Effective July 1, 2021, St. Mary, St. John the Evangelist and St. Margaret of Scotland joined together to form a single, three-parish collaborative, The Holy Rood Collaborative. Many have asked... "What is a rood?"
Let us explain...
Huh? What? Hmmmm.... Did you say RUDE?
Well, it IS pronounced that way, but is FAR, FAR, FAR from that meaning...
The Holy Rood refers to any image of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and John, the favorite disciple, standing together at the foot of The Cross.
Okay, but...
It is said that when 21-year-old Margaret had to flee to Scotland following the conquest of England in 1066, she brought her most valuable treasure with her... a true relic of the specific wooden cross upon which Christ was crucified and died. In 1070, her husband, Malcom III, founded the Abbey of Dunfermline, where she kept this relic enshrined in an ebony colored crucifix—this is how the term Black Rood came into being, which it is often referred to. In 1093, as she lay dying, it was this relic to which she clung.
Her great love and devotion of this relic inspired her son, King David I, the youngest of St. Margaret's children to erect the Holy Rood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1128. It was here that the relic continued to be safeguarded until it was regained by the English in 1346.
We look forward to our journeying together as a new collaborative family towards the One True Cross!
Thank you to ALL who helped in the discernment process of bringing the parish families of St. Mary, St. John the Evangelist and St. Margaret of Scotland into a single, three-parish collaborative through the submitting of surveys, attendance at town hall meetings, conversations and most importantly, prayer!
The following article appeared in the April 18th Bulletin, following pulpit talks from both Fr. Brian and Fr. Ray at their resepctive churches...
Over the past few months, Fr. Brian and Fr. Ray, Administrator of St. Margaret of Scotland, Lowell, and members of both the Finance and Pastoral Parish Councils from all three parishes—St. John the Evangelist, St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Mary—have been holding meetings. The idea of adding St. Margaret to the Chelmsford Catholic Collaborative has been discussed. Some of the reasons for thispartnership are as follows.
This is not a done deal. Parishioner support and prayers are needed with this grassroots proactive proposal. According to the below
schedule, Fr. Brian and Fr. Ray will host Town Hall Meetings using the capabilities of Zoom, LIVEVIEW, as well as offering in-person
attendance. At these meetings, parishioners will be able to express views and concerns as we further this exploration. It does not matter which parish you belong to; you can attend the meeting that best fits your schedule or you can attend all three! ZOOM invites will be sent via FLOCKNOTE as we get closer to these dates.
Additionally, a 3-question survey will be sent to parishioners on April 24th via FLOCKNOTE, allowing for additional input from you. For those who do not have access to a computer, paper questionnaires will be made available. Details on how to access these will be available in next weekend’s bulletin. Lastly, as we attempted to foresee questions that may arise, we have authored a Frequently Asked Questions document which you can find on the tab to the right. We kindly ask that you read through these before reaching out with questions, as you may very well find the answer there!
Adding St. Margaret to our collaborative would enrich our community. It would help to strengthen our faith sharing and sharing of finances expenses for staffing, which would hopefully allow us to add more staff and be able to meet the needs of the communities in a better way. It also would allow us to be more proactive in determining how to face what is going to happen in the not-too-distant future concerning the number of priests available to service parishes.
No, all are viable parishes.
The schedule will not be affected at this time. At some point changes may need to be made, but this would be due more to the decline of available priests rather than changes to the Collaborative.
The Daily Mass times would remain unchanged. At some point changes may need to be made, but again, this would be due more to the decline of available priests than changes to the Collaborative.
Fr. Ray will stay with the parish and continue to serve.
Yes.
The finances of each parish would not be affected. Each parish would contribute towards collaborative expenses; ie: staffing, Faith Formation, but otherwise finances would stay with the individual parish.
The staffing at St. John [offices] would remain in place. If we add St. Margaret to our collaborative we would likely increase staffing so as to meet the needs of the communities in the best way possible.
Faith Formation is doing very well with St. Margaret registrants, for all age levels, from K-Confirmation.
Yes, with areas within the bulletin for each of the respective parishes.
No.
The offices would be located at St. John’s.
In time we would explore what we would need to do to serve St. Margaret.
Each ministry would stay with their own parish, but would be able to work collaboratively as they wish.
There would be one combined Parish council, with members from each parish. Each parish would have separate Finance Councils.
Sacramental preparation would be shared by all three parishes, with celebrations at the parishioner’s parish.
They would be able to serve at all of the parishes.
We would like to move as quickly as possible, with a venture on July 1, 2021.
Each parish would keep their name, but would operate under the umbrella of the not-yet-named collaborative.
The pastors will reflect on the input they receive from parishioners and, if they find that the parishes want to move forward, they will present that recommendation to the Archdiocese for Cardinal Sean’s blessing and approval.
The Survey is NOW CLOSED... Thank you to all who participated!
Thank you to all who participated in our Town Hall meetings!
Monday, April 26 at St. John the Evangelist
LIVEVIEW, In-person and ZOOM
ZOOM invite can be found in April 25th bulletin and will be sent via FLOCKNOTE on Sunday, April 25th
Wednesday, April 28 at St. Margaret of Scotland
In-person and ZOOM
ZOOM invite can be found in April 25th bulletin and will be sent via FLOCKNOTE on Sunday, April 25th
Thursday, April 29 at St. Mary
LIVEVIEW, In-person and ZOOM
ZOOM invite can be found in April 25th bulletin and will be sent via FLOCKNOTE on Sunday, April 25th
LIVEVIEW