Worcester Diocese to close 2 churches, merge 3 parishes
A Catholic Church in Brookfield and East Brookfield are set to close while three parishes in East Brookfield, West Brookfield and North Brookfield will merge, according to the Worcester Diocese.
Bishop Robert J. McManus announced in a letter last weekend that St. Mary Church in Brookfield and St. John the Baptist Church in East Brookfield will close, according to a statement posted May 19 on the Diocese's website.
St. Mary Church is an Oratory which has been part of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish since November 2011, the statement reads.
McManus also announced the merger of the parishes of St. John the Baptist in East Brookfield, St. Joseph in North Brookfield and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in West Brookfield into one new parish.
The new parish will have worship sites at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in West Brookfield and St. Joseph in North Brookfield, according to the Diocese.
'Over the past year, many of you have given your time in considering how the Catholic parishes in the Brookfields might be reconfigured to address today's challenges and the pastoral needs of the future,' McManus said, according to the Diocese. 'It is clear that you recognize the need to close some buildings so that you might use the assets to strengthen current ministries and add some lay pastoral staff.'
Raymond Delisle, who works for the bishop's communications office, told MassLive on Wednesday that the buildings and parishes are all managed by one pastoral staff.
He said the staff has found it difficult to manage resources due to the number of buildings. As such, it was decided that reducing the number of churches and combining the parishes was a solution to make things easier for the staff, Delisle said. None of the staff will be fired, and the congregants of the closed churches will be able to attend the other two without capacity overflowing, Delisle told MassLive.
The closures and the merger will both take place on July 1, according to Delisle.
The proposal to merge the parishes is the result of recommendations from parish committees and the Diocesan Pastoral Planning, the press release from the Diocese reads.
Father Joseph Rice at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart will be taking suggestions through June 6 for a name for the newly formed parish, according to the statement.
'Although the process of change can be painful, let us together pray that the goal of developing a strong community of faith to further the mission of Christ's Church in the Brookfields will be the light that give us hope,' McManus said in the statement.
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