Cohort 19 Parishes
Planning Phase
As part of the the Faith in Our Future pastoral planning process, Bishop O’Connell tasked parishes of the Diocese to assemble “Core Teams,” comprised of the Pastor and parish members, to “to see that the required work is completed… [and] collaborate with the parish pastoral and finance councils, as well as engage with parishioners across all ministries and populations in the parish.”1 The Parish Survey which we completed in 2016 was part of the charged work of the Core Team.
The second step in the process was meeting with our neighboring parishes, or cohorts, in order to “discuss their strengths and struggles, and share ‘best thinking’ about the future. Together, the cohort of parishes made suggestions for the future that proposed particular ways the parishes in a given area could work together and respond to each of the five goals of the Faith in Our Future process.” Holy Innocents was initially assigned, along with Mother of Mercy Parish in Asbury Park and The Church of Saint Anselm in Wayside, to Cohort 18. Over the summer of 2019, Holy Innocents was reassigned to Cohort 19, joining St. Marks in Sea Girt, St. Catherine-St. Margaret, Spring Lake and St. Rose, Belmar, St. Teresa of Calcutta, Avon and Bradley Beach. For more information about Cohort 19, visit https://gatheredasone.com or https://www.facebook.com/gatheredasone