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Troy parish readies for life with no pastor Rev. Donald Ophals will retire from his pastorate at St. Francis de Sales parish in Troy in June, and parishioners already know that the Albany Diocese does not have another priest available to replace him full-time. As a result, the parish is beginning the process of transitioning to an as-yet-undecided form of leadership -- most likely, a parish life director. A meeting with diocesan officials was recently held; another, open to the parish community, is planned for January. The search for a replacement has begun. Mixed feelings After 34 years as pastor, Father Ophals told The Evangelist he has mixed feelings about the change. "I would prefer that a priest could succeed me, but that's out of the question," he noted. Until his retirement, he plans to "just keep doing what I'm doing" in meeting the pastoral needs of his parish. Communication The most important of those needs is keeping people up-to-date about the search, Father Ophals said. "Things are not set in stone at this point," he explained, adding: "As much as we try to tell people, they're not all aware of what's happening." Unfortunately, he said, there isn't much he can do to assuage parishioners' feelings about no longer having a resident priest. The pastor hopes his replacement is "a people-person, someone who's able to be a spiritual guide to our people -- especially in times of death or spiritual crisis." Leadership The priest believes that the 30 or so parish life directors already trained by the Diocese are such people, "competent and well-prepared for their roles." In addition, he said that many parishioners are already in leadership roles at St. Francis parish. "We have some capable people here, with our parish council and our 'Called to be Church' group," he said. "They're interested in doing what they can to ensure smooth transitions." (12/06/07) |