ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

CLUSTER 62 IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
Office of the Vicar for Delaware County
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia
1797 South Sproul Road
Springfield, Pennsylvania 19064-1195
Phone 610-543-6759 - FAX 610-543-6823
December 2000

This communiqué summarizes the status of the Cluster 62 Plan for the seven Catholic churches in Springfield and Drexel Hill.

Evangelization: Parishioners (laypersons) help inactive Catholics understand and become reconciled with their Church through the Landings program. Five cluster parishes have active Landings programs. Those parishes are: Holy Cross (Sister Antoinette Marie, RSM, 610-626-8266); Saint Andrew (Mrs. Mary Ann Johnston, 610-259-4711); Saint Dorothy (Sister Alice Gray, RSM, 610-853-1499); Saint Francis of Assisi (Rev. Mr. Art McGuire, 610-544-5023); and Saint Kevin (Mr. James Jansen, 610-543-4361). Contact these people for information about parish Landings programs.

Six cluster parishes have Bible Study groups. Meetings are listed in parish bulletins.

Ministry to Youth and Young Adults: The Life Teen group at Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Kevin in Springfield welcomes participation of high school students from cluster parishes. Also, teens are encouraged to participate in youth programs at Saint Andrew the Apostle, Saint Charles Borromeo, and Saint Dorothy in Drexel Hill. Parish bulletins list schedules for each parish's youth activities.

The subcommittee is considering the establishment of a cluster group for young adults. The first step will be obtaining information about the needs of those parishioners.

Mrs. Dorothy Bradley, 610-622-4825, may be contacted for additional information about ministry to youth and young adults.

Adult Education, Lay Ministry, and Family Ministry: Eighteen cluster parishioners attended the September 30, 2000, workshop for Pastoral Council members at Neumann College. A Volunteer Management workshop for organization leaders at cluster parishes is scheduled in February 2001.

Timothy Baxter may be contacted through the Saint Francis of Assisi Parish Office, 610-543-0848, for additional information about adult education.

Catholic Education: Catholic schools in the cluster are promoting Catholic education. Catholic school activities are publicized in local newspapers. All cluster churches have active Parish Religious Education Programs (in the past called CCD) for students not attending Catholic schools. Catholic teaching is provided for special education students where needed.

Mrs. Mary Tremper, 610-626-1420, may be contacted if you have questions or comments on Catholic education.

Vocations: The Archdiocese is dedicating the year 2001 to fostering and developing vocations to the diocesan priesthood. The subcommittee is focusing on parental fostering of vocations and on encouraging youth to consider religious vocations.

Thomas Fitzpatrick, 610-446-1636, may be contacted for additional information about vocations.

Social Justice: The subcommittee held an evening of reflection and prayer on social justice at Saint Francis of Assisi on November 30, 2000. The evening was publicized in the cluster churches and in area newspapers. About 40 people attended from the seven cluster parishes.

An information night on a way to assist homeless families will be presented by the National Interfaith Network at Our Lady of Charity Parish in Brookhaven on Thursday, February 8, 2001, at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

David Dubé, 610-328-0536, may be contacted about information on social justice issues.

Father Peter Welsh informed the Implementation Committee about his role as Coordinator of Hispanic Ministry in Delaware County where the number of Hispanics has increased to over 8500 people (1999 estimated Hispanic population).

The six subcommittees continue to implement their objectives. They utilize information and resources from cluster parishes, from the Archdiocese and from other sources in the region to implement the Cluster 62 Plan.

The Implementation Committee will meet again in February. The Cluster 62 parishes are working together and sharing resources to address those issues where the cluster can work more effectively than individual parishes to meet the changing needs of parishioners and to strengthen and renew cluster parishes.

Quarterly communiqués on progress and activities will be issued to parishioners of cluster parishes.

The Cluster Implementation Committee assists the Vicar of Delaware County, Reverend Thomas J. Smith, in oversight and liaison for the Cluster Plan. Parishioners wishing to assist any Cluster 62 subcommittees may consult with their pastor or their parish cluster representatives who are: