Beacons Of Light

Here is Father McCarthy's letter from February 2, 2025 regarding our parishes:

Path to Oneness

The Beacons of Light initiative began July 1, 2022. It was at this time the Archdiocese formed parishes into Families with the ultimate goal of making these Families a single parish. This was not happy news for anyone- the parishioners, nor the priests. But regardless of my personal feelings on the matter, I was given the directive to work on making these four parishes one, which was a much easier task than my brother priests, given that in 2012 you had become one community under a single pastor. This doesn’t mean I haven’t faced struggles or even complaints, but that’s a cross we all face as we experience change.

In my first two years, I have spent a lot of time communicating about Beacons of Light (BOL), so much so, that the feedback given was that I had addressed it too frequently. The Family Council which was formed in August of 2022 has been working together on how best to apply the BOL parameters and the goals of our four parishes. The general consensus, was that it was better to merge the four parishes into one new parish (A+B+C+D=E) , rather than to combine three parishes into one of the existing parishes (A+B+C+D=D). We have discussed in length how to keep the individual uniqueness of each church community while being one parish. My goal was not to close any churches. I believe each are special and have a beauty of their own. I also noticed in the past year how many people already think we are one parish called Holy Family and the number of parishioners who attend the different churches. This was highlighted at Christmas with a broad number attending the Christmas Vigil Mass at St. Louis. This also extends to the various Family functions, regardless of which parish hosted the event. There was a good mix from each community.

On January 21, 2025, I held a special meeting for our Councils (Family/Finance). At this meeting I presented a letter addressed to the Archbishop asking him to merge our four parishes into a new parish called Holy Family. I had originally planned for the merger to begin on July 1, 2026. But, prior to this meeting with the Councils, the BOL leadership team met with the heads of the Archdiocese regarding BOL. In hearing how well prepared we are and the history of working together since 2012, they suggested that we move toward merger this July 2025, not 2026. Although the Councils were a little surprised by doing a merger this year, the general consensus agreed that this was the best course of action.

 I am writing to inform you that I have submitted this letter to the Archbishop. The letter will undergo his review to make sure we are meeting the canonical requirements. It will then proceed to the Presbyteral   Council for their recommendation. Then the Archbishop will weigh the facts and make a decision.
This change is not easy for anyone; I understand the pain and even anger at where we find ourselves.     Changing demographics, decline in Mass attendance, shortage of priests, with many church buildings is not an ideal position. But, let me be clear, although the parishes will become one new entity, the four church buildings will remain, and each of the churches will retain its name, including the school. I intend to continue to have Mass at each church as we do now. Most of you won’t notice any significant change. We will proceed as we have been. I know many worry that if the parish “goes out of existence”, it won’t be long until they close my church and cancel our Mass. But I think the opposite is true. If we do not merge, it would be more likely that 2 or more churches would lose their Masses in the near future. Doing this merger has more to do with finances and canonical issues than a change in our daily practices, worship, and devotions. We truly are better united together than remaining separate. I think it is important to remember that we belong to ONE CHURCH. We are many members, but one Body. The Church is the people, the buildings are where we gather, but most importantly it’s not where we gather but that we gather as brothers and sisters in Christ. We have the Sacraments, we belong to the same community, the same diocese, and in the end, we hope to reside in the one heavenly parish.

I plan to address this at upcoming Masses. As this process unfolds, I will continue to keep everyone updated.  Given our situation, I believe we have arrived at the best outcome for our community.
 
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Thomas McCarthy