All Are One in Christ Jesus

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Over a year ago, our Diocese began a major new program with the reinstitution of parish clusters in response to the initiatives suggested by the Seventh Diocesan Synod. A cluster is a regional grouping of parishes united to share experiences of ministry, resources and the talents of their members. The chief purpose of clusters is twofold. First, they are meant to help parishes to meet the pastoral needs of their people more effectively by sharing ideas and resources on the local level. Second, clusters are to strengthen the unity among parishes and throughout the Diocese by bringing people together in work and prayer. In both respects, clusters primarily exist to give pastors and those who work in parochial ministry the support and resources they need to become more effective servants of the Gospel.

From their inception, clusters began a variety of initiatives in education, adult faith formation and outreach to the poor. The men and women involved in the cluster meetings have drawn closer together in mutual cooperation and support. Many feel a new sense of vigor in their efforts to lead the People of God to know, love and serve the Lord Jesus. These developments are very heartening. I pray that they will continue.
 
I recognize that clusters are only beginning to take shape. They will continue to evolve over the next few years. This evolution will require the constant guidance and support of all who are involved in clustering. To assist in this task, I created the Office of Cluster Planning and Collaboration. I am grateful for the excellent work that this Office has done over the past year to direct the work of the clusters. I urge everyone involved in parochial ministry to continue to cooperate and support the work of the Office.

I offer you this pastoral letter mindful of my unique responsibility to guide and direct the clustering process in our Diocese. I do so with a spirit of gratitude for all the good work that has already been done.  I hope that the future work of clustering will continue to enrich the pastoral and spiritual work of our Church.

I. Theological and Ecclesial Meaning of Clustering

The process of clustering has a twofold ecclesial foundation. First, clusters are consistent with the reality of the Church as the Body of Christ. Second, they provide a new way in which we can live out the call of discipleship that each of us received in baptism. To better understand the proper role that clustering can play in the life of our parishes, we must first reflect again upon the nature of the Church.

A. The Church as the Body of Christ

The mystery of the Church as the Body of Christ is the starting point for much of the work of our recent Diocesan Synod and subsequent consultations. It was Saint Paul who first noted that just as the body is made up of many parts, each unique and necessary for the good of the whole, so too the Church as the Body of Christ is made up of many members who play an integral, unique and indispensable role in building up the Church.1 In baptism we are incorporated into Christ's Mystical Body that has the Lord Himself as its Head and the Holy Spirit as its animating and sanctifying presence. When we are made members of Christ's Body, we are each given a role in the Church that unites us to Christ and one another. Thus, what is required from each of us is a true and meaningful participation in the life of the entire Church.

The Church as the Body of Christ expresses itself in our midst in a variety of ways. The Church comes alive on the local level when the baptized gather with their priests to carry out the Church's mission in the local parishes. The Church is also made manifest in the communion of local parishes around the Diocesan Bishop as the chief shepherd of the People of God. The unity of the mystical Body of Christ also extends to the universal Church insofar as the Pope, as the successor of Saint Peter and head of the college of bishops, brings all the bishops of the world into communion. Finally, the Body of Christ extends to all those who have been baptized in Christ at every time and place. Thus, the Body of Christ achieves its full expression in our unity with the Communion of Saints.

Clustering has broadened our experience of the Church's unity as the Body of Christ. It has fostered a spirit of communion among local parishes and their members. By doing so, clustering has allowed groups of parishes to address issues and concerns that transcend both their boundaries and their ability to respond effectively. Clustering reminds us that no single parish receives a fullness of the gifts and talents bestowed by our Heavenly Father. Rather, each parish can grow richer by sharing with its neighbors the ministries and gifts found in its midst.

True unity in the Church, however, cannot be realized unless the proper roles, vocations and ministries given to each member of Christ's Body are recognized and respected. Thus, clusters must never deviate from their primary work: to strengthen the local ministries of the member parishes. What makes every parish vibrant is the mutual sharing of gifts, talents and ministries among its members. Clusters enhance this vitality by extending the sharing of resources, personnel and talents among parishes. It is my hope that this mutual cooperation will enrich those who faithfully minister in our parishes by supporting and empowering their work.

Clustering has also strengthened the Diocesan Church by drawing people together in work and prayer. It has deepened the experience of unity among neighboring parishes, in vicariates and throughout the Diocese. I pray that the clusters will deepen the communion of faith among all who make up the Body of Christ both on the parochial and diocesan levels.

B. Our Baptismal Call to Discipleship

In addition to giving expression to the unity of the Church as the Body of Christ, clustering has also become an effective means by which our personal call to discipleship can be realized.

When we were made members of the Body of Christ in baptism, we were freed from the slavery of sin and received the promise of eternal life. We also received the call to become disciples of Christ in the world. To be a disciple means that we are chosen by the Lord to carry His message of salvation to the world. We bear witness to this message of salvation both in word and action all the days of our lives.

When Christ sent the first disciples he did so in pairs, to illustrate the communal nature of discipleship.2  Discipleship is more than an individual pursuit but a communal vocation. As members of the Body of Christ we are incorporated into the Church as an interdependent community of faith. Thus, discipleship is most effective when it is lived in collaboration with those around us; to the extent that clustering has fostered unity among local parishes, it has provided additional ways by which we can live the call of discipleship.

Since discipleship presupposes collaboration among all those baptized, we must be clear about the true meaning of collaboration. "Collaboration means that we work together for a common cause. In the Church, it means we must share our gifts, talents and vocations for the building of the Body of Christ, the Church. This spirit of collaboration is an obligation given to us in baptism. For if the life of God dwells in each of us, then we must share the fruits of that divine life with one another."3  Collaboration among the baptized is not optional, nor is it made necessary because of the growing shortage of priests. It is a valuable expression of who we are as members of Christ's Body, each chosen to enrich and strengthen our common life by sharing our gifts for the glory of Christ.
 
Traditionally, the call to discipleship has been answered in our parishes in many collaborative ways. Pastors, members of their pastoral staffs, dedicated religious men and women and faithful laity have worshiped the Lord together in prayer and sacrament. They have also formed children in faith, prepared adults for the Easter sacraments, assisted the poor and immigrants, fought against injustice and discrimination, evangelized those who are seeking meaning in their lives and aided the elderly and sick. Discipleship has also been lived faithfully on the diocesan level through the committed work of priests, religious and laity in our diocesan offices, institutes, tribunals and commissions. Without such dedication, the important work of the Diocese that benefits all the people of Brooklyn and Queens would be impossible.

Clustering has given us the added opportunity to live the collaborative spirit of discipleship among parishes in new ways. Cluster meetings allow priests to reflect together upon their ministry, strengthen their unity and build a more abiding sense of fraternity within the presbyterate. Deacons can share their gifts and skills with the People of God inside and outside of their parishes. Dedicated religious and laity who work in positions of leadership also have new means and resources by which they can better fulfill the call of discipleship under the guidance of their pastors. In all these respects, discipleship is being lived in new and exciting ways because of the work of clusters.

II. Clustering and the Life of the Church

As we reflect upon the meaning of clustering in our Diocese, we must examine how it can assist the bishop, pastors, pastoral ministers and the faithful to live their proper and unique ministries within the Church. I am committed to ensure that our clusters will always be used effectively and properly within the Diocese for the service of all.  

A. The Office of Diocesan Bishop

The Diocesan Bishop fulfills a unique and irreplaceable role in the life of a diocese. As a successor of the apostles, he is the one chosen to lead God's people in the way of salvation through a deeper knowledge and love of the Lord Jesus. He does so by his threefold office as the supreme teacher, sanctifier and servant of God's people.
 
The teaching of the faith is central to the ministry of the bishop. "Bishops, with priests as their co-workers, have as their first task 'to preach the Gospel of God to all men,' in keeping with the Lord's command."4  Preaching the Gospel requires handing on the Deposit of Faith that comes to us in the Scriptures and Tradition. A bishop does this by virtue of his teaching office, the strength of his words and a personal witness of faith. As members of the Magisterium, each bishop is also appointed a guardian of the Deposit of Faith. It is his duty to ensure that the Catholic faith is preserved and handed on to future generations in an authentic manner, free from all corruption and error.
 
The bishop also shares in a unique way the ministry of sanctifying the People of God. "The bishop is 'the steward of the grace of the supreme priesthood,' especially the Eucharist which he offers personally or whose offering he assures through the priests, his co-workers."5  Through the ministry of word and sacrament, the bishop and his priests lead the People of God to a deeper holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit. The members of the Church are strengthened by the gifts of the Spirit to seek a life of true conversion and peace. In his ministry of sanctification, the bishop is the shepherd of the souls of all the faithful who are entrusted to his care.
 
Finally, the bishop is called to govern the Church in a spirit of true service. Just as the Good Shepherd laid down His life for His sheep, so also the bishop serves His people as a shepherd of unity and love. This unity extends throughout the diocese as the bishop calls upon all the baptized to share their gifts and talents for the greater good of the Church as well as their own salvation. It also extends to
the universal Church, uniting each local Church to the larger Body of Christ that includes the Communion of Saints and all the baptized of every nation and race, time and place. This unity is an essential characteristic of the Church and cannot be realized without the ministry of the bishop.

B. The Bishop and the Clusters

The process of clustering has begun to assist me to fulfill my unique ministry as your bishop in a number of ways. First, every bishop exercises his ministry in collaboration with all members of the Church, each with their proper vocation. Whenever anyone becomes a more effective minister of teaching, preaching, praying, sanctifying or serving one another in charity, he or she assists the bishop to realize the fullness of his ministry of service to the Church. I am grateful to the Lord that clustering has begun to facilitate a healthy collaboration among many priests, deacons, religious and members of the laity. This collaboration has enriched and strengthened parochial ministry in many areas of the Diocese. This new collaboration will also assist me to fulfill my ministry of teaching, sanctifying and serving the People of God in Brooklyn and Queens.
 
Since priests are co-workers of the bishop in his threefold ministry, their continued participation in the clustering process and the personal and ministerial growth that will flow from such participation will greatly enrich the life of the Church and my ministry as your bishop. More specifically, clustering has strengthened the ministry of the priests and deacons to teach and preach the Gospel more effectively. It has also begun to reawaken a deeper sense of fraternity among priests that will enrich their personal spirituality and common life.
 
All parish leaders, including religious and laity, are also collaborating more deeply because of the clustering process. This collaboration strengthens the essential unity of the Church. It also strengthens my ministry as the chief shepherd and servant of unity. These new forms of collaboration include shared programs for teaching and forming our youth in the Christian life, work on behalf of immigrants, adult faith formation and outreach to the poor. Some clusters have identified the need to empower the lay faithful to assume more fully their mission, duties and responsibilities in the Church. Others have begun to bring the faithful together in prayer and the worship of the Lord.  Still others have begun programs to unify communities of diverse languages, cultures and ethnic backgrounds so that the spiritual and temporal needs of God's people can be met. In all these ways clustering has begun to reinvigorate the life of the Church in Brooklyn and Queens and assist me in my ministry to preach the Word of God, sanctify God's people and serve the Church in love.
 
It is important to remember, however, that the work of each cluster should never confuse, misrepresent or restrict in any way the proper ministry of its participants. It remains to the bishop alone and his representatives to guide and approve the initiatives of each cluster. Further, the clusters can never infringe upon the canonical rights and duties of the pastors involved. Rather, if the participants of each cluster embrace a true spirit of collaboration, their decisions will respect and enhance the unique character of every ministry in the Church.

C. The Pastor and the Clusters

 The Church reminds us that the pastor of each parish plays a unique and indispensable role in its life. "The pastor is the proper shepherd of the parish entrusted to him, exercising pastoral care in the community entrusted to him under the authority of the diocesan bishop in whose ministry of Christ he has been called to share. In accord with the norm of law he carries out for his community the duties of teaching, sanctifying and governing, with the cooperation of other presbyters or deacons and the assistance of lay members of Christ's faithful."6  It is the pastor who is obliged to see to it that the Word of God in its entirety is preached to his parishioners.  Through the Sunday homily, the oversight of all catechetical formation and most especially the instruction of the young, the pastor fulfills this essential aspect of the ministry to preach the Gospel of Christ to all.7
 
The pastor's ministry is also dedicated to deepening the holiness of his people. The sanctification of his parishioners must be each pastor's constant concern. It will prompt him to lead his people to a deeper communion with Christ by the celebration of the sacraments and other forms of communal and personal prayer. "The pastor is to see to it that the Most Holy Eucharist is the center of the parish assembly of the faithful; he is to work to see to it that the Christian faithful are nourished through a devout celebration of the sacraments . . ."8  I believe that there is no greater pastoral service than to lead members of the Church into a deeper union and love of the Lord Jesus. In this work, the pastor plays a unique and indispensable role.
 
Over this past year, the clusters have assisted our pastors to fulfill their ministry in three ways. First, clustering has engendered a spirit of collaboration and cooperation that has reinvigorated the life of many parishes. Second, it has brought new resources and talents to parochial problems that pastors could not effectively address previously without help. Third, it has fostered a renewed sense of cooperation and fraternity among local pastors, mutually assisting them in their work as shepherds of God's people. In all these respects, many pastors have embraced the clustering process as a welcome and effective aid in their ministry.
 
In order to continue to reap these benefits and to take full advantage of clustering, it is important that all pastors foster within themselves and the members of their staffs a true spirit of collaboration. Collaboration begins by acknowledging the generosity of the Lord from whom all our talents, resources and gifts flow. It is a spirit that is nourished by a true humility that recognizes that we grow stronger only when we share our experiences and talents with one another. Collaboration is further nurtured by a willingness to listen to the ideas and suggestions of those with whom we minister, both in our parishes and in the clusters. Therefore, I urge all pastors to create structures and processes within the parishes, such as regularly held staff meetings, which enable collaborative planning and action to take place for the benefit of the entire parish. Collaboration asks for a commitment to meet the needs of the Church that transcend the boundaries of each parish. In short, a pastor who is willing to serve with a true collaborative spirit will be greatly assisted in his special ministry as the shepherd of his parishioners.
 
There are natural limits, however, to the benefits that clustering can bring to the work of pastors. Cluster deliberations can never replace the need for each pastor to discern the spiritual needs of his people and determine the best means by which those needs can be met. Nor can clusters infringe upon or restrict the canonical authority of pastors in their work as shepherds of God's people. It remains the moral and spiritual obligation of each pastor to teach, sanctify and serve his people. Clusters can assist our pastors to realize this obligation by sharing resources and ideas with them and their staffs. Cluster facilitators can also play an important role in assisting pastors to fulfill their necessary and vital ministry. However, it remains the pastor's duty to ensure that the spiritual and pastoral needs of his people are met.
 
In summary, the work of the clusters, animated by a spirit of collaboration and charity, must always enhance the ministry of the pastors. It can never substitute or compete with their proper canonical mission in the Church. The clustering process will aid and enhance this proper mission, and so I ask my pastors to enter into this process with the fullest spirit of commitment and collaboration.

D. The Life of the Parishes and the Clusters

Those who live and work in our parishes have benefited greatly through their participation in the clusters. Parochial ministers have begun to share resources and ideas on a monthly basis. This sharing has resulted in a burst of creativity that has reinvigorated many aspects of parish life. I wish to encourage this great work of communion and collaboration. I urge all who are involved in their local clusters to continue to work closely with their pastors and with me, so that all their labors may serve to build up the Body of Christ.
 
The proper relationship between clusters and their member parishes requires that cluster initiatives always preserve the integrity and prerogatives of the member parishes. Clusters can never replace the parish as the primary expression of the Church on the local level. Rather, clusters should enrich the spiritual and parochial life of the parishes and remain in service to them. I also expect that each cluster will observe and respect the universal law of the Church as well as all other diocesan guidelines and statutes that pertain to the prerogatives and life of parishes.
 
Clusters can assist and enrich parochial life in many ways. They can provide resources and support to the pastors and their staffs to respond more effectively to the needs that exist throughout a given neighborhood. For example, the difficulties caused by declining enrollments in some schools, the effects of racism and discrimination, the exploitation of the poor and newly arrived immigrants and the needs of the young and the elderly can easily overwhelm a single parish's ability to meet them. Through a sharing of talents and resources, clusters can assist their member parishes to meet these pastoral and social needs.
 
In terms of prayer and liturgy, clusters must not replace the parish community as the center of the worship and spiritual formation of our people. For example, priority must be given to maintain a celebration of the Sunday Eucharist in each parish community in order to preserve the integrity of its parochial life. The same is true for the celebration of the Easter Sacraments associated with the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). While the instruction of catechumens can be shared by neighboring parishes, the RCIA is designed to bring the newly baptized into the local community of faith, the parish. As a result, cluster-wide celebrations of the Easter Sacraments can never become the norm for our adult sacramental initiation. Thus, we can provide many opportunities for cluster-wide prayer and worship, including communal penance services and devotional prayers. However, each parish exists to worship the Lord, most especially in the celebration of the Eucharist. Clusters cannot infringe upon this most sacred duty of each parish community.
 
I also recognize that the clusters can be of great assistance to priests who face growing demands in their ministry. This is especially true as the number of priests active in ministry declines. In the name of the Good Shepherd, I am grateful to my brother priests who have remained diligent and generous in their ministry at the cost of great personal sacrifice. I urge them, however, to remain committed to a sacrificial spirit of devotion on behalf of their people through their presence and ministry among them.

*          *          *          *        *          *          *          
 
As the clustering process moves forward in faith, I commend our work to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Conception. May she who is the perfect disciple inspire all who serve her Son to open their hearts in a spirit of collaboration, service and unity that will allow the clusters to bring all members of the Church to a deeper faith and love of Christ.

 Most Reverend Thomas V. Daily, D.D.
 Bishop of Brooklyn
 November 1, 2001

FOOTNOTES

8 Ibid., can. 528.2.

Return to Top | Close Window