Leadership
A New Normal by Fr . Mark Miller , c . pp . s ., Leadership Team
At our last meeting of the incorporated members , there was great energy over the concept of the “ new normal ” as described by Sr . Sandra Schneiders . Her reflections were first shared in Ireland where she spoke to the Religious Conference , expressing her ideas to this audience as a “ trial balloon ” to see if her observations could be validated by the listeners . From her article and our own reflections , it seems to me that our membership has validated much of what she expressed . She states that understanding our vocation as “ religious ” is not what we do but rather how we are . This is our struggle as we come to a new understanding of how we are to live community life and how we give witness to that within our ministries .
This has a history within our Community , since so many of our younger priests in the past served as associates to diocesan pastors , and in addition bishops often demanded that our associates live in the rectories rather than in mission houses . But Schneiders speaks of the “ new normal ” within the context of culture . Have we maintained the posture of being a pioneer or that of a settler ? Will we continue to maintain our way of life , even if it means going out of existence , or will we be open to creating something new that will respond to the realities that have come into being , both in culture and Church ? Since then , I have thought about this “ new normal ” in terms of how it applies to parish life and especially to a parish that has a school . It has become clear that we cannot continue to do business as we have if we hope to pass on this tradition of Catholic education to the next generations .
So what has changed from the past ? Let us go back 50 years to see how people understood what it meant to be a Catholic . During that time , people by and large all understood that their lives were guided by the Six Precepts of the Church . The two most embraced were attendance at Mass on Sundays and holy days and giving of their time , talent , and treasure to support the parish . During those years , many Catholic schools also had religious sisters and brothers teaching which kept the financial costs of the faculty much lower than today . There was no need for tuition , since parents were very supportive , especially by living the kind of life that was being taught to their children in the classroom . What children were taught in the classroom was also being lived out within the home . That was the “ normal ” in those days . So , what is the “ new normal ”?
The “ new normal ” is the change in the makeup of the faculty in a Catholic school , which has increased the total financial cost of running an educational institution . But the biggest change is how parents today experience the Six Precepts of the Church . No longer can we depend on parents to bring their children to Church on Sundays and holy days . No longer can we depend on parents who send their children to Catholic Schools to support the parish continued on page 5
January 2017 • The New Wine Press • 3