After three years of the Into the Deep process, many parishes have felt the struggle, but also begun to see the growth that this process enables.

Priests, staff, and parishioners can see God’s hand at work in their parishes.

Gifts and blessings

There have been evident blessings from the Into the Deep process.

“I think the combining of resources that each parish had available was very valuable to our faith formation team; it made us stronger!” said Steve Davies, coordinator of youth ministry at Divine Mercy Parish, which is in Madison, Paoli, and Verona.

“Having three priests to work within our parish was such a blessing because now we could have a priest available to help at more faith formation events than in the past. I always felt like I was over-taxing my already over-scheduled pastors in the past.”

Patricia Frazak, a member of Divine Mercy Parish, sees many blessings at her parish.

“Coupled with Jesus’ call to ‘Follow me!’ are strategies such as OCIA, family catechesis, prayer, and service opportunities that are deepening our identity as followers of Christ and empowering us to proclaim the Gospel . . . There are plentiful opportunities to participate in the daily Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the sacraments (especially Reconciliation and Holy Communion), Adoration, and charitable service; and growing numbers of parishioners and non-parishioners are participating. I believe that all of this is the result of receiving many graces of the Holy Spirit in our parish!”

Divine Mercy Parish isn’t the only parish seeing the benefits of Into the Deep.

“We have seen a dramatic increase in the number of students participating in our faith formation program since joining parishes together,” said Paula Schuette, director of Faith formation and youth ministry at St. Pius of Pietrelcina Parish in Grant and Iowa Counties.

“It’s been amazing to see our families with children come together for classes and events. They may have to travel from their hometown or home parish to another one of our locations, but the children really benefit from getting together with more of their peers to practice their Faith . . . the Into the Deep process has addressed something we have been ignoring for years. It has brought to light the fact that we need to step outside of our home [church] to expand our network of Catholics and best utilize our priests and resources to set up the next generation for thriving in our Catholic Faith.”

Consolidated communication and record-keeping have been one advantage Fr. Jim Leeser, pastor of Nativity of the Lord Parish in Columbia and Dane Counties, has noticed.

He’s also glad that his parish can offer multiple times for family catechesis, helping serve busy families.

“I have seen our Mass attendance, the sacraments, especially weddings, and more overall stats increasing and going in the right direction,” said Father Leeser.

“It has been very fruitful, and thanks to the overall parishioners, leadership, and Praise God!”

“Having three priests who are all working together has been a great blessing,” said Jason Johnson, director of Faith formation at Nativity of the Lord Parish.

“Parishioners get to know three different priests who have different experiences and personalities.”

“One of the greatest blessings I have witnessed since embracing our new parish model has been the spirit of collaboration that has grown among our parish communities,” said Fr. Tafadzwa Kushamba, pastor of St. Pius of Pietrelcina Parish.

“While the transition has brought many changes, it has also revealed the many ways God continues to work through His people . . . I have also been deeply moved by the charity and generosity of our parishioners.”

Facing challenges

The process isn’t easy, however.

“We decided to offer faith formation on two different nights, one each at [two of our sites]. At first, it didn’t feel like it would be too much additional effort to offer identical programs on two nights in two locations,” said Davies.

“However, once the school year gets going, it can become a challenge to do all the setup and teardown twice each week, plus transporting much of what you need back and forth. Some things can be kept at each site, but other things must be shared and transported. It gives our families more options, but is definitely a lot more work for us.”

Adjusting programs isn’t the only challenge. “We started out as six church sites including 62 miles round trip,” said Father Leeser.

It’s a change to go from one pastor traveling between two churches to three priests serving all six.

“It is a harder challenge to build relationships with the families we serve given this dynamic. The change has taken a few years to adjust [to] for both the priests and the parish families.”

The distance in Nativity of the Lord Parish is a huge factor for Johnson’s work as well.

“Our churches are far away from each other, so it can be inconvenient for parishioners to get to one of the farther church buildings. When planning events or programs, we always face the challenge where we can either hold the program at one location and have many people drive a long way, or host the program at multiple sites and miss out on our whole parish getting to experience the program together.”

For many, the challenge of ITD is simply the transition itself.

“Change can be difficult, and since we’re human, some people are naturally hesitant about new or unfamiliar things,” said Schuette.

“We grumble about Mass times, locations, priests, music, finances, the bulletin, you name it. We have to be honest with ourselves about the state of the Church and the future of our parishes. We can’t keep doing what we did for years and expect our parishes to stay as they were 20 years ago . . . We need to acknowledge that coming together with other Catholics who are truly striving to live life with Christ should be our goal. That is how we set the Church up to thrive in the future. It may mean we have to drive a little further, meet new people, adjust our schedule a bit, or roll with some changes.”

Schuette wasn’t the only one to mention the difficulty of accepting change.

“What is challenging about the whole process is becoming more comfortable with detachment so that we can better accept change,” said Sarah Spielbauer, a catechist and parishioner at Nativity of the Lord Parish who attends St. Olaf Church.

“There are certain aspects of how things were done in the past that drew us to St. Olaf, but Into the Deep calls us to let go and trust in something bigger. Detachment is hard, but when it is rooted in Jesus and our Faith we know it’s necessary and will bear much fruit.”

‘The absolute necessity of trust in God’

The process is an invitation to lean more completely on God and His grace.

“I realize even more that this cannot be seen merely as a human venture that we are undertaking,” said Davies.

“When things get hard, it is usually because I have been trying to rely too heavily on my abilities (or lack thereof) to get the job done. It has reinforced in me that I need to be better at taking time to be with the Lord.”

“I am constantly reminded of the absolute necessity of trust in God and surrender to His Will. With God, all good things become possible,” said Frazak.

“Frequently calling on the Holy Spirit is helping me to let go of my will and surrender to God’s Will, [and] to build bridges between the people of the three churches that make up Divine Mercy Parish.”

“The Church can adapt to changes and remain strong,” Johnson asserted.

“Even in the midst of significant changes, the communities within the Church can continue to move forward.”

The fidelity of Catholics today will help shape the future of the Church.

“The truth is that, if we want the Church to thrive, we need to invest in our children,” said Spielbauer.

“Our hearts need to be on fire for the Lord and that fire has to be passed down. This calls us to examine our priorities and what is central and core to our family units. While yes, this falls to parents, it is clear that parents need the wisdom and support of their church communities and the diocese as well. As a community, we need to rally behind the families.”

God’s invitation to embrace the Into the Deep process is one that will ultimately be for great good.

“The Church, our loving Mother, never ceases to proclaim the Gospel, even when that requires new approaches or difficult decisions,” said Father Kushamba.

“While the path of renewal can sometimes be uncomfortable, it is ultimately guided by the Holy Spirit, who never abandons His Church. As I reflect on how far we have come, I cannot help but give thanks to God. Looking back, I see God’s providence at work in ways we could not always recognize at the beginning of this journey. What once seemed uncertain has become an opportunity for renewal, deeper collaboration, and a stronger sense of communion among our parish communities.”