Dear All,

It’s been 9 months since I was appointed to Holy Trinity Parish, as your Parish Priest. Firstly, I wish to thank you for the openness, the warmth, and the hospitality that has been extended to me since my arrival. You have made my transition into Holy Trinity Parish so much less stressful and overwhelming. So again, I thank you.

Holy Trinity Parish, comprised of the communities of St Peter’s, St Paul’s and St Catherine’s, is like no other parish in the Melbourne Archdiocese. It is geographically large, complex, with communities that have different histories, experiences, and expressions of being Catholic. It is a unique community that, through Fr. Michael’s vision, unites around a mission of being welcoming, open, and hospitable to all that wish to be part of the community. We are respectful and forgiving. And we are consultative in our decision making.

To that last point, being consultative in decision making, is why I am talking with you today.

Our focus as a Catholic community is always on the spiritual support and nourishment of you, our parishioners. But to deliver the masses and liturgies, sacraments, support of the poor, visitations of the sick, and education of our children requires a not-insignificant organisational structure and support team.

Holy Trinity Parish has an operational structure that is different to any other that I have seen or experienced. And this difference made sense given the unique structure of our Parish.

However, after 9 months of living Holy Trinity Parish and understanding the nuances, and how things have operated, it’s now time to step back, take stock and understand how we best position Holy Trinity Parish for the next phase of growth. Understand how we best optimise the people and resources that make up our community.

To that end, I have engaged an external consultancy, Dench McClean Carlsson, to undertake a review of Holy Trinity Parish. Commencing this coming week, and running for up to 6 weeks, the consultancy will undertake an organisational and strategic review of our Parish.

The overall aim of the review is to assess the current status of the Parish, document any critical issues for immediate attention and recommend actions for improvement, identify the key issues for the future and the potential paths forward. 

The review will identify areas for optimisation of the current operating model, organisation structure and utilisation of Parish assets (including property assets) to secure the ongoing viability of the Parish and minimise any risks.

I wish to be very clear that this review will not cover the clerical elements of our Parish. That is, the review will not be looking at the model of priests in the parish, nor mass times and locations. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t also look at these elements in time, but

I wish to reassure you that this review is a normal process for complex organisations to undertake at regular intervals, or following periods of major change, to identify opportunities for potential improvement, or areas where things are not working as well as they could.

I also have been strongly supported in my desire to undertake this review. Your Pastoral Leadership Team has been involved in the development of the review, and the review and it’s scope has been strongly support by the Vicar General of the Archdiocese. In fact, Monsignor Greg Bennett is hopeful that our review will become the ‘standard’ for other parishes to adopt.

I am sure you will have a few questions about the review, so a member of the Pastoral Leadership Team will say a few words after this video and will be around after Mass to discuss the review with you, if you wish. And of course, I welcome you reaching out to me, as well, should you wish to discuss the review.

In summing up, I’m excited about the opportunities for growth which exist in our great parish. But to enable us to continue, and expand, the way we minister to our community, it’s time to better understand any challenges which lie in front of us, and to explore the opportunities for optimisation.

Father Raju Jacob MST

Parish Priest