New parish assignments for all clergy effective within the next month
Bishop Ryan Jimenez will be implementing a new pastoral structure within the next month by reorganizing the parishes by clusters.
This initiative is a result of prayerful discernment and consultation with other bishops in order to better serve the needs of the diocese and to effectively implement the current Diocesan Pastoral Plan.
The thirteen parishes of the diocese will be grouped into 5 clusters.
Cluster 1 will be the parishes of San Roque, Santa Remedios, Kristo Rai and San Jose in Tinian. Fr. Albert Pellazar, OAR will be assigned as Pastor of Kristo Rai along with Deacon Jeff Camacho; Fr. Allan Cabatian, OAR will be the new Parish Administrator of Santa Remedios; Fr. Neil Bullos, OAR and Deacon Tom Schweiger will be assigned in San Roque Parish and Fr. Anthony Aguason will be the Pastor of San Jose in Tinian. Parish assignments will be effective on July 22, 2019
Cluster 2 will consist of the central parishes of San Jose, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cathedral and the Korean Catholic Church. Effective August 12, 2019, Fr. Jason Granado will be serving as rector of the Cathedral and at the same time Pastor of San Jose Parish (Oleai). Fr. Sid Ogumoro will serve as parochial vicar for both Cathedral and San Jose Parish and Deacon Rosiky Camacho will be the deacon for both parishes. Fr. Andrew will remain Parish Priest of the Korean Catholic Church.
Cluster 3 is composed of the southern parishes of San Antonio and San Jude. Both parishes will have Fr. Harold Funa as Pastor while Fr. Noli Lim will be serving as Chaplain for MMB Sisters and the hospital. Deacon Stan Benavente and Deacon Tony Yarobwemal will also be serving in this cluster. Parish assignments will be effective on July 22, 2019
Cluster 4 consists of the parishes of San Vicente and Santa Soledad. Effective August 12, 2019 Fr. Jesse Reyes will be assigned as pastor at San Vicente while Fr. Charlie Borja will be the new pastor at Santa Soledad.
Cluster 5 will be the two parishes in Rota – San Isidro and San Francisco de Borja. Fr. Rey Rosal will serve as pastor for both parishes while Fr. Isaac Ayuyu will be parochial vicar also for both parishes. Effective dates of parish assignments will be on August 12, 2019 as well.
At the heart of this clustering of parishes is the importance of team ministry and collaboration not only of the clergy assigned in each cluster but also of the lay ministers and parish volunteers. With this type or organization, Bishop Ryan hopes that the priests and the deacons will be able to assist and help each other beyond the parish they are assigned not only in the liturgical celebrations such as Masses, funeral, weddings and baptisms but also in the catechetical formation of the faithful and youth ministry.
On Tuesday, July 9, 2019, Bishop Ryan will meet with representatives of parish and finance councils of all parishes at Mt. Carmel Conference room in order to discuss and share with them in details this concept of parish clustering and how it will be implemented.
Clustering of parishes maybe new concept for the faithful of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa but this initiative has been implemented already for years in many dioceses in the US mainland.
By definition, a cluster is “a grouping of geographically bordering parishes working together on a shared vision and ministry plan.” Clustering involves collaboration but is a formal relationship between parishes leading to the sharing of personnel, ministries, programs and resources. All parishes, regardless of size, should explore ways of providing the most effective ministries by working with other parishes or clusters.
There are 3 major considerations in this initiative: the first is the obvious shortage of priests serving in the diocese. At the moment half of the priests working in Saipan are ‘on loan’ from other dioceses (Guam and Philippines). This year, Fr. Ken Hezel, SJ left the island for good for his retirement and Fr. James Balajadia, the most recently ordained local clergy (2015) will also leave the island next month for his advance studies at Washington DC. This obviously left a difficult challenge for Bishop Ryan to cover the needs of the parishes with the limited number of priests left available.
The second consideration is the fact that the costs of operating parishes and funding ministries are increasing, and parishes can efficiently use their limited resources by collaborating with other parishes.
The third consideration is that by organizing the parishes by clusters, the mission of the diocese, shared by all its parishes, can be carried out more effectively by combining efforts and sharing resources.
Understanding that changes are never easy for everyone, Bishop Ryan is asking all the faithful for patience, understanding, collaboration and most importantly, prayers so that we as one Church may remain faithful and united with Jesus Christ and with one another in our one journey of faith.
