Six years ago, when St. Joseph of Carondelet Sister Mary Dorothea Quinn applied for the position of parish director at Immaculate Conception Church in New Cuyama, a farming community in northeast Santa Barbara County, she pictured a quaint A-frame church in the high Sierras.

In reality, it was a remote cinder-block church in the high desert serving mostly Spanish-speaking farm worker families. The former northern California Catholic School principal and teacher took a crash course in Spanish and, in her mid-60s, took up the challenge of reviving parish life following the death of the church's pastor.

A Franciscan brother had been administering the church part-time for nine months before Sister Quinn took over as parish director of the church on the outskirts of New Cuyama, population 1,000. She lives in the parish house in town with fellow St. Joseph of Carondelet Sister Maria Lucinda Lopez, the church's associate director.

"Getting to know the life of the poor and learning from them has been a great joy." said Sister Quinn, 70. Her priorities have included strengthening the religious education program, currently serving 46 children, and nurturing parish leaders in the fledgling parish council started by her predecessor.

Her ongoing challenge is scheduling priests for the weekend Masses: a Saturday evening Spanish Mass and a Sunday morning English Mass. Three weekends a month, an 84-year-old Franciscan priest drives 144 miles round trip to preside at Saturday and Sunday Masses. If a priest is unavailable, Sister Quinn will hold a Scripture and Communion service on the weekend, as she does one day during the week.

Last month, she addressed parishioners at the English service on the ongoing priest shortage situation and the problems it presents at Immaculate Conception which doesn't have a resident priest. "The people definitely prefer a Mass to a Scripture and Communion service --- particularly the Spanish-speaking community," said Sister Quinn.

Parish staffing

The priest shortage combined with an aging priest population has prompted archdiocesan officials to adopt new models of parish staffing and administration. As expressed in the archdiocese's 2003 Synod document "Gathered and Sent" as well as in "As I Have Done For You," the 2000 Pastoral Letter on Ministry written by Cardinal Roger Mahony and the priests of the archdiocese, the local church is looking at new ways to carry out its mission of manifesting God's love both in the church and in the world.

One of these new ways calls for discerning parish leadership in the future based on charism, and drawing on the charisms of all who form the Christian community. According to a recent report by the archdiocesan task force on alternate parish leadership, this means that in addition to the pastoral leadership currently exercised by pastors, others possessing a charism for leadership such as deacons, vowed religious or lay ministers may also be called, named and sent to lead a local parish community.

While the archdiocese currently only has two parish life directors --- Sister Quinn in New Cuyama and Society of the Holy Child Jesus Sister Susan Slater at St. Stephen Church in Monterey Park --- Msgr. Gabriel Gonzales, archdiocesan Assistant Vicar for Clergy, sees that number increasing by two or more next year after studies are completed by a number of regional and archdiocesan groups investigating the future use of parish life directors. Archdiocesan officials stress that parishes assigned parish life directors are not locked into that model forever and may be assigned a resident priest at a later time.

"I think lay leadership is going to be indispensable," said Msgr. Gonzales. He won't know until Dec. 1, the deadline for pastors to submit requests for retirement, how many parish pastoral staffing positions will be open next summer. With one-third of 356 currently active priests between the ages of 60-75, archdiocesan officials are anticipating a growing need for parish life directors.

"We're not saying that parish life directors are the only model," said San Fernando Auxiliary Bishop Gerald Wilkerson, who heads the task force on alternate parish leadership. In the archdiocese's Our Lady of the Angels Region, encompassing West and South Los Angeles, ten parishes are functioning under the "Twinned Parish" model, where two parishes are administered by one priest pastor. Deacon Scott Palmer, regional assistant to Our Lady of the Angels Auxiliary Bishop Edward Clark, expects more such models in the future.

"As the shortage of priests becomes more serious and the promotion of the gifts of the laity becomes more realized, we can anticipate more twinned and clustered parishes," said Deacon Palmer. "Certainly by next summer, we will see more models employed."

"One thing to keep in mind," he added, "is that most of the models --- twinning, clustering and parish life directors --- are not new. Many dioceses in the United States have been dealing with these issues for 20 years. It is new to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, both because of the declining number of pastors and the increasing number of Catholics."

Both Deacon Palmer and Bishop Wilkerson admit new models of parish staffing may face resistance. "Many will be challenged by what they see as the parish life director as being a 'second choice,' something 'less than,'" said the deacon. Bishop Wilkerson identified another implementation challenge as "the mindset that priests must live at the rectory and be accessible 24-7."

Pastored by many

Sister Susan Slater, St. Stephen's parish life director, who ministered as a pastoral associate for four years at the parish before being named to her present position last year, said she has been accepted as a pastoral leader by parishioners. When she wore an alb on the altar for the first time at a prayer service, "a lot of women said it was nice to see me up there --- even older women," confided Sister Slater, who feels Catholics can adapt to pastoral leadership changes.

She likes to promote the idea, which she has voiced to anxious parishioners wondering who will pastor them, that "many people pastor you." She fosters lay leadership at the parish, encouraging parishioners to develop their leadership gifts. Former St. Stephen pastor, Father Larry Estrada, currently the sacramental minister presiding at weekend Masses, calls Sister Slater's ministry as parish life director "a gift to the archdiocese."

Working six days a week, and always on Sunday, Sister Slater balances administrative and pastoral duties such as bereavement counseling, marriage preparation and visiting the sick. "I do whatever the pastor would have done," said Sister Slater. She greets parishioners before Mass and makes announcements following the liturgy. Parishioners know she is there for their spiritual needs.

"I am extremely comfortable with the concept and practicality of having a parish life director," said Flor Montero, St. Stephen director of religious education. "Initially, the parish was a little resistant to change. However, as time has gone by, parishioners have accepted it."

Parish confirmation coordinator Anne Lobsinger said the transition from resident priest pastor to non-resident parish life director was not accomplished without some trepidation and fears.

"We're been able to communicate our fears [in open parish meetings]. As a result, people are realizing they're not losing anything in the spirituality component. It's gone smoother than anticipated. I like the fact we're looking at a new way of leading the church," said Lobsinger, who added that Father Estrada "can truly focus on sacramental leadership."