ARCHDIOCESE OF CHICAGO  I

 

Hanover Township Renew My Church Update: March 2023

 

Discernment Process

St. Ansgar , St. John the Evangelist and St. Peter Damian Parishes engaged in the Renew My Church (RMC) discernment process through the fall of 2022 when the Grouping Feedback and Discernment team (GFDT), made up of members from each parish community, met to review and discern the future parish structure for the area.

 

Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, and Bishop Jeffrey Grob, Episcopal Vicar, are grateful to Fr. Garcia-Ferrer , Fr. Gorczyca, Fr. Ciomek and the Grouping Teams, as well as all parishioners who offered feedback through the discernment process.

 

Based on their meetings and feedback gathered from the larger parish communities , they submitted feedback to the archdiocese . The Archdiocesan Standards and Recommendations Commission, which includes representatives from across the Archdiocese of Chicago, reviewed the feedback and other information, including financial summaries, capital needs and parish trends.

 

In January, Cardinal Cupich, the archdiocese's auxiliary bishops and the archdiocese's Presbyteral Council met to discuss the Commission's discernment. At the conclusion of that discussion, the Commission and Presbyteral Council recommended taking more time for additional  discernment.

 

Since then, Bishop Grob and members of the RMC and Vicariate I staff teams held further discussion with the grouping's pastors and GFDT.Their questions and concerns about whether the current structure sufficiently meets the needs of the various cultural and language ministries within the grouping were satisfactorily addressed.

 

They brought forward a recommendation to continue with the current structure to Cardinal Cupich, the archdiocese's auxiliary bishops and the archdiocese's Presbyteral Council. Cardinal Cupich accepted this recommendation and decided:

 

No parish structural changes will take place at this time. Bishop Grob, episcopal vicar of Vicariate I, and his staff team will have ongoing dialogue with the grouping's pastors and parish leaders about the grouping's demographics and ministry implications . If in the future it becomes clear that ministry needs, in particular needs for Hispanic ministry, are no longer being supported effectively by the current structure , structural changes will then be considered.

 

As communicated earlier, St. John the Evangelist School will continue with no changes.