Before Your Parish Closes
What follows is the story of the Prayer Room built
in the parking lot of Holy Family Church in Lynn, MA
and peopled 24/7 by Catholics concerned about what appears
to be that parish's imminent closing in the RCAB "reconfiguration"
plan. Both regional and national media have been drawn
to the "little space that roared." The following was
written by Rob Dandreo and Jack Whelan.
On Sat., March 20, 2004, a group of 12 Holy Family
parishioners held the first of several meetings that
became a Gathering of Concerned Catholics.
The reconfiguration process in the Archdiocese of Boston
was well underway. There had been several cluster meetings.
It was determined by the Lynn Cluster that St. Michael's
would be offered as the first closure, and if the Archdiocese
deemed it necessary to close another parish in our cluster,
it would be Holy Family. Ten years ago the Lynn Cluster
consisted of nine parishes. Three have already closed
and two more were respectfully submitted to the Vicar
on March 8, 2004.
St. Michaels, Holy Family and many of the other parishes
throughout the Archdiocese, that found themselves faced
with the prospect of closing, reacted similarly.
Letters to the local newspaper, letters to local clergy,
bishops, Archbishop O'Malley, Apostolic Nuncio to United
the States Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, even the Pope.
The only acknowledgement we received was from the secretary
to Archbishop O'Malley. It came by way of a standard
form letter signed by her. My calls to Bishop Irwin,
spanning ten weeks, were never returned. Catholics from
other parishes were left with a similar level of response,
which is to say, next to nothing. We were not being
heard.
I had spent a significant amount of time, prior to
the announcement of the recommended closing list, meeting
and speaking with clergy and parish vicars from all
over. There existed an overwhelmingly high percentage
of Catholics, laity and clergy alike, who are experiencing
feelings of confusion, sadness, anger, betrayal and
general negativity, with regard to the present condition
of the Church, the reconfiguration process and the future
of the Church.
The goal of our group was to gather and unite as many
Catholic people as we possibly could, to stand together,
pray together, support each other and voice our unified
belief that all viable parishes must be preserved for
benefit of the Roman Catholic Churches. While the focus
was on the six remaining parishes of the Lynn cluster,
21 parishes and church groups were involved in this
community dialogue.
Given the public bashing that our Church has withstood,
we found it to be vitally important to proceed in a
respectful, positive, constructive and prayerful manner.
Our group is all about supporting the Church. We felt
that we should be one-dimensional in our focus on preserving
viable parishes, leaving the physical changes, which
may or may not be necessary, for another time.
We are people of faith. We believe that God alone has
the power to guide us and provide us with the strength
and compassion necessary to face the problems of our
Church. Perhaps the hierarchy would be enlightened to
the plight and the desire of thousands of concerned
Catholics.
We began planning a week of prayer. It would begin
with Divine Mercy Sunday, with several parishes participating.
It was an open invitation, verbally and physically delivered,
posted in stores, rectories, churches, gas stations,
anywhere Catholics might be. It would be the beginning
of our weeklong vigil, seven days, seven nights, 168
hours of continuous prayer.
Following the Novena to The Divine Mercy, with each
decade of the Rosary prayed out loud in a different
language, an outdoor prayer vigil began in the church
parking lot. The week would culminate with an outdoor
Mass. Divine Mercy Sunday took a tremendous amount of
planning and effort. A parishioner from Holy Family
Church served as the chairperson of the committee.
The prayer room was visible to the public throughout
this period and drew reporters from local as well as
national media. It is constructed of wood and Plexiglas
and adorned with flowers and ivy on the exterior. During
the week, candles surrounded it and glowed warmly. The
interior is heated, has a light, three chairs, one table,
one kneeler, a Crucifix, the Bible, prayer books and
a rug. Participants found it to be extremely spiritual
and serene. Many expressed disbelief at how quickly
time passed while inside, and requested extended time
or return visits. All signed their names on the exposed
wood framing. VOTF covered the vigil on Tuesday, 4-20-04.
In addition to the people who participated in the Prayer
Room, two to three people were assigned to be on the
premises at all times to make coffee and keep watch.
The number of people on the premises fluctuated from
three to one hundred at any given time. It was truly
a community coming together for the common good of our
Church. People felt great!
The outdoor Closing Mass was con-celebrated at 3:00
PM on Sunday, April 25, 2004, at Holy Family Church
with five priests from nearby parishes. Preparation
included setting out 300 chairs for what turned out
to be 500 attendees. We wired the belfry for sound,
moved the organ outside, built an altar, closed down
Bessom Street, and enjoyed a wonderful celebration!
After Mass, we provided coffee and cookies for all.
Again, people were feeling great! Smiles, hugs, thank
you's… it was wonderful! Thus the prayerful vigil formally
ended.
In all, we estimated that close to 3,000 people participated
in this week of prayer. They represented over 20 parishes
and Catholic organizations, all coming together in this
time of great uncertainty to pray to God as a unified
and concerned body of Catholics. As I said in my statement
at the conclusion of our Mass, "Let us not view this
day as an ending, but instead, as a new beginning."
Robert Dandreo, Holy Family Parishioner [For
more information, please log on to www.holyfamilychurchlynn.org.
or direct inquiries to gocc@hotmail.com.]
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