As a pastor, part of me wants to maintain the status quo in everything until the exact nature of the changes becomes apparent. At the same time, some changes cannot be put on hold. For example, Carla Tucker, who has worked so hard with liturgical music and art and environment, will be retiring in the late spring. Another area that needs attention is full implementation of diocesan financial controls and child protective protocols. "This is the way we have always done things here" is not an adequate response when it comes to handling money and keeping children safe.
A third area that needs attention is care for the Most Blessed Sacrament. Church law directs that "The person responsible for the church or oratory is to take care that the key of the tabernacle in which the Most Holy Eucharist is reserved is safeguarded most diligently (can. 938 §5)." In some parishes, the custom has arisen that tabernacle keys are kept in unsecured places in order to facilitate extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion bringing the Blessed Sacrament to shut-ins. As I understand it, this has been the practice at Holy Family and Saint Paul for some time. There should always be a chain of custody for the tabernacle key, which means that there should be a small number of people that know where it is and have access to it. In the coming months I will be soliciting feedback from parish leadership as to how we can come into compliance with the Church law on this point without placing undue burdens on future pastors and those who bring communion to the sick.