God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial, he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).
As most of you have probably heard by now, the final decisions for the reshaping and resizing of our Diocese were announced this week.
St. John the Baptist will merge with Family No. 9, Beloved Disciples of Christ the Lord
SS. Joachim & Anne will merge with St. John Neumann Parish.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Darien and Bennington sites will merge with St. John Neumann Parish. The sites will close and be sold.
St. John Neumann Parish will close and sell their Strykersville site. The new St. John Neumann Parish will merge with Family No. 14, Eastern Rural Roman Catholic Community of the Diocese of Buffalo (Warsaw).
St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish will close and sell their Corfu site, the East Pembroke, Holy Name of Mary, site will merge with Resurrection Parish and join Family No. 12.
The Families of Parishes will now work to decide the timeline for mergers/closures within their respective families. A Transition Team will be assembled, and that work is expected to begin soon with the merger/closure process to be concluded by Pentecost in June 2025.
We would like to express our sympathy to our parishioners who are losing their parish. We grieve with you but would also like to welcome you as you look for your new Parish home. We are all reminded to be a people of hope and to welcome new faces, be sensitive that those around you could be grieving for their loss.
Now we need to take what we have left and grow it. The responsibility lies within the individual parishes. We are challenged to be a welcoming community; we are challenged to grow our parishes. The ALPHA program teaches us how to reach out to lost Catholics and those that are upset by the recent events. Consider attending some of the ALPHA sessions and see how they can help us.
Please don’t turn away from your faith, from our Lord. Come because of the Eucharist. Christ is there, regardless of the Church community or parish you go to. You are wanted. You are needed. You are loved. By Jesus and by our faith community.
Nobody likes to receive bad news, but in the words of Saint Rose of Lima, “Without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. The gift of grace increases as the struggle increases.”