Wednesday, May 28, 2008
CLUSTERING IN CLEVELAND
The six-parish Willoughby cluster has decided to pare down to three parishes. Details can be read at News-Herald.com.
I spoke recently with a member of the clustering team at the parish where I'm registered who indicated it isn't likely that the parish will close, but that perhaps another church in my area might close. No decisions have been made. Schools--and the lack of them--are a determining factor in which parishes to keep and which to close. On the other hand, a Catholic academy not connected to any particular parish was also an option being considered.
The parish has also embarked on a major restoration campaign--the second in my tenure there. Why repair it if you're just going to sell it? I won't be contributing to this one.
Strangely, it no longer has any affect on me. Close it? Keep it open? It just doesn't matter. Since I no longer have a sense of parish affiliation, the church where I attend Mass has become a matter of indifference. I will go where the Mass is said by the rubrics and the preaching is orthodox if I can find one. If not, I will go, pick a place in the church where the acoustics are poor, and put my mind on personal prayer during the offensive parts. In other words, just tune it out. This represents a big step back from all churchy things Catholic for me. I've even come to the place where the question of who will say my funeral Mass has become less important. If no priest will say it, well then the funeral director can say some of the prayers I have said so many times myself and just stick me in the ground. I'm all out of anger and all out of fight for what is right in the Church. I've just gotten worn out with the struggle after 40 years of chaos and the sexual scandal.
