In a letter dated December 10,1999, sent to Rev. Msgr. John T. Conway, Regional Vicar for Philadelphia South, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia, accepted the Cluster Pastoral Plan for Cluster 32, and commended the pastors and all who served on the Cluster Pastoral Planning Committee.

The six parishes of Cluster 32 are:

Epiphany of Our Lord
Holy Spirit
St. Monica
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
St. Richard
Stella Maris

Cluster 32's plan centers on these objectives:

1) To lead youth to Christ. This will be accomplished by forming an ad hoc committee that will study the feasibility of hiring a Youth Coordinator who will motivate young people to become active in their faith communities and take responsibility for the future of the Catholic Church in the area.
2) To reach out with helping hands. This will be accomplished by establishing a cluster coordinating committee to explore social service programs (for example, the elderly, single parents, substance abuse).

3) To become disciples in mission. This will be accomplished by developing a Cluster-wide plan to revitalize/evangelize the faith of our people. The parishes of the Cluster will commit to programs for evangelization that have been created by the Paulist Fathers and are endorsed by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.


4) To never stop learning. This will be accomplished by strengthening and expanding existing Religious Education Programs for adults. Cluster-wide Religious Education Programs will be centralized and rotated. This includes programs such as Liturgical Ministries, Introduction to Parish Life and Bible Study Program.

5) To reallocate the priests for a changing Church. This will be accomplished by developing a plan to fairly deal with the decrease of two priests in the Cluster as required by the Archdiocese. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish will be reduced by one parish priest. Epiphany of Our Lord Parish will be reduced by one parish priest. Pastors of the parishes of the Cluster will meet to make provisions to assist the two affected parishes in areas of Pastoral Care.

6) To call ministers for a changing Church. This will be accomplished by promoting vocations on a Cluster level. Petitions for religious vocations will be included as part of the General Intercessions on a permanent basis. All parish functions will begin with a prayer for vocations. Cluster-wide vocation days/retreats will be held.

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Editor's Note: Attached, please find a background sheet explaining Cluster Pastoral Planning, as well as a summary of the Cluster 32 plan. Media inquiries should be directed to Rev. Msgr. John T. Conway at 215-476-7484.

Contact
Donna Crilley
Communications Assistant
215-587-3747