March 14, 2010
Plans for
the Closing Events at St. Thomas the Apostle
Final Mass to be held
on June 19th at the 4:00 PM Vigil Mass
Committee: Joyce Barnum,
Beverly Brown, Fred Brown, Janet Brown, Judy Steinmetz and Mary Shaughnessy.
The committee is planning
multiple events to be held over the last week both during the day and in
the evening in order to provide everyone an opportunity to participate
in whatever way they are most comfortable. Former pastors from St. Thomas
have been invited to be a part of the week’s activities in whatever way
they are able to and the schedule of the events will be determined by the
responses received.
The events for the
week will be:
Sunday June 13th – CCD Mass
A weekday Mass
Benediction
Rosary
Hymn Sing
Stations
Final Mass - June 19th at the 4:00
Vigil Mass
The church will be
open from early morning until late at night to allow for private visitations.
The tentative plan is to be open daily from 6 AM until 10 PM from June
13th until the conclusion of Mass on June 19th.
The hall will be open
each day after the activity with refreshments available, and memorabilia
that has been collected will be
displayed.
Volunteers are needed
to take part in the final Mass. We need volunteers to: be Lectors, Altar
Servers, Choir members, taking up gifts (see below) and Extraordinary Ministers
of Holy Communion. We would like representatives from various Parish activities
to take up the gifts (ex. Altar & Rosary, Holy Name Society, Altar
servers, CCD, Cemetery Association, youth group etc.).
Please see any member
of the committee or drop a note into the collection if you would be able
to help in any way throughout the week.
Volunteers are also
needed to clean the hall and the church prior to June 13th. Watch the bulletin
for details.
Donations for flowers
for the Church and the hall would be very much appreciated.
A dinner that is open
to all who wish to attend has been planned for after Mass and is being
catered by Gance’s Restaurant. Tickets will be sold for the dinner with
the price not yet determined, but no one that wants to attend will be turned
away. Watch the bulletin for details.
We are very much in
need of pictures of our church, its buildings and grounds. Photos or memorabilia
of the church grounds, the old hall, former pastors, exterior and interior
pictures, any construction projects etc. These photos will be on display
and/or set up as a slide show presentation at the hall and possibly in
the Mass booklet for the final Mass.
If you have any ideas
for the closing please feel free to contact the committee or drop a note
in the collection.
March 14, 2010
UPDATE
ON ST. JOSEPH CHURCH CLOSING
Sunday, July 18, 2010 at 3:00PM
will be the Closing Mass with Rev. Gregory Reichlen as celebrant. Along
with Mass will be, Homily, music and Closing Prayers and the ritual of
locking St Joseph Church and procession with the Eucharist to St Francis
Xavier Church. Following Mass there will be a catered dinner at St. John
Neumann Hall. We are trying to make the dinner special but affordable.
A journal of history and pictorial book is being prepared. This book will
be available to all who make a paid reservation to attend the dinner. Put
this date on your calendar to come and be a part of this memorable occasion.
Share sorrow and joy with your fellow parishioners. Watch for more details
to follow.
February 21, 2010
UPDATE
ON ST. JOSEPH CHURCH CLOSING
The committee for the
closing of St Joseph Church has met many times and would like to update
the parish of the happenings.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
at 3:00PM will be the Closing Mass with Rev. Gregory Reichlen as celebrant.
Along with Mass will be, Homily, music and Closing Prayers and the ritual
of locking St Joseph Church and procession with the Eucharist to St Francis
Xavier Church. Following Mass there will be a catered dinner at St. John
Neumann Hall. We are trying to make the dinner special but affordable.
A journal of history and pictorial book is being prepared. This book will
be available to all who make a paid reservation to attend the dinner. Put
this date on your calendar to come and be a part of this memorable occasion.
Share sorrow and joy with your fellow parishioners. Watch for more details
to follow.
November 29, 2009:
New Parish
Name
We have finally been given our New
Parish Name. Beginning July 1, 2010 our combined parishes will be known
as ST. BRIGID’S PARISH. This name is the “old Irish” spelling of
St. Brigid of Ireland.
Bishop Joseph
F. Martino has announced his final decisions on parish restructurings.
The plan, which
was communicated through a recorded message from the Bishop that was played
at all Masses the weekend of January 31 - February 1, affects every parish
in the 11-county Diocese in some way. Implementation will begin in July.
Final Decisions
for Western Pastoral Region
CLUSTER
# 5 – the parishes of St. Francis Xavier, Friendsville; St.
Thomas the Apostle, Little Meadows; St. Joseph, St. Joseph; Holy Name of
Mary, Montrose:
• St. Joseph, St. Joseph,
St.
Francis Xavier, Friendsville, and St. Thomas the Apostle, Little
Meadows will consolidate no later than July 2010 at the St. Francis
Xavier site.
There will be an additional
worship site (the possibility of one weekend Mass with occasional funerals
and weddings) at St. Augustine, Silver Lake which will be reviewed
after two years, based on geography, attendance, fiscal realities and the
availability of priests.
The Mission Church
of St. Patrick, Middleton will close no later than July 2009.
St. Joseph and
St.
Thomas the Apostle Church buildings will close no later than July 2010.
• The creation of a Partnership
between Holy Name of Mary, Montrose and the consolidated parish
at the St. Francis Xavier site no later than July 2010.
Definitions:
Partnership: Parishes that
retain their own pastors will enter into a formal relationship of cooperation
with one another. This cooperation will involve the sharing of programs
and resources such as RCIA, youth group and adult religious formation.
Partnerships conserve resources by avoiding unnecessary duplication of
services. Partnerships are one way of practicing good stewardship.
Linked Parishes: This model
involves two or more parishes sharing the same pastor. Although linked
parishes remain distinct, they cooperate even more completely than parishes
in partnership. Linked parishes are already very familiar to us in the
Diocese of Scranton for they exist wherever one pastor is caring for more
than one parish.
Consolidated Parish: This
happens when two or more parishes come together in such a way that only
one parish continues to exist. That one or new parish then serves the parishioners
of those parishes which have closed. In some instances of consolidation,
however, a church building of a closed parish may remain open for a limited
time. When this arrangement is provided, it will usually be to accommodate
a Sunday Mass, funeral or wedding.
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