After prayerful discernment, deliberation, and dialog, your pastor Rev. John P. Alvarado, who has devotedly shepherded your parish family since 2000, has asked Bishop Checchio to retire from active priestly ministry. Bishop James has granted Father John’s request and thus Fr. John will step down as your pastor, and another priest will be appointed to lead your parish community in early September. As you are reading this here, he will be verbally sharing this information with you this weekend.
Pastors are appointed by the bishop to lead local parish communities and to provide for their pastoral care. They share in the bishop’s ministry of teaching, sanctifying, and governing. With the bishop’s mandate, and with the assistance and support of other clergy and the lay faithful, the pastor has full responsibility for shepherding the local church community. To facilitate the appointment of a successor to Fr. Alvarado, Bishop Checchio has initiated a consultation process to elicit input from your entire parish community, including clergy, staff, parish community, and ministry leaders, and all parishioners to determine what Sacred Heart Parish hopes for in its new Pastor. This consultation process includes meetings with both parish staff and all interested parishioners.
The meetings for parishioners will be held on Tuesday, March 28, at 1:30PM and 7:00PM in your Church. These general meetings will be facilitated by Rev. Msgr. John Fell, Director of Priest Personnel for the Diocese. The team will welcome members of your Pastoral and Finance Councils, Trustees, any other ministry leaders, and all parishioners who wish to attend. All are invited and encouraged to participate.
Through these guided listening sessions, information will be gathered from parishioners that will assist the Bishop and Priest Personnel Board to better understand the parish’s current status and needs. It must be clearly understood that this is a listening session only and that the information gathered from parishioners at this meeting will be one factor among many which the Priest Personnel Board will consider in recommending candidates and the Bishop will consider in ultimately choosing the next Pastor of The Church of the Sacred Heart. This consultation is not to solicit the names of individual priests, and these will not be discussed.
For any parishioners who might be unable to attend in person, there is also an option to be heard via email by writing to Msgr. Fell at JFELL@DIOMETUCHEN.ORG no later than March 28. If you choose this option, please reflect on the following points:
- the nature and current status of Sacred Heart Parish and its ministries, programs, facilities, etc.,
- the qualities you feel would be most needed by the new pastor,
- the most salient features of the parish that the new pastor should be aware of,
- what you are most proud of at your parish, and
- the most pressing needs that you think the new pastor must be able to address in the short term.
All parishioners are asked to join in prayer that the Holy Spirit may guide and illumine this process and are invited and encouraged to participate in person or by email to help the diocese more fully understand the status and needs of the entire Sacred Heart Parish Family.
Thank you so much for your kind assistance in this important matter.
