Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta Parish
Forward in Faith Chronology
· February 2004
o Forward in Faith Document released by Archbishop Prendergast
· March 2004
o Parish task force struck to study report & determine next steps
· April 2004
o Community meetings held at both St. Joseph’s & St. Stephen’s
· May 2004
o 2 Community meetings held at St. Joseph’s
o Community meeting held at St. Stephen’s
o Letter sent to Archbishop Prendergast outlining results of Town meetings at St. Joseph’s
o Pentecost Sunday homily at St. Stephen’s updated parishioners on the status of Forward in Faith progress1
· June 2004
o Letter sent to Archbishop Prendergast outlining results of Town meetings at St. Stephen’s 2
o Response received from Archbishop Prendergast3
· November 2004
o Update on Forward in Faith received from Archbishop Prendergast requesting recommendations on combining St. Joseph’s & St. Stephen’s be submitted by May 314
· January 2005
o Forward in Faith Committee comprised of members from both St. Joseph’s & St. Stephen’s is struck
· March 2005
o Letters sent to all parish groups and organizations requesting that joint meetings be held to provide specific information to the Forward in Faith Committee5
· May 2005
o Newsletter from Forward in Faith Committee distributed to parishioners with the weekly bulletin6
o Community meeting open to all parishioners was held at St. Mark’s Centre, to present the recommendations being made to the Archbishop.
o Report submitted to Archbishop Prendergast7
· June 2005
o North end Parish is constituted. Fr. Gilbert Bertrand, OMI named pastor of the “new” parish, with Fr. Hanh Van Tran, OMI named associate pastor8
· July 2005
o Joint Pastoral & Financial Councils for the North end parish installed by Archbishop Prendergast
· October 2005
o Steering Committee is struck by the Pastoral Council to facilitate progress in the Forward in Faith process
· December 2005
o Update on the progress of Forward in Faith distributed to all parishioners with the weekly bulletin9
· January 2006
o North end pastoral unit is named Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta Parish10
o Fr. George Leach, SJ agreed to facilitate the pastoral council in the process of spiritual discernment in making pastoral recommendations
· February 2006
o Michael Burke, P. Eng, contracted to complete Reserve Fund Study on all buildings as per steering committee recommendations
o 2nd Sunday of Lent homily at both Churches updated parishioners on the status of Forward in Faith progress11
· March 2006
o Pastoral Council met for an evening of prayer & discernment. Various information was reviewed in a context of prayer and reflection resulting in the recommendation to Archbishop Prendergast, that St. Stephen’s become the single place of worship for Blessed Mother Teresa Parish
· April 2006
o Recommendation officially accepted by Archbishop Prendergast12
o Community meeting scheduled for April 19 to inform parishioners of the process followed in arriving at recommendations
· June 2006
o St. Joseph’s Church closing Mass June 26, 2006
o Pastoral Council strikes “Transition Committees” to oversee and assist with amalgamation issues.
o Property Transition committee solicits ideas from parishioners for the future use of St. Joseph’s properties.
· April 2007
o Report received from Property Transition committee detailing their recommendation related to the best use of the St. Joseph’s property.13
· June 2007
o Decree of Suppression of the parishes of Saint Joseph and Saint Stephen and Decree of Establishment of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta Parish is received. 14
· January 2008
o Request received from L’Arche Halifax to purchase Sullivan St. property
· February 2008
o Parish Pastoral Council meets with L’Arche to discuss sale of Sullivan St. property
· March 2008
o Agreement of Purchase and Sale between ECL and the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation for the sale of the St. Joseph’s property closed.
o Mission Statement for Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta Parish is proclaimed. 15
· April 2008
o Parish meeting held to update parishioners of developments related to the sale of St. Joseph’s property.
Parishioners were also informed of the location of the sacred items taken from St. Joseph’s church.16
· May 2008
o Request from ECL to name development St. Joseph’s Square and to utilize the “SJ” symbol as the logo for the development approved by both the parish and archdiocese. ECL also given the Halifax Explosion windows on the stipulation that they only be used in the development on the SJC property.
· June 2008
o Diocesan Financial Council approves Sale of Sullivan St. Property to L’Arche Halifax
· December 2008
o Notification received from ECL that demolition of building would take place in near future – information shared with parishioners at Lord’s Day Masses.