December 4, 2009
Priest pastor to be appointed for Good Shepherd Church
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
Parishioners at Good Shepherd Church in Evansville will see a change in leadership early next year; Deacon Ed Wilkerson and Father Attila Fröhlich relinquished their positions Nov. 19, and informed parishioners at parish Masses Nov. 21 and 22.
Deacon Wilkerson and Father Fröhlich have served as pastoral life coordinator and resident sacramental minister, respectively, since September 2006.
Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger said the parish has been “open listed” for a priest pastor — meaning that the Priests Personnel Board, chaired by Father Stephen Lintzenich, would accept applications and make a recommendation to Bishop Gettelfinger.
Bishop Gettelfinger said a priest pastor will be appointed to the parish; he hoped to make the appointment in January.
The 2010 Yearbook and Directory of the Diocese of Evansville (now in preparation) will show registered parish membership of 774 families, or 2,329 individuals. The parish K-8 school has 327 students; Judy VanHoosier is the principal.
Good Shepherd Church was established “in the Bean Patch” in 1955, growing rapidly over the years — building a “gym church” and opening a school, building a new church, expanding the school several times, and most recently recovering from a fire and expanding parish facilities.
Father James Hannigan was the founding pastor, serving from 1955 to 1963. Succeeding pastors include Father Richard Hoffman, from 1963 to 1970; Father August Bush, from 1970 to 1983; Father Kenneth Herr, from 1983 to 1993; Father Ted Tempel, from 1993 to 2002, and Father Joseph Kane, from 2002 to 2006.
Deacon Ed Wilkerson, 60, was ordained as a permanent deacon on Oct. 4, 1985 and assigned to St. Joseph Church in Evansville. In 1987 he began full time service at Good Shepherd as pastoral associate, a position he held until September 2006, when he was named pastoral life coordinator.
Father Attila Fröhlich, 43, was ordained June 9, 2001. He has served as associate pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Newburgh and at Holy Rosary Church in Evansville. He was pastor of St. Bernard Church in Rockport and St. Martin Church in Chrisney from 2005 to 2006. He has served as resident sacramental minister at Good Shepherd since September 2006.
In previous decades, the parish often enjoyed the presence of a priest pastor and another priest as associate pastor or in residence. Today, seven parishes in the diocese are under the leadership of a pastoral life coordinator, and several new titles have joined the lexicon of parish leadership positions.
Parishioners have learned the difference between associate pastor — always a priest — and a pastoral associate, who is not. Less familiar are sacramental minister and presbyteral moderator.
The diocesan Office of Adult Formation provides descriptions.
A pastoral associate is “a professional minister who collaborates with the pastor or pastoral life coordinator and parish team/staff to implement the mission of the parish.”
Pastoral associates may have responsiblities that include leading communal prayers, scheduling liturgical ministers, processing marriage annulment cases, preparing families for infant baptism and other tasks related to liturgy and sacraments. A pastoral associate may also be engaged in pastoral care to the sick and in ministry to the be-reaved, spiritual formation and administrative tasks, all in ac-cord with the needs of the par-ish.
A pastoral life coordinator, in accord with canon law, “is appointed by the diocesan bishop with the pastoral care of a parish. In collaboration with a Presbyteral Moderator and Sacramental Minister appointed by the diocesan bishop, the Pastoral Life Coordinator has the responsibility of overseeing the entire Catholic community within a specific parish.”
As the one responsible for the entire Catholic community in a parish, the pastoral life coordinator “is expected to provide pastoral leadership and service to meet the sacramental, temporal, formational, and other ministerial needs of the parish.”
The sacramental minister “is a diocesan or religious priest who is appointed by the bishop to provide sacramental ministry for a parish whose leader is the pastoral life coordinator.”
The sacramental minister collaborates with the pastoral life coordinator and appropriate committees to provide sacramental ministry for the parish.”
The presbyteral moderator is a priest who provides oversight and support to the pastoral life coordinator.” Father Lintzenich served as the presbyteral moderator for Deacon Wilkerson.
To see more details of the ministerial and managerial responsiblities of parish leaders, see www.evansville-diocese.org and click on Adult Formation.