St. Mary Parish, Manchester at 210 West Main Street, Manchester, MI 48158 US - One Year AfterThe Diocesan Coordinating Commission Recommendations Announced

“The Diocesan Coordinating Commission finalized their recommendations on June 26, 2008. I have reviewed the following recommendations for St. Mary Parish and accept it for implementation:

1. Saint Mary, Manchester, will cluster with Saint Mary, Chelsea (1 priest), if and when necessary.
2. Saint Andrew, Saline, will provide back up sacramental ministry if and when the cluster becomes necessary.”

This news had taken us by surprise, so much so that I made a personal appointment with Bishop Boyea to gain further understanding as to what this recommendation meant as well as to voice my concerns.

At that time I prepared a lengthy written pastoral address to the parish at large explaining the recommendations and what they meant for St. Mary’s.

It has been one year since Bishop Boyea notified us of the above recommendations for St. Mary Church, to be implemented if and when necessary,and I wanted to share my thoughts with you on this important matter.

The above recommendations approved by Bishop Boyea were received differently according to people’s involvement in parish life. Some parishioners were very concerned and even disturbed about what this meant for the future of the parish. Some parishioners voiced no concern. Some parishioners probably still do not know what is going on. These responses are reflective of the various levels of attachment and involvement that people have in the parish.

On one level I can say that nothing has changed over the past year. But, for me, this information is always present in the back of my mind. When I hear of other parishes in the diocese merging or closing, my thoughts cannot help but think about the future of St. Mary Church in Manchester. As I mentioned in my written pastoral address to the parish last year, I have no intention of leaving Manchester, and I have not been asked to move to another assignment by Bishop Boyea. I also reiterate what I said one year ago. “At this point there is no other parish in the diocese that I would like to go to. I love being the pastor of St. Mary Church in Manchester, and I would be content to spend the rest of my active ministry serving as your pastor.”

But, unfortunately because of the shortage of priests to serve in our parishes, the small parish seems to be in danger of extinction. For a parish to truly be a parish it needs a spiritual father to be among the people and living in the rectory, the parish home. Diocesan Planning Commissions can say what they want to about what constitutes a parish, but the facts are the facts: to truly be a Catholic parish, it needs to have a spiritual father. This is our Catholic tradition and will remain so. This is also why we should not accept suggested alternate forms of a parish. We must pray and promote vocations to the holy priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Because of the priest shortage it seems like small parishes must now operate in what I would call a survival mode mentality. In order to flourish, smaller parishes need a larger portion of their members to be active in parish life on all levels in order to survive. This is true of St. Mary Church.

I am so grateful for those parishioners who are truly devoted to their Catholic faith, who are so faithful to the holy Mass on Sunday, and who are selfless in their support of their pastor and St. Mary Parish. They are a great inspiration to me and encourage me to keep moving forward. I want to encourage those parishioners who for various reasons might be disconnected from parish life to make an effort to immerse themselves more deeply into first the sacraments and then in parish life. I (we) need all of our parish family to be present to the weekly Sunday celebration of the holy Mass and to make St. Mary a spiritually strong vibrant Catholic presence in Manchester.

Ultimately, we must place our trust in God and accept his will. God also expects that we do our part and do all that we can to remain faithful and supportive of the parish that he has blessed us with.

The purpose of this reflection is not meant to excite or disturb anyone. It is to once again place this important matter before our parish family so that we do not become complacent. It is my hope that it will serve as a reminder about how important you are as a parishioner, and how important it is that we remain faithful to the Sunday Mass celebrated in our parish church and remain involved or become more involved.

—Fr. Tim