ARTICLES

Priests explore management role in parish

By Father Tony Marques
Special to The Catholic Virginian

I knew I had become a pastor: Last week, midway through the celebration of Sunday Mass — involving a baptism, no less — two air conditioning units quit.

The regenerative waters of holy Baptism never seem so refreshing as when church feels like a furnace!

The practical reality of shepherding a parish had crashed down on the sublime heights of Christian initiation. Having celebrated Mass, greeted the people, and taken the pictures, it was time to assess the damage and fix the problem.

That is the reality of being a pastor today. That is the kind of real-life parish incident that had brought me, along with two brother priests and four seminarians from the diocese, to a recent workshop at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore.

Over the course of three days we attended various sessions centered on the theme of “Human Resource Management in Parishes,” sponsored by the seminary’s Center for Continuing Formation.

The presentations — part lecture, part case studies — explored this important, and often confusing aspect of shepherding a parish: hiring, retaining, evaluating; and, if necessary, terminating parish staff. It also touched on the role of volunteers.

A great deal of information was communicated regarding age and sex discrimination in hiring, and the many pitfalls to be avoided.

Overall, some sensible rules of thumb emerged: the need for communication between a pastor and his staff, precise documentation, clear expectations regarding job performance, the need for regular and meaningful performance reviews, and concrete ways for improving job performance.

Throughout the workshop, consultation with the diocesan Office of Human Resources was stressed.

In perhaps what was most telling, the workshop emphasized that the expectation of excellence in hiring and job performance should not be seen as “un-pastoral” or mean; rather, these “standards of excellence” and “best business practices” are helpful to a parish in fulfilling its mission.

The workshop got me thinking about the situation back home. Our diocese, like the rest of the Church in the United States, faces the challenge of decreasing numbers of priests. In addition, the period of time in which a priest is appointed pastor is shrinking.

In my case it was two years after ordination. It has been even shorter for some of my classmates.

This makes the kind of “continuing education” I received at St. Mary’s Seminary — about the practical aspects of the priesthood — even more important.

Happily, it builds on the custom of the diocese to place seminarians in a parish for a full year in the course of theological studies, to help integrate these aspects into priestly formation.

Integration is key. As our diocese’s pastoral planning process continues, I think it’s important to realize that the priesthood is a multidimensional reality.

The Second Vatican Council famously explained the priesthood in terms of the tria munera or “three offices” of Christ: the priestly or sanctifying office, the teaching or prophetic office, and the kingly or shepherding office.

These dimensions are as interrelated and integral to the life of the ordained priest as they are to the High Priest he represents.

Where the rubber meets the road, this means that the priest should not be reduced to just celebrating Mass and hearing confessions, without damaging his identity — or his vocation to be a shepherd.

The three munera work together, so that the task of guiding a community is shaped by the priest’s teaching and sacramental celebration. Those are key perspectives brought to the day-to-day management of a parish.

Likewise, the preaching and liturgical functions are rightly enriched by the concrete experience of guiding a parish. Even the mundane aspects of management relate to the priest’s vocation to be a shepherd.

Perhaps the balance is ensuring that the priest be involved with the practical aspects of shepherding, without drowning in the details.

All of this requires collaboration with the lay faithful. Their particular expertise, hard work, and generosity are quite necessary for the success of the parish and the well-being of the priest.

Returning to my own parish, I feel better equipped to deal with administration as a result of the workshop. The information conveyed would be useful to any pastor, to help him guide a parish with the mind of Christ, and with the heart of the Good Shepherd.

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