there was repeated discussion by the committee as to whether this clustering is a precursor for merging…nothing official on that. Right now the diocesan guidelines say that each parish will “preserve its own identity.”

St. Colman already has strong lay leadership and has been without an assigned pastor since 1994. They have a Sister of St. Joseph as an administrator.

Question as to whether pastors were involved in the clustering meetings? Yes, pastors were involved and every pastor from the different parishes came to the two general meetings. The CSM Cluster Leadership Team made very careful effort and devoted a good deal of discussion to trying to separate the decision about with whom to cluster from any consideration of pastors currently serving potential partner parishes. There are several factors to consider. The near west cluster group has not a young group of pastors; downtown pastors Fr. Ed Estok and Fr. Bob Marrone are younger. And age cannot be weighed too heavily as a factor since pastors do come and go, so the team felt we should decide to cluster based on the parishes themselves, not the pastors; any pastor could move on at any time.

A speaker said they would like to see the decision come from a position of mission, not from a position of resource availability…how faith is expressed…and how we and they are involved with the poor. The leadership team constantly considered this point of view in our months of deliberation.

Another speaker said that, to him, this clustering is obviously a stopgap measure and eventually there will be mergers so he urged the near west cluster.

Another speaker mentioned the extension of welcome…our strong history of welcoming gay and lesbian members, former religious, and our support of FutureChurch, noting that some of our positions have been met with “less than enthusiasm” downtown. What about that?

Bob Simoneau responded that the cathedral is doing things for the poor and homeless and wants to do more…and question of the bishop and who runs what is an issue…but the parish is separate financially, for example, from the cathedral so it is possible to think of St. John the Evangelist parish as separate from “downtown.” Obviously no one is ever going to close the cathedral, despite their parish budget problems…but they are struggling in many of the same ways as we are, and we should not let that get away from us.

Kay Vine then asked for a sense of how many would have a preference for the west side cluster. More than half the hands went up in preference for the near west side cluster; there was a reasonable showing for the downtown cluster. There were some abstentions and a vocal minority who didn’t like either cluster…perhaps wishing for more suburban clustering.

Kay moved toward closure by asking CSM members to think about how we might promote lay leadership, sharing our passion for this, when we get to meeting with the other parishes we are going to be clustered with. There will soon be a call for notes, e-mails and phone calls as a way of getting input from the community so that we can move forward in greater clarity when the dialogues with clustering parishes begin.

The meeting ended with a “thank you” to all those who served on the CSM’s Cluster Leadership Team, and the last verse of “We are Called” was sung with verve. Respectfully submitted, Kim Langley

Kay Vine adds: “Since the meeting time did not allow for an extended Q&A time, anyone with questions and/or comments can contact me and/or any member of the team whose names were listed on the proposal. It would be especially helpful to get these before the next CSM Council meeting, Sept. 28.”

CSM Cluster Leadership Team: Jim Connell, Chuck Garven, Eileen Garven, Marianne Kerr, Gene Kramer, Paul Kunkel, Kim Langley, John Lavelle, Jan Leitch, Gary Pritts, Stephanie Pritts Bob Simoneau, Fr. Tony Schuerger, Kay Vine, Bruce Wacker 

* * * * * * * * *  

Back to Top

* * * * * * * * *  

Back to Top

News from St. Malachi Center:

“The 2007 Entertainment Books are here! Purchase one for just $25 and receive great half-off and two-for-one savings on dining, shopping, travel and more, and proceeds benefit St. Malachi Center. Books are available at the center and Malachi Mart, or call Ginny Suhr at 216-771-3036. If you would like to volunteer to help sell books at coffee hour, please call Ginny.

“St. Malachi Center would like to thank all who participated and volunteered to make the 14th Annual Golf Outing and Steak Dinner such a success! A special thank you goes to Louise Walsh and Marilyn Cox, who were co-chairs of the committee, and to Ginny Suhr, our fundraising marketing assistant.

“St. Malachi Center is in special need of toothbrushes, razors, deodorants and shampoos for our Shower Program. Please bring your donations to the center anytime between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“ Thursday, Oct. 12, is St. Malachi Center’s ‘Proceeds Day’ at Max & Erma’s at 30105 Detroit Rd., Westlake. Twenty percent of all lunch, dinner and carryout sales will benefit the center. Flyers are at the doors of the church, at the rectory, at the center and online at www.stmalachicenter.org “ - J. Bluett

Cleveland Women’s Ordination Conference - “Hope is an Open Door” – Reflections on the life and legacy of Mary Luke Tobin (1908-2006), noon-1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, Capital University Campus, 1468 West 9th St. Former president of the Sisters of Loretto, she was the only American woman admitted to Vatican II, a friend of Thomas Merton, social activist and advocate of women’s ordination. Reservations for box lunch: 216-381-8747.

St. Peter Church - “The Voice of Women in Islam” presentation by Fadia Hamid, M.Ed., an Egyptian Muslim teacher and mother, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, Cosgrove Center, Superior Ave. and East 18th St. Information: 216-556-4618.

Magnificat High School - Seventh Grade Day, 8:45 a.m.-noon, Friday, Oct. 13, with brunch, school tour and close look at new Magnificat Center for the Performing Arts; reservations, by Oct. 2, 440-331-1572. Annual Open House, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23; information: 440-331-157.

Benedictine High School - Open House for 6th thru 8th grade boys and families, noon-3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15 (preceded by 11 o’clock Mass in the Abbey Church) and 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25. Information: 216-421-2080, Ext. 336.

St. Ignatius High School - Open House, 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, for students of all grade levels and their families; no registration necessary. Information: 216-651-0222, Ext. 215.

Community of St. Malachi Regular Weekly Collections

Please make checks payable to Community of St. Malachi

Bob Simoneau, CSM Treasurer

* * * * * * * * *  

  Back to Top