The bishop called for a pastoral planning process, United in Christ, which is taking place in the seven deaneries of our diocese. The Iron Hill Deanery is comprised of nine parishes: Good Shepherd (Perryville, Md.), Holy Family (Newark), Immaculate Conception (Elkton, Md.), Resurrection (Pike Creek), St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (Bear), St. John/Holy Angels (Newark), St. Joseph (Middletown), St. Margaret of Scotland (Glasgow), and St. Thomas More Oratory (University of Delaware).
The priests of the deanery recommended parish representatives to be on the leadership team. Our leadership team began work in May 2023, by learning about the deanery planning process, getting to know each other, and over the summer becoming familiar with the parishes in their deanery. In September, we created a survey to assess deanery needs. October was spent encouraging as many parishioners as possible to complete the survey, available on paper, online, and at in-person sessions. In November, the leadership team and deanery priests have been processing survey results. Our plan is to create 3-4 goals for the future of the deanery by Jan. 24, the feast of St. Francis de Sales, our diocesan patron.
What is the value of this pastoral planning process for our deanery? The reality is that there is a decline in both the number of clergy and church attendance. In 2007 we had 93 diocesan and religious order priests in active ministry in our parishes. In 2015 there were 81. In 2023 there are 69, a 25% decrease.
In the Iron Hill Deanery, Mass attendance in 2007 was 10,798 with 47 Masses. In 2023, that number was 5,778 with 39 masses. There is a clear absence of youth and families coming to church. While some parishes do better than others, the reality is that church attendance has changed significantly in the last 25 years.
We are grateful for the diligent efforts of many faithful, dedicated people over the decades. Much of what has been done in handing on the faith is no longer as effective as it once was. Too many of our inherited structures, institutions, and ways of doing things now regrettably inhibit rather than serve the church’s mission and the formational needs of people today. Rather than “doubling down” on once effective but now inadequate strategies from a previous era, it is time for us to courageously “cast into the deep” by letting go of these things, so that with God’s help we might reimagine and realign our parishes, structures, and other resources for the sake of evangelization, discipleship, and mission in our contemporary times. This is especially true if we are going to faithfully fulfill Jesus’ mandate to “go make disciples” in the present as well as build a healthier and holier reality to leave for future generations.
I am impressed that Bishop Koenig has asked the laity for its input as a more grassroots process and placed the planning in the deaneries instead of the administration of the diocese deciding what is best for our future. The process follows the Synodality model (the worldwide listening of what we do well and what we can do better), a hopeful place to begin.
This planning process invites us to consider creative ways to share resources and personnel so that we can become more effective with fewer resources. Another hope of the process is that we can help our Catholic brothers and sisters who have left the church because of problems and concerns, and reconnect with Christ, the summit and source of our lives.
Father Ed Ogden, OSFS, is dean of Iron Hill Deanery and pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland in Glasgow.
