Across the table at Sacred Heart rectory in Troy, Sister Rita Duggan, CSJ, nodded emphatically. In an arrangement the pair hope to see utilized more in the Albany Diocese, Father Mercure is the pastor of Sacred Heart and St. William's parishes in Troy, and Sister Rita is administrator of both.

Sacred Heart is home to about 1,000 families and a pre-Kindergarten-to-grade 6 school; St. William's, which broke off from Sacred Heart and became a parish in its own right in 1966, has about 300 families, mostly senior citizens.

Coming and going

The setup the two have worked out has Father Mercure covering more of the sacramental needs of the parishes, while Sister Rita does more administrative work -- including hiring contractors to repave one church's parking lot.

However, unlike a sacramental minister, who usually just comes into a parish to celebrate Mass and Reconciliation, Father Mercure actually lives at Sacred Heart. A mile away, at St. William's, Sister Rita makes her home.

The pair laughed about how often they pass one another on the brief commute between the two churches.

"We [communicate] a lot with notes," Sister Rita added. "We pass each other on the corner and say, 'Did you hear about...?' 'Yeah, yeah....'"

Working it out

Father Mercure and Sister Rita called their parish partnership a "trial-and-error" system. "When we started this, we had no job description," she explained.

The former school administrator had actually interviewed for a job as Sacred Heart's business manager (under pastor emeritus Rev. James Vaughan), but the position evolved into much more when Rev. Joseph Keyrouze, pastor of St. William's, retired about five years ago.

The pastor/administrator system has been in place since 2000, when Father Mercure took over as pastor of both parishes. He celebrates the sacraments, counsels parishioners, prepares couples for marriage, sits on the boards of Troy Area United Ministries (TAUM) and A Regional Initiative Supporting Empowerment (ARISE, an interfaith advocacy group), and meets with ministers of other faiths throughout the area.

"A sacramental minister comes and goes. I'm here a lot," he remarked. "I like the idea of being connected; I see the sacramental minister as the 'rider in the night,' which is not good for the priest."

Duties

Sister Rita, for her part, gives the parish staffs their work, schedules committee meetings, keeps track of parish finances (pro-rating expenses between the two churches), and handles the practical side of parish life.

At the moment, for instance, she's working on a landscaping fund and planning to replace fencing around Sacred Heart's parking lot.

"I don't have to worry about buildings, floods at the school," said Father Mercure. "I say, 'Talk to Sister Rita.' I don't have to worry about whether the lights work."

"It makes Gary available when people call [about loved ones] who are sick or dying and say, 'Can Father come?'" said Sister Rita.

She also takes calls from parishioners who want to speak with a woman about personal issues. Regarding more mundane problems, she often plays devil's advocate, pointing out improvements the parishes can and can't afford.

Both Father Mercure and Sister Rita attend meetings of their parish cluster and deanery. When they spoke to The Evangelist, they were about to work together on preparing for an increased offertory campaign in their parishes.

Changes

The change to a pastor/administrator setup has brought with it some changes to St. William's and Sacred Heart. Though the two parishes are still separate, the records for both are kept at Sacred Heart, and the parish councils have merged.

Daily Mass is held at St. William's one day and Sacred Heart the next, and one weekly bulletin is printed, covering both churches. All parish committees have members from each parish.

Events that include both parishes are held at one church or the other; for example, an Anointing of the Sick was at St. William's, because the church is more accessible to persons with disabilities and has an attached hall where a dinner could be held.

When a parish survey revealed that parishioners thought the two churches needed more ministry to young people, the result was even more collaboration: Sacred Heart and St. William's pay half the salary for a youth minister who also serves St. Jude's parish in Wynantskill, which pays the other half.

Something new

"It's a whole new ballgame," Sister Rita said of parish life.

Father Mercure told The Evangelist that he often urges fellow priests to try the pastor/administrator system.

"Jesus wasn't really in administration; He was in sales," he remarked, adding: "I don't know why more pastors haven't sought out administrators."

Sister Rita believes that such a setup is "the wave of the future. Our goal is to get more people involved" in leading the parishes. "We move on; the people in the parish stay. We are agents of change."

(9/9/04)