As the Trialogue Steering Committee has begun to use newsletters and Town Hall gatherings to share details and answer questions about the proposed reunification of the Dioceses of Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, and Milwaukee, we’ve attempted to give comprehensive explanations for the decisions we made as we created that proposal.
As the author of the first draft of our proposed geographic regions, which I am abbreviating as “GoFeRs,” for Geographic Fellowship Regions, I want to reflect on the elements we considered in drawing our initial map.
For many of us on the Steering Committee, these regional structures feel like a central pillar that supports the whole of the proposal for reunion. They allow us to have the bishop (and perhaps parts of their staff) in each region twice a year. With nearly 100 parishes in a reunified diocese, Sunday visitation will likely require a cycle that takes 2-3 years to complete. If the bishop will only be in your parish once every 30 months, you need to have more opportunities to connect with him or her! These week-long regional visits will allow for several gatherings and provide opportunity for folks to meet, eat, and pray with our bishop more regularly.
Additionally, these regions allow opportunities for the Mission Action Teams (MATs) we are proposing to have gatherings and trainings that can reach the people of 20 or more parishes at a time, regardless of where that gathering might happen. It does us no good to have a MAT meeting on evangelism that is situated exclusively in the Southeast corner of the state. That’s quite a drive from St.-Alban-the-Martyr in Superior! In both cases, the GoFeRs allow for increased connectivity by keeping distances manageable. This draft map allows for GoFeRs that are roughly equal in number of parishes, while not creating any regions with untenable distances for connecting in person.
The ability to meet in-person regularly is foundational to the GoFeR portion of our proposal. We all know that building friendships and community is central to every aspect of church life. Being able to have regular connections with one another and with diocesan leadership is crucial to drawing us all into new relationships with each other. That doesn’t mean that the existing relationships between members or parishes are coming to an end. Certainly there are some who have worked together in the past and are concerned that those ministries or friendships don’t play a role in this model. Perhaps a parish you’ve worked alongside for decades will now be in a separate GoFeR from your home parish. The regions are not meant to prevent people or parishes from stretching into other regions for various events or purposes, but part of the point is to "shake up" historic ties for the sake of creating new connections. (Note, I say "shake up," not "break up.")
That said, the importance of putting some folks together who have not been connected historically shouldn't be ignored. One of the hopes we have for the GoFeRs is to create some sense of regional community. Anything that already exists at this point should not be stopped. In fact, it is those very regional ministries and connections that will help the GoFeRs find their footing by sharing and replicating some of the foundations that already exist. The Diocese of Eau Claire has worked hard to create a similar regional body on a much smaller scale by creating an umbrella group that loosely combines four small parishes (under a similar model to those used in Wales and Ireland.) That program, the Northern Highlands Benefice, didn’t take anything away from those parishes. In fact, it added a new layer that allows for increased energy and support for the ministries and relationships that already existed. The fruits of that fellowship have been wonderful they can be replicated and perhaps even exceeded with these GoFeRs.
I developed more than a dozen variations of the “GoFeRs,” as we were considering this approach, each of which held some potential as well as obvious obstacles.The GoFeR draft that has been presented to you represents the best model we could develop based on your suggestions, while also providing the opportunity to develop fruit that we may haven’t even considered in the past. We also hope that the concepts the draft were developed to enable bring you some level of hope and excitement for what this portion of the proposal could mean for you and the life of your parish.
Of course we can make some changes to this draft GoFeR Map! We want to get input from you once you have given the GoFeRs Map serious consideration. We are entirely in the "adjustment phase" of every part of the proposal for reunion, and if you see things that can be tweaked to give us a better chance at hitting the ground at full speed, we want to hear from you. You’ll note that the GoFeR Map contains a list of every parish (and affiliated group) that would reside in each region. We want your feedback on any and every aspect of the draft; please send your thoughts to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
As the author of the first draft of our proposed geographic regions, which I am abbreviating as “GoFeRs,” for Geographic Fellowship Regions, I want to reflect on the elements we considered in drawing our initial map.
For many of us on the Steering Committee, these regional structures feel like a central pillar that supports the whole of the proposal for reunion. They allow us to have the bishop (and perhaps parts of their staff) in each region twice a year. With nearly 100 parishes in a reunified diocese, Sunday visitation will likely require a cycle that takes 2-3 years to complete. If the bishop will only be in your parish once every 30 months, you need to have more opportunities to connect with him or her! These week-long regional visits will allow for several gatherings and provide opportunity for folks to meet, eat, and pray with our bishop more regularly.
Additionally, these regions allow opportunities for the Mission Action Teams (MATs) we are proposing to have gatherings and trainings that can reach the people of 20 or more parishes at a time, regardless of where that gathering might happen. It does us no good to have a MAT meeting on evangelism that is situated exclusively in the Southeast corner of the state. That’s quite a drive from St.-Alban-the-Martyr in Superior! In both cases, the GoFeRs allow for increased connectivity by keeping distances manageable. This draft map allows for GoFeRs that are roughly equal in number of parishes, while not creating any regions with untenable distances for connecting in person.
The ability to meet in-person regularly is foundational to the GoFeR portion of our proposal. We all know that building friendships and community is central to every aspect of church life. Being able to have regular connections with one another and with diocesan leadership is crucial to drawing us all into new relationships with each other. That doesn’t mean that the existing relationships between members or parishes are coming to an end. Certainly there are some who have worked together in the past and are concerned that those ministries or friendships don’t play a role in this model. Perhaps a parish you’ve worked alongside for decades will now be in a separate GoFeR from your home parish. The regions are not meant to prevent people or parishes from stretching into other regions for various events or purposes, but part of the point is to "shake up" historic ties for the sake of creating new connections. (Note, I say "shake up," not "break up.")
That said, the importance of putting some folks together who have not been connected historically shouldn't be ignored. One of the hopes we have for the GoFeRs is to create some sense of regional community. Anything that already exists at this point should not be stopped. In fact, it is those very regional ministries and connections that will help the GoFeRs find their footing by sharing and replicating some of the foundations that already exist. The Diocese of Eau Claire has worked hard to create a similar regional body on a much smaller scale by creating an umbrella group that loosely combines four small parishes (under a similar model to those used in Wales and Ireland.) That program, the Northern Highlands Benefice, didn’t take anything away from those parishes. In fact, it added a new layer that allows for increased energy and support for the ministries and relationships that already existed. The fruits of that fellowship have been wonderful they can be replicated and perhaps even exceeded with these GoFeRs.
I developed more than a dozen variations of the “GoFeRs,” as we were considering this approach, each of which held some potential as well as obvious obstacles.The GoFeR draft that has been presented to you represents the best model we could develop based on your suggestions, while also providing the opportunity to develop fruit that we may haven’t even considered in the past. We also hope that the concepts the draft were developed to enable bring you some level of hope and excitement for what this portion of the proposal could mean for you and the life of your parish.
Of course we can make some changes to this draft GoFeR Map! We want to get input from you once you have given the GoFeRs Map serious consideration. We are entirely in the "adjustment phase" of every part of the proposal for reunion, and if you see things that can be tweaked to give us a better chance at hitting the ground at full speed, we want to hear from you. You’ll note that the GoFeR Map contains a list of every parish (and affiliated group) that would reside in each region. We want your feedback on any and every aspect of the draft; please send your thoughts to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Judith (LaMere) Janz, 86, passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 25, 2023, at Marshfield Medical Center, Weston.