Saturday, September 30, 2006
CLEVELAND'S FIRST PARISH MERGER
From The Plain Dealer:
The merger of two Catholic churches in Grafton will be the first reduction in the number of parishes in the Cleveland Catholic Diocese since Bishop Richard Lennon replaced Anthony Pilla in May.
Lennon is quoted in the article as saying the merger "has worked well, and is something the church members embraced."
Immaculate Conception and Assumption, a Polish parish, will merge into Our Lady Queen of Peace on October 29. Both parishes were started in the 1800s. A new location will be found and a larger church built. Until then Masses will be said in both locations.
This seems to be following the Fond du Lac model.
Somehow Europe is able to maintain churches that are far older than anything we're talking about here. They speak to the lasting firm foundation of the faith. This is a loss to communities as well since these churches in their architecture alone speak to something greater than man. Will God's presence be erased from the landscape with the demolition of traditional church architecture?
Can we expect that the replacement mega-church will be another cement box where the "stage" replaces the altar? In any case, this demolition is a done deal which appears to have been hashed out in the NCCB meetings some time ago. The model for destruction is in place and the next phase in the demolition of the faith has already begun.
