Irondequoit Greece Churches May Face Closure, by Alan Morrell, Democrat and Chronicle, July 27, 2009

Irondequoit, Greece Churches May Face Closure

By Alan Morrell
Democrat and Chronicle
July 27, 2009

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090727/NEWS01/907270331/Irondequoit--Greece-churches-may-face-closure

A year ago, parishioners at St. Salome Church in Irondequoit celebrated the church's centennial with gala events.

Now, St. Salome is one of three local Catholic churches being considered for closure next year, victims of declining membership and financial problems. The others are St. Thomas the Apostle in Irondequoit and Our Lady of Mercy in Greece.

St. Salome, St. Thomas and Christ the King churches, all in Irondequoit, already had been linked in a cluster, and members of a planning council had been preparing to add Irondequoit's St. Cecilia and St. Margaret Mary churches to that cluster by 2012. But the country's ongoing economic malaise has exacerbated the situation, church officials said.

"All five have had some financial crises, some more than others," said the Rev. Norm Tanck, pastor of the three clustered Irondequoit churches.

St. Salome Church in Irondequoit is one of three Catholic churches being considered for closure in the Rochester diocese next year. The church just celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Photo by Katharine Sidelnik

"2010 is the new 2012 for us. We're running on reserves, and in some cases, we have incredible deferred maintenance costs."

Catholic churches have been closing in the United States for years because of declining attendance and priest shortages. Within the 12-county Rochester diocese, the Catholic population fell from 362,000 in 1965 to 339,000 in 2007, the most recent figures available. Last year, the diocese closed three Rochester churches — Most Precious Blood, Holy Rosary and Holy Family.

At the Irondequoit churches, Mass attendance has declined 38 percent in the past 10 years, said Deb Housel, a pastoral planning group liaison for the Rochester diocese. She said the diocese was spending money to keep buildings open that should instead go toward ministries.

That doesn't make it easier to close a church, said Paul Zoltowski, chairman of the St. Salome Church Pastoral Council.

"I understand the 'why' behind this, but it's still tough to take," he said.

The closing of churches is a complex procedure carried out by diocesan planning groups and various committees and councils but ultimately decided by Bishop Matthew Clark. The Irondequoit Pastoral Planning Group, one of 37 planning groups within the diocese, announced on July 9 plans to close St. Salome and St. Thomas the Apostle, although those plans have not been sent to Clark and are not finalized.

Clark was out of town and not available for comment. Diocesan officials referred calls to parish officials and members, saying the decisions at this time are up to them.

Parishioners at St. Salome, 4282 Culver Road, have been particularly vocal about the proposal. The church sold the former rectory, convent, school and other property to a developer who built senior housing on the campus, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held last month. That sale netted between $500,000 and $600,000, said Rich Moll, former chairman of the church's pastoral council.

Moll said some issues that have been raised, such as insufficient parking, can be alleviated. He said some residents of the senior housing chose to live there because of the on-site church.

"The one-parish model is fine, but we have not come to terms with them wanting to close St. Salome's," he said. "When we had the centennial, that was a high, a sense of joy. To go from that to them saying, 'Time's up,' well, there's a deep sense of disappointment."

Parishioners at St. Thomas the Apostle and Our Lady of Mercy feel the same way, church leaders said. St. Thomas, 4536 St. Paul Blvd., has five buildings on the church campus, and necessary maintenance costs, including a new roof for the church, will cost about $800,000, Tanck said.

Thomas Simbari of Irondequoit, a member of St. Thomas' facilities committee, said it makes sense to close the church for purely financial reasons. He said the decision to close the church was made through a process by parishioners and not dictated by anyone, but said the issue still is very emotional.

Keith Nichols, a member of the St. Thomas parish council, wondered what would happen to the remains of Monsignor Richard Burns, the congregation's second pastor who spearheaded construction of the church and is buried on site.

"No one is really angry, but there are a lot of sad faces," said Nichols, of Irondequoit. "Even though we're all part of the Diocese of Rochester and the Catholic faith, there's still an association with the building, and that's going to be difficult."

The situation with Our Lady of Mercy, 36 Armstrong Road, is much the same as with the Irondequoit churches but more preliminary, said Karen Rinefierd, a pastoral planning group liaison for the diocese.

Committees developed plans about the churches that were to be in effect for five years, but were speeded up, at the request of Clark, because of financial reasons, said Nora Plumed, a member of Mercy's steering committee.

Mercy is part of the Eastern Greece Charlotte Planning Group, which also includes Holy Cross, Mother of Sorrows, Holy Name of Jesus, St. Charles Borromeo and St. John the Evangelist churches.

Final decisions regarding all three churches probably won't be made until later this year, and Clark likely won't decide until next year, church and diocesan officials said. Plumed said parishioners will continue to try to keep Mercy open.

"The big word in the diocese is viable — not only financially, but with our ministry, (and) are you providing for what people need," Plumed said. "It's still our parish, and we still have a voice to be heard."

Contact: AMORRELL@DemocratandChronicle.com