Spirituality Centers

The Typical Roman Catholic parish cannot be a model for the
communities of the Catholic Diocese of One Spirit. Such a
Roman parish system was formulated a long time ago, and has
now grown up with a financial structure to support both it and
the activities it carries on. Moreover, existing Roman Catholic
parishes or Protestant congregations usually fulfill the demand
for such facilities. The inability of a Catholic Diocese of One
Spirit priest to be able to finance that kind of typical parish
structure may be the blessing in disguise that lets us rethink
what a different kind of "parish" should be in the 21st century.

The recent historical parish that Americans are used to is
stereotypically a large structure with thousands of families that
provides, primarily, liturgical and structured sacraments. It is for
"Catholics Only" and is generally not designed to be of service
to people who are not Catholic.

It appears, however, that super structures of thousands of
parishioners are not as "user-friendly" as a smaller parish of
200-400 parishioners, some of whom would be very active,
some just showing up for Sunday services and nothing else, but
all of whom would be recognized, known, and feel themselves
part of a "family."

Occasionally, such a parish would or could grow larger, but it
seems that contemporary society, with its loss of community
and extended family relationships, would be well served by a
spiritual institution that built upon real interpersonal
relationships.

Moreover, such a structure, often costing several million dollars,
requires the historical financial demonstration of a diocese that
has been around decades, perhaps a century or more. The
diocese needs to be able to prove consistent income, through
various pastors coming and going, sufficient to repay such a
large loan. In order for a "parish" such as might be formed by a
Catholic Diocese of One Spirit priest to be able to afford the
purchase, or even the long-term rental, of such a large property,
a consistent history of contributions over many years, made
through the terms of not just one pastor who might have been
loved, but through many pastorates would be required.
Moreover, many of the leaders of the parish would be required
to personally guarantee the loan, so that if the parish itself
failed to live up to its loan obligations, the lender would take the
security put up by the endorsing parishioners. Such a scenario,
if attempted, is not one that makes for a happy parish life.

Unless a Catholic Diocese of One Spirit parish is content to
rent small facilities (e.g., community centers or schools) that do
not require strong credit, it will never be able to grow into
something the size of a reasonable parish facility. ... at least
under the expected financing routes in place today. Some other
way to finance a church facility must be utilized.


What a Spirituality Center Should Do

Before that, however, let us expand the idea of a Catholic
Diocese of One Spirit facility. We are a place that serves the
whole community, and not just its Catholic element. We are a
place that the surrounding neighborhoods - and people within
them who may or may not "go to church" - can feel is a place to
have their children baptized, their marriages blessed, their
dead buried, their teens feel secure and invited, their visions
expanded through discussion groups and seminars, their focal
point turned toward this community ... and all whether or not
they actually belong to our church or come to our services. In
order not to confuse such a facility with a typical parish, it is
named differently, to identify its new standing in the community:
"The (Name of Neighborhood) Spirituality Center".

Of course, each Spirituality Center could also be the location of
"The (Name of Neighborhood) Catholic Community", and each
Sunday, Mass held. The Catholic Community would run the
Spirituality Center as a service to others. Should others, liking
our openness, our acceptance of all, and our lived philosophy,
feel attracted to our Sunday services, they are also most
welcome. However, recruitment is not our purpose; living the
loving life Christ did is our purpose. Each Catholic Community
is a focal point of bringing love and service to others.

Each Catholic Community has its internal activities in addition
to its open programs to the community. It may engage in help to
an inner city charity (homeless shelter, battered women's
shelter, children's home, etc.), or to a poor foreign area ("sister
parish" for El Salvador, necessities of life to war-torn regions,
health care assistance for an African village, etc.), or sponsor a
big brothers or big sisters program locally to provide adult
companionship to youth with no father or mother. It could be any
of hundreds of activities. Such activities are also open for local
people to join with the Catholic Community, not just for the bona
fide members of the community who attend church regularly.
When people come to weddings, funerals or seminars, they get
flyers on the ways we lend assistance to others, and are invited
to join that activity (without having to join the church or attend
our services).


How to Acquire a Facility
for a Spirituality Center

A Spirituality Center should not look like every other church, for
it should convey physically the fact that is it not like every other
church. When people see that this looks different, they then
expect it to be different. At least they are inquisitive. It is
imperative for us that a facility be set in lush (or potentially
lush!) gardens or panoramic vistas, where the beauty of nature
enhances the beauty of the thought process that goes on there.
The more visible it is to a well-traveled road in the community,
the better. However, it should avoid, if possible, being set up
against a main highway, as many of the events (weddings,
services, socials, discussions, etc.) will take place outdoors,
and if the facility is too near a main highway, the traffic noise
will be unnerving and will make the outdoor experience an
unpleasant one. The building itself should not look like a typical
church, but more like a bed-and-breakfast meeting facility. In
this way, it has warmth and appeal to the locality.

The Spirituality Center Site should ideally be able to
accommodate weddings for 200 guests, services to seat
approximately 250, funerals, seminar and discussion groups,
etc. It will need an adequate kitchen, or, more probably, a clean
room for caterers.

For most localities, building is a lengthy period, often taking
18-24 months just for permits, followed by another year of
construction. To jump start the process, an existing facility
could be sought. They can be found, but patience must be
exercised. Something will always turn up, and the first building
or so that is looked at should not be settled on simply because
it is available. The community must be very careful to obtain the
right attributes, if the property itself is to have its own
attractiveness to add to the attractiveness of the Spirituality
Center activities. Any contract must have a contingency period
in it for as long as it might take to get a zoning or permit to use
the facility as a church (if such is required by the locality).


Financing the Acquisition

The Catholic Diocese of One Spirit does not have ways to help
its priests and communities finance the acquisition of existing
properties for Spirituality Centers. The Catholic Diocese of
One Spirit does not guarantee loans, because it cannot.

You should first look to potential bed and breakfasts or
beautiful homes, not in subdivisions with homeowner
covenants. Financing the purchase of such a property is
difficult, but here are some possibilities to consider: Perhaps
the priest or another member of the community could purchase
the home, live in a part of it, and rent it out for spirituality center
services, thus deriving an income from such rentals. Perhaps
several families could pitch in together as an investment.
Perhaps, on the rarest of occasions (and worth pursuing),
some generous benefactor would donate such a facility
(tax-deductible). Perhaps you can lease a facility with the
option to buy from someone wanting to retire or move away,
and who has not used it as a spirituality center, which has the
potential for greater market (income) interest. There are lots of
potential ways to obtain financing for the purchase of a
spirituality center, but they are all difficult and time-consuming.
No reason not to keep this in mind. Remember, the Holy Spirit
is on your side, and this will happen if 1) it is supposed to, and
2) you work hard at it.