Rural parish placement; what to expect?

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I’d guess that a crucial part of formation involves dealing with placements you might not find congenial. If anything, a situation that “plays to your strengths” might risk leaving you untested in ways that you need to be!

I can’t blame you for your trepidation, and it doesn’t seem necessarily wrong to feel it … as long as you match it with obedience, with humility, and with openness to where God sends you and what you might learn there. Even if it proves a summer of more or less drudgery, blessed are the drudges–what would we do without them? And who among us is too good to undertake some if commanded?
 
Seeing as the OP is just replying to the ones telling him how intelligent he is; I guess he is not really asking for advise. . . .

He will most probably learn about humility from his superiors, but the post you write doesn’t seem to affect him.
 
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I am in one of those rural parishes. I hope your time there is enlightening and rewarding. Perhaps your misgivings will prove to be true, or perhaps you’ll be pleasantly surprised. We might not be the rubes and hicks you expect.
 
I have noted what all people here have said. Simply because I haven’t responded doesn’t mean I haven’t read them. Some lead themselves easily to a reply; others do not. In some of them, a reply may lead only to an argument, which is far from constructive. Some have made their point very obviously and I’ve taken it to heart. No more needs to be said there unless we just want to belabour it.

The reason for the placement is evident now, and as is a sort of personal goal that I hope to bring to my supervisor when I speak to him tomorrow. I thank all who replied.
 
Well said, our faith is strong and we respond well to gentle proddings of our shepherds. Good luck to you.
 
As someone who grew up in a rural area, rural parishes (just like urban ones) are very hard to stereotype.

One urban or rural parish can be very traditional, while the next can be very modern/contemporary.

I don’t think you will be bored. Both (urban & rural) parishes have their advantages.

As someone who has lived rural parishes, urban parishes & suburban parishes; I would prefer a rural or urban parish over the stereotypical suburban parish anyday.

But ultimately, you have to keep in mind that your bishop could send you to any parish, at any time. So it’s best to always keep an open mind and look for the best of any assignment.

Good luck and Godbless.
 
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OP, have you considered joining FSSP? Maybe that doesn’t work for you for some reason.
EDIT - I think they have an age limit of 35 at Our Lady of Guadalupe seminary. Never mind.
http://www.fsspolgs.org
 
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PetraG said:
Look for work to do, regardless of whether it is in your wheelhouse or not.
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Gold star of the day; best piece of advice ever. Actually, though, if I could put a gold star on this whole thread, I would do it. It’s the best collection of advice I’ve ever seen on a thread.

Sometimes, you will find a gem of a rural parish that has a beautiful liturgy and devotional life. Sometimes, you don’t. I know a priest-friend who loves being in a small, rural parish because it gives him the freedom to shepherd how he thinks fit. He graduated from the NAC and is a canon lawyer. People flock to that little spot. He doesn’t have a choir yet, so we bring the schola and choir to him. (The choir, by the way, that began with 5 little girls, ages 5-11 singing the Victimae Paschali Laudes on Easter morning. Anyone can have a good choir. If the priest is able to form it, it will be all the better.)Anyway, the locals love it and love him. Sometimes, Sally is playing the organ or guitar not because she necessarily wants to, but no one else has stepped up to the plate.

The laity often joke about the best priests being sent to the smallest parishes, and I do think there is some truth to it. But the irony of it all is that is where that kind of priest is going to be able to impact the most souls.

Two stories. One about Bishop Sarto (Pope St. Pius X). One of his priests came in to him, complaining about his small parish and how obstinate were the parishioners. He answered, “My dear brother, don’t you know you accuse yourself when you complain about your parish? …” That’s from The Flame of White which would be a good, easy read for you right now. It would teach you a lot about being pastoral. However, St. Pius X spent a lot of time on making sure his priests could provide beautiful liturgies, too. I think you may find a kindred soul in him.

The other is about a young priest that was in my parish some 20+ years ago. His first assignment was as an associate pastor of a very large parish that was considered the creme-de-la-creme of assignments. Then, after 2-3 years (the usual for associates), the bishop transferred him to Backwoods, USA, and he would not go. It was unbelievable the childish tantrum he threw. We were horrified. He ended up leaving the priesthood rather than go to that parish. If you are that man, who cannot bring himself to be a true shepherd to whatever flock that the bishop sends you, then leave right now. It will spare a lot of us a lot of sorrow.

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JHFamily said:
Then, after 2-3 years (the usual for associates), the bishop transferred him to Backwoods, USA, and he would not go . It was unbelievable the childish tantrum he threw.
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That is really sad. I’m so confused why so many of these people seem to have such an issue with rural areas.
 
JHFamily said:
The other is about a young priest that was in my parish some 20+ years ago. His first assignment was as an associate pastor of a very large parish that was considered the creme-de-la-creme of assignments. Then, after 2-3 years (the usual for associates), the bishop transferred him to Backwoods, USA, and he would not go . It was unbelievable the childish tantrum he threw. We were horrified. He ended up leaving the priesthood rather than go to that parish. If you are that man, who cannot bring himself to be a true shepherd to whatever flock that the bishop sends you, then leave right now. It will spare a lot of us a lot of sorrow.
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The new priests in our diocese are sent to be pastors far earlier in their priesthood than the archbishop would like (regardless of who is archbishop) because we have so many smaller far-flung parishes. They can practically count on being sent somewhere small within 5 years of ordination. Not all, but practically all.
The idea that someone would leave the priesthood rather than obey their bishop about an assignment is beyond the pale. That is incredibly sad. Yes, it is better not to be ordained than to be ordained with the idea that you’re too good for any collection of souls that may need you.
 
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Yeah, us, too. The priests barely get their feet wet before becoming pastors. But back then, I was a part of a diocese that still had plenty of priests, so the young 'uns served at least two terms as associate pastor before becoming a pastor himself.
 
JHFamily said:
The other is about a young priest that was in my parish some 20+ years ago. His first assignment was as an associate pastor of a very large parish that was considered the creme-de-la-creme of assignments. Then, after 2-3 years (the usual for associates), the bishop transferred him to Backwoods, USA, and he would not go . It was unbelievable the childish tantrum he threw. We were horrified. He ended up leaving the priesthood rather than go to that parish. If you are that man, who cannot bring himself to be a true shepherd to whatever flock that the bishop sends you, then leave right now. It will spare a lot of us a lot of sorrow.
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That’s really beyond the pale. Obviously I can understand how frustrating this is. Distance from the nerve centre and from those friends, both clerical and lay, who can help you get what you want from the chancery is especially difficult. Likewise, the fate of your special projects in the urban area seems dubious. It’s difficult not to look at it as an exile of sorts and to wonder whose toes you might have stepped on.

It’s easy to forget that there are so many rural parishes out there that you’ve never heard of… and often when you’ve never heard of them, it’s easy to presume that they’re sleepy and unremarkable. Maybe they are. But even if so, the busy city won’t be running you haggard any longer, as often happens – and I think my formators must have noticed how exhausted I was starting to look at certain points over the past year. It’s a good time to work on the S.T.L., or write that book, or teach a course at the local college as an adjunct. I still have my own work that I’m doing toward a degree, and I anticipate a lot of uninterrupted time to devote to it.

Sure, I’ll miss my colleagues and my liturgical projects. But even if this is an exile, it could be an unusual blessing. Make the most of it.
 
Dude, if you think being sent to shepherd a rural flock is kick back and relax time, time to write books and teach adjunct at a college, you are TOTALLY missing the mark. And in for a rude awakening.
 
I’m just going with what a priest friend who was recently assigned to a more remote small town has told me, which corroborates what the estimable priest from earlier in the thread noted. Generalization, of course, can only go so far, I understand, for there are exceptions to every rule that we should consider lest our ideas become too rigid. Still, though, not to have a broad idea of where on might me going is absolute folly.

Moreover, one does not write for oneself; one writes because he has an idea that he wants to communicate to others and so to enrich their understanding. Likewise – and I speak from experience here – if you wanted to do something for yourself, serving as an adjunct professor is definitely not it.

Every situation is different. Particularities, needs, and feasibilities make themselves apparent when we are in the midst of any given situation. The promptings of grace can lead us to change our thinking. But no matter where you go or what you do, it’s always best to enter with an informed but flexible mindset. That’s why I’m asking this question, after all.
 
bardegaulois said:
Moreover, one does not write for oneself; one writes because he has an idea that he wants to communicate to others and so to enrich their understanding. Likewise – and I speak from experience here – if you wanted to do something for yourself, serving as an adjunct professor is definitely not it.
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But nowhere are you concerned with doing for the PARISH to which you are assigned.

These are things you do in addition to, not instead of, full time ministry in the parish.
 
Even if I did, you’d never be able to guess it. It might surprise you that priests have opinions as well, which they generally keep to themselves. But I would dare ask, then, if the parish is humming along as normal, why you’d be so resentful of a priest using his downtime to write or teach. Writers and teachers in the ranks of the clergy are not uncommon in the least.
 
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bardegaulois said:
you’d never be able to guess it
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Not a student of non verbal communication, I see.

What you’ve written so far in this thread just oozes contempt and disdain. It’s not a stretch at all to know that comes out in other ways.

People who live in rural areas aren’t simpletons, and it doesn’t take many interactions to form opinions.
bardegaulois said:
if the parish is humming along as normal, why you’d be so resentful of a priest using his downtime to write or teach.
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If you’ve been sent there for the summer your job is to value add in the parish, not sit in your office and write books as if on sabbatical. You are missing the point of your assignment there.

If you are doing it right, you aren’t going to have all this imagined down time.
bardegaulois said:
Writers and teachers in the ranks of the clergy are not uncommon in the least.
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First, you aren’t clergy yet. Second, you aren’t there to write. Third, if that’s your calling perhaps parish priesthood isn’t.
 
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bardegaulois said:
But I would dare ask, then, if the parish is humming along as normal, why you’d be so resentful of a priest using his downtime to write or teach.
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It may be different where you’re going, but that first rural appointment signed the demise of my doctoral thesis. There was just so much to do.
 
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