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	Bishop to Consider Closing 5 Churches By Ron Vidika Morning Journal May 22, 2008 http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19710827&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6 LORAIN — A lay cluster committee is recommending that five Catholic churches in Lorain be closed and merged into a parish housed at Holy Trinity Church on Elyria Avenue. The recommendation will be forwarded to Cleveland Catholic Diocese Bishop Richard Lennon for evaluation. The recommendation is for St. Stanislaus, St. Ladislaus, Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph Church be closed and merge with Holy Trinity Church as a new church with a new pastor, according to Robert Tayek, head of communications for the diocese. A letter concerning the recommendation is expected to be read at Masses on Sunday at the affected churches. "St. Mary's and St. Peter's will remain on their own, as their own parish and operations. The other five, technically, will be merged into one parish. Then it will become a new parish with a new pastor. They would merge into one to be housed at Holy Trinity," said Tayek. In May 2007, the diocese sent a letter to its 231 parishes announcing they will be divided into 69 clusters in order to explore opportunities for shared ministry. "The clustering and collaborating team is made up of five representatives from each of the seven churches, plus a facilitator," said Tayek. "The Bishop must get the information from the cluster committee by Oct. 15. He will make a decision by March 2009. The finalization of implementation must be in effect by 2010." Tayek said when Lennon receives the recommendations, he will give them to two separate committees made up of laity and clergy, who would further study them. The "conversion possibilities" of turning the vacant churches into apartment housing will also be studied, and Tayek used Nativity Manor as an example. Nativity remodeled one its buildings into an apartment building. "That will have to be carefully assessed," said Tayek, stressing that these are only recommendations. "The recommendations still have to go through a full evaluation process and then take it to the bishop. He is the final arbitrator," he added. "What we have now are some preliminary plans," said the Rev. David Novak, pastor of Holy Trinity on Elyria Avenue and administrator of St. Stanislaus, at the corner of East 28th Street and Elyria Avenue. Nativity is on Lexington Avenue and St. Joseph is on West 15th Street, not far from Holy Trinity. St. Ladislaus is in South Lorain on East 29th Street. "It's a very complicated process," said Novak. By a two-thirds majority vote, Novak said the cluster committee voted to recommend the closing of the four church buildings and the merging of the four with Holy Trinity to create a new church. Congregations in Lorain will be made aware of the committee's recommendations during Sunday services, said Novak. "Whatever takes place, will take place in a couple of years. It's a slow process. We look at the needs of the community. We have a number of issues to be addressed," said Novak. Novak said each of the five churches number about 100 people in its congregation. "We will rely on the bishop and his committees to look at the proposals in October. He will get back with us in March 2009, and accept or amend them. There are a lot of possibilities. We will have a continuing dialogue," said Novak. "We're trying to create a stronger and more vibrant church," said Tayek. "It's not done until the bishop signs off on it. It's not set in stone."
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