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	Diocese Closing Dozens of Churches Carbon, Schuylkill Catholic Parishes Among Hardest Hit by Mergers. By Daryl Nerl Morning Call June 1, 2008 http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_5churches.6436451jun01,0,4943986.story The Allentown Diocese is expected to close nearly a third of its parishes in the next year, leaving small boroughs like Coaldale without a Catholic church and reducing the number of churches in south Bethlehem from five to one, the faithful learned at Saturday night Masses. The announcement was not entirely unexpected, coming at the conclusion of a three-year process in which church and lay leaders discussed how to restructure a diocese that has seen attendance drop and its clergy dwindle. But it was nonetheless painful. Many learned that they would lose a house of worship where they had been baptized, confirmed and married. At ethnic, or so-called "national parishes," people learned they would lose the church that grandparents had built decades ago after immigrating to America. "It's our home and it's gone," said a tearful Donna Szczepanski, who was surrounded by longtime friends and members of St. Stanislaus Church in south Bethlehem, after an announcement that their church would be closing July 15. For Szcezepanski the church holds 56 years of memories and life's milestones beginning with her baptism, then a walk down the aisle in a white dress and veil for her First Holy Communion and ending with the announcement Saturday. "I knew it was going to come," said Szczepanski, a member of one of the church committees that helped make restructuring recommendations. "It's still a shock," she said. "It's a sad day for everyone." There is hardly a corner of the five-county Allentown Catholic Diocese that is not touched by the changes. If a church is not being merged or consolidated, there is a good chance that a pastor or priest is being transferred to tend another parish. One church pastor told his parishioners that 47 church buildings in the diocese will close. There are 151 Catholic churches in Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Carbon and Schuylkill counties. The diocese has not issued a list of the affected parishes, but is expected to today. Among those known to be affected: In Coaldale, three churches — St. John the Baptist, St. Mary of the Assumption and Ss. Cyril and Methodius — will be closed, leaving the borough without a church. Those parishes will be merged with closed parishes in neighboring Lansford — St. Ann, St. Michael and Ss. Peter and Paul. A new St. Katharine Drexel parish will open in the former St. Michael building in Summit Hill. In south Bethlehem, Our Lady of Pompeii, St. John Capistrano, St. Joseph, St. Stanislaus, Ss. Cyril and Methodius, will be merged to form Incarnation of Our Lord Church in the Ss. Cyril and Methodius building. In Mahanoy City, six churches — Assumption BVM, Sacred Heart, St. Canicus, St. Casimir, St. Fidelis and St. Joseph — will be merged into a parish that will be named for the late Mother Teresa, who visited a convent of her Missionary Sisters of Charity order in the borough in 1995. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Church will open in the former St. Joseph Church. In McAdoo, St. Patrick will remain open but be renamed All Saints. Four others— Immaculate Conception in Kelayres, St. Mary's in McAdoo and St. Bartholomew's and St. Michael's, both in Banks Township — will close; St. Kunegunda's in McAdoo will be converted into a chapel and office. In Easton, St. Joseph will merge with St. Michael and St. Bernard to form Our Lady of Mercy based at St. Joseph. In Northampton, Our Lady of Hungary and St. Michael will form "Queenship of Mary." In Allentown, Our Lady of Mount Carmel will be consolidated into Sacred Heart of Jesus. In Catasauqua, St. Andrew, Annunciation BVM and St. Lawrence churches will be merged into one parish named for St. John Neumann, the first American-born saint. It has not been determined which of the buildings will house the merged parish. In West Bangor, St. Roch will consolidate into St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Pen Argyl. At each church, the news was conveyed by a priest who read aloud a letter from Bishop Edward P. Cullen. "This decision has not been made easily or without deliberation," Cullen wrote. "Nonetheless, this decision may cause disappointment or even pain for not a few parishioners. "Such feelings truly are understandable," he continued. "While painful, this process has offered us the opportunity to grow as a diocese and continues to offer the new parishes the opportunity to grow. You should consider yourselves to be the founders of your new parish as your grandparents and great-grandparents were founders of this parish." After Monsignor Edward Zemanik delivered the news at St. Patrick's in McAdoo, bells tolled and the choir sung a solemn hymn. A eucharistic minister's eyes welled with tears as she helped Zemanik give communion. She wasn't the only person to take the news hard. "You can't have churches if you don't have priests," said Rosemarie Patton of McAdoo, as she left the church in tears. The day was doubly hard for many parishioners. Zemanik, who ran the churches in McAdoo and Kelayres, announced he is being reassigned to St. Anthony Padua in Easton. Parishioners at St. Joseph's in Summit Hill audibly gasped when they were told that all six churches in the neighboring boroughs of Lansford and Coaldale will close. Bob Ames of Coaldale has been the organist of St. Mary of the Assumption for 44 years, "since I was a kid," he said. And he served on the committee that worked on restructuring. So while he wasn't shocked when he heard the news at Saturday night Mass, he was still saddened by it. "I was born and raised in that church, my grandparents were born and raised in that church, my mother was born and raised in that church," he said. "This is the end of an era." At St. Ann's in Lansford, parishioner Gabe Fritz was trying to be optimistic. "I've been at St. Ann's all my life — I was christened at St. Ann's, so I was disappointed, but there's not much you can do about it," he said. "But we are all one. If you are a Catholic, you are a Catholic — it makes no difference what church you go to." As expected, communities in Carbon and Schuylkill counties, where there is the heaviest concentration of ethnic parishes, were among the hardest hit, though ethnic parishes in the Lehigh Valley, like St. Stanislaus in south Bethlehem, were not spared. Founded in 1906, St. Stanislaus used to be a center of the local Polish community, but its congregation has dwindled in recent years. Still, many lifelong parishioners have deep roots including some whose grandparents and great grandparents were founding members. Helen Bosak's grandfather helped found the church where she was baptized 75 years ago. She married in the church and had children of her own. She said some of her favorite memories were Mother's Day celebrations and other events including the 100 year anniversary of the church two years ago, celebrated with plenty of Polish food, polka music, dancing and red and white flowers. The restructuring plans are the culmination of a process begun in the fall of 2005 when "listening sessions" were held across the diocese, attracting about 1,500 people. Last summer, parishes were grouped into 33 deanery regions, and committees of clergy and laypeople were formed to make recommendations on restructuring. Restructuring has been carried out across the Catholic Church in America, for the same reasons confronting the Allentown diocese: too many buildings, too few priests and parishioners. The decline in clergy is especially problematic. By 2010, projections show, the number of priests in active parish ministry in the Allentown Diocese may fall from 129 to 111. The diocese, which serves 272,000 people, is aiming for a structure in which most pastors would oversee no more than one parish; the ratio of priests to people would be about one to 2,400. At Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in East Allentown, the news took some parishioners by surprise even though membership in the small, traditionally Italian parish, has dwindled over the years. "I just can't understand. Membership was declining, but we held up our end. We paid our expenses," said Vivian Lova, 79, of south Allentown, who has been going to the church since she was 8 years old. Monsignor John J. Grabish, who also serves Sacred Heart parish, told the 35 or so congregants at Saturday afternoon Mass, "[This service is] not meant to lament what was but to look ahead to what is." The building will remain open to host the parish's soup kitchen. At St. Joseph Lithuanian church in Mahanoy City, the news was bittersweet and met with applause. The building was spared, but all of the priests that serve in the six merging parishes will be transferred, meaning that not only the parish, but the pastor will be new. Still, after months of anticipation, the news offered some relief. Monsignor John J. Grabish, who also serves Sacred Heart parish, told the 35 or so congregants at Saturday afternoon Mass, "[This service is] not meant to lament what was but to look ahead to what is." The building will remain open to host the parish's soup kitchen. At St. Joseph Lithuanian church in Mahanoy City, the news was bittersweet and met with applause. The building was spared, but all of the priests that serve in the six merging parishes will be transferred, meaning that not only the parish, but the pastor will be new. Still, after months of anticipation, the news offered some relief.
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