In 2002, The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark launched the New Energies Parish Transition Project, which needed to make recommendations about how best to consolidate unviable parishes with one another. In 2003, the recommendation was made to merge St. Mary’s and St. Mark’s parishes in Rahway. To this day, this recommendation is being strongly contested by the two parishes.

Our work

Step 1: Conduct an analysis of the disagreement, identifying stakeholder groups and the interests motivating these groups to hold firm to their beliefs.

Step 2: Design jointly a process by which to discuss and (possibly) resolve this dispute.

Step 3: Facilitate that dispute resolution process in a way that encourages mutual respect, open communication, and workable solutions.

Final Product

Either agreement between the parishes, creating a sustainable model for the Catholic Church in Rahway, or a report detailing why agreement could not be reached, and making recommendations for further action to bring about a mutually agreeable solution to this issue.