Archdiocese of Glasgow – South Deanery “Pathway for Change” - Newsletter from The South Deanery

As you may know the Archbishop of Glasgow has invited the Catholic communities of Glasgow to consider the future of the Church in Glasgow. He is seeking the views of the people and priests in each deanery and each pastoral area in coming to any decisions concerning each deanery. He has especially emphasised the role of the Church as a means of evangelising the people of Glasgow. This really means bringing the Gospel message, the Good News, to all the people of Glasgow.

There have really been two aspects to this work: Namely identifying what resources are available to the Church; and how are these resources serving the purposes of evangelisation.

In order to undertake this work the Archdiocese was divided into 5 Deaneries; that is groups of geographically adjacent parishes. The South Deanery – stretching from the Clyde to the southern limits of the Archdiocese - has currently 21active parishes. There are currently 19 priests serving in these 21 parishes. The Deanery South has been divided into 5 Pastoral Areas, again adjacent parishes. These have been the units of planning giving advice on what parishes form the resources necessary for effective evangelisation.

It may be of some interest for you to know the following estimated statistics. These are the planning assumptions that currently form the basis of change in the Deanery in the South of Glasgow. Of course, some of these assumptions may not turn out to be accurate, but they are based on census data and current trends.

ARCHDIOCESE OF GLASGOW STATISTICS

The Deanery Council, which overviews the policies of the Deanery has been consulting to consider the optimum arrangements for evangelisation in the Deanery in the period to 2028. The 5 pastoral areas of the Deanery South are as below:

1. St Helen’s, Holy Cross, Blessed Duns Scotus, St Brigid’s
2. Christ the King, St Bartholomew’s, St Margaret Mary’s
3. Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady and St George’s, St Leo’s, St Anthony’s, St Constantine’s, St Albert’s, St Leo’s
4. St Mary Immaculate, St Gabriel’s, St Vincent’s, Holy Name
5. St Robert’s; St James’s, St Conval’s, St Bernard’s

This distribution and number of parishes is in alignment with:

1. The number of priests likely to be available during that time.
2. The number of churches and buildings required for the parish communities.
3. The economic viability of parishes.
4. Timescales for change will be dependent on local circumstances.
5. Future planning, e.g., for weekend Masses, should take account of the Pastoral areas.

Consideration was given to a wide range of factors, including the number of parishioners, current work of evangelisation, weekend Mass attendance, the condition of buildings, geographic location, financial viability etc and has concluded that the profile of the Deanery that will best serve the needs of the people by 2028. It should be noted that this process will not lead to the immediate closure of a large number of parishes.

The Deanery Council is currently actively engaged in how we might reduce the number of parishes from 21 to 14.  There is a process of consultation taking place.  It will not be easy to close any parish since each forms a community of the faithful.  However, we intend that rationalisation will allow the Church to form stronger more vibrant communities, and we shall keep you informed of what recommendations are made for the Archbishop.

It is also expected that this distribution of parishes would allow the emergence of certain hubs that would allow specialist provision for lay ministries to develop and impact across the Deanery.

The Deanery Council is establishing a committee to consider how evangelisation may develop within the Deanery. This will be an important group considering how parishes and other groups might operate to evangelise in the South side of Glasgow. New members for this group are welcome. The Deanery Council will keep parishes informed of decisions taken by the Archbishop as this process continues.