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Cluster plans submitted to Catholic diocese recommend shutting at least six
By Colette M. Jenkins
Beacon Journal religion writer
Published on Tuesday, Dec 16, 2008
The Nativity set sitting in the lobby at Sacred Heart School in Wadsworth has a special place in the heart of the school's principal, Tracey Arnone.
''It came from St. George in Clinton. That was my grandparents' and mom's parish. I have fond memories of going to Mass there as a girl,'' Arnone said. ''When the church closed, it was almost like a death. It took a lot of wind out of the sails of the people. It means a lot to have reminders of the parish, like the Nativity set, in parishes that are still open, as a sign of support and commitment to parishioners who are dealing with the loss.''
That feeling of loss could be felt in at least six — and possibly seven — of the 35 Catholic parishes in Summit County by July 2010, if Cleveland Bishop Richard G. Lennon approves the proposed mergers and closings from three regional groups representing those parishes. The proposals are among 14 received by Monday's deadline from cluster planning teams in Summit, Wayne, Medina and Ashland counties.
The Summit County parishes that could be affected are Akron's Annunciation, St. John the Baptist, Sacred Heart, Christ the King, St. Hedwig and St. Martha, and Barberton's SS. Cyril & Methodius.
In May 2007, Lennon announced the formation of 69 parish clusters in the eight-county diocese of Cleveland and instructed the churches to form partnerships as part of the Vibrant Parish Life initiative.
Lennon's directive called for 23 of the 69 clusters to downsize. Other clusters were encouraged to expand to meet the needs of growing suburban populations.
The goal of the Vibrant Parish Life initiative, which was launched in 2001, is to maintain a healthy Catholic presence in areas (mostly urban) where the number of parishioners is declining, without creating a financial hardship and without reducing the number of priests in areas (mostly suburban) where the Catholic population is growing.
In a recent address to local Catholics, Lennon explained that demographic shifts are driving the need for clustering.
He noted that in 1970, the diocese had 915,000 Catholics, compared with 785,000 today. Similarly, in 1970, 54 percent of registered Catholics were attending Mass on weekends. In 2007, the number had dropped to 29 percent. In addition, 37 percent of the diocese's 225 parishes are operating in the red.
''In 37 years, there are a quarter of a million less people in church every Sunday. That is the reality that we're dealing with,'' Lennon said during the First Friday luncheon Dec. 5 at the Tangier restaurant. ''Not only that, but where the people are living today is not where they were living 37 years ago.''
Last year, Lennon confirmed 324 eighth-graders in two suburban parishes in the same city, compared with 17 in a combined confirmation service for seven urban parishes.
The church must deal with ''the shifting of where people are and where we really, truth be told, need new parishes,'' Lennon said. ''But it's pretty hard to be building new ones when you get too many that you're still maintaining and they're taking personnel.''
To reach Lennon's goal of ''providing pastoral care throughout the diocese in an equitable manner,'' cluster planning teams have been meeting for more than a year to prepare proposals that meet the bishop's mandates.
Cluster teams in Cuyahoga, Lorain, Lake and Geauga counties submitted their proposals in September, October and November.
Told to downsize
Monday's group was the fourth and final round of proposals. Of those 14, three were instructed to downsize the number of churches or schools:
• Annunciation, Akron; St. Bernard, Akron; St. John the Baptist, Akron; St. Mary, Akron; Sacred Heart of Jesus, Akron; and St. Matthew, Akron, were told to downsize to one school (from two) and to four parishes.
Their proposal suggests that Annunciation and St. John the Baptist merge and use the Annunciation site at 55 Broad St. It has been expected to indicate Sacred Heart as a closing or a merger with St. Bernard, but parishioners at Sacred Heart decided to submit a separate proposal, meaning the bishop will make a decision without input from the cluster team.
''Our proposal simply says that Sacred Heart will be submitting its own proposal,'' said the Rev. Jonathan Zingales of Annunciation. ''We are, as a cluster, willing to work with the people of Sacred Heart based on whatever the bishop decides. We understand that in the city, the Catholic Church doesn't have the luxury to be here only for the sacraments. We have to reach out to people because that's part of the gospel mandate and if we're going to do that effectively, we have to do it together. ''
Church asks to stay open
The Rev. Robert Clancy, pastor at Sacred Heart, said the proposal from his parish asks the bishop to keep Sacred Heart open. The parish, on Grant Street, has about 175 families and 280 parishioners.
''We are one of the few parishes that are financially solvent. We're in the black,'' Clancy said. ''Our people here didn't want to close or merge with another parish. What we're trying to do is survive and it's up to the bishop to decide what happens. We're prepared for the worst but hoping for the best.''
The cluster planning team determined that both the schools at St. Mary and St. Matthew are vibrant and the bishop has already approved each school's five-year plan, Zingales said.
• St. Anthony of Padua, Akron; Christ the King, Akron; St. Hedwig, Akron; and St. Martha, Akron, were told to scale down to one school (from two) and two parishes.
Their proposal recommends that St. Martha and Christ the King merge with the congregation of St. Hedwig and use the St. Martha site at 300 E. Tallmadge Ave. The St. Hedwig church would close. It also suggests that both schools, at St. Anthony and the North Akron Catholic School at the Christ the King site, remain open with close monitoring.
''If the health of either school is jeopardized, in terms of enrollment or financial solvency, action steps can be taken,'' said the Rev. Michael Matusz of St. Martha parish. ''The proposal for the schools also calls for increased collaboration wherever possible in the student, administrative and teaching populations because clustering is also about establishing ongoing, long-term relationships that serve a particular area of the diocese.''
• SS. Cyril & Methodius, Barberton; St. George, Clinton; St. Andrew the Apostle, Norton; SS. Peter and Paul, Doylestown; Prince of Peace, Barberton; and Sacred Heart, Wadsworth, were told to reduce to four parishes.
The proposal recommends that SS. Cyril & Methodius close. The cluster was already reduced to five parishes when parishioners at St. George in Clinton requested in August that the little church there be closed. That happened on Oct. 25, and its members went to other parishes.
''I was torn during the discussions because I am the pastor at Sacred Heart and I grew up at SS. Cyril & Methodius. A lot of who I am today as a priest and as a Catholic comes from there,'' said the Rev. Joseph Labak. ''I kept focus by reminding myself that we are called sometimes to make sacrifices for the good of the church and the good of God's people. As painful as it is, this is going to make the church more vibrant and put us in a position to better serve the people.''
In all cases of mergers or closings, the planning teams looked at a variety of factors, including which site needed the least renovation; which site could house the needed staff and ministries; which site would displace the smallest number of people; and which site would be closest to the largest number of registered Catholics in the cluster.
New parish identity
Mergers will require that a new parish identity be established and that new pastoral leadership be assigned. The new entity will be responsible for the assets and liabilities of the merging parishes. That means the Annunciation site and the St. Martha site will be renamed and will include sacred items and artifacts of the merging congregations.
When parish property is closed, the diocese takes on the responsibility. As in the case of St. George, the communities that receive parishioners from a closing parish will also receive sacred and other items from the church. When the property is sold, any net proceeds will also follow parishioners from the congregations of the closed churches.
The final approved cluster plans are expected to be announced by the bishop in March. Before that, the proposals will be reviewed by the Vibrant Parish Life — Phase II Committee, the bishop's Cabinet staff and the priests council.
The Vibrant Parish Life committee includes representatives from each of the 13 diocesan districts as well as representatives of the major consultative groups and different areas of the diocesan administration.
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com.
The Nativity set sitting in the lobby at Sacred Heart School in Wadsworth has a special place in the heart of the school's principal, Tracey Arnone.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Posted 06:26 PM, 12/16/2008
All the money that went into building those buildings... Tons of marble. Sad to see it go.
Posted 11:33 PM, 12/16/2008
Sad to see this happening. This is what is wrong with our world today. People do not attend church, because they are to busy or don't feel the need to go. This should be the number one thing they should do. With God all things are possible!
Posted 09:16 AM, 12/17/2008
I thought the point was to keep open "Catholic Churches"? St.Martha's? tabernacle out of place, no bells, no smells, no votives, few statues....looks like a gate at the airport than part of a 2000 year old organization....a cassock on the priest? yeah right...next you'll want closed toe shoes and haircut.Thank God the school closed, now finish it off.
