Changes in Troy will link two parishes

By PAUL QUIRINI- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Rev. James McNerney knows what it's like being in charge of two parishes at once. That experience should come in handy as he becomes pastor of St. Peter's Church and continues to serve at St. Paul's, both in Troy.

The former pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Green Island and administrator of Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Watervliet will replace Rev. Thomas Flanigan, who retires July 1 after serving as pastor of St. Peter's for 32 years.

Changes will be necessary as Father McNerney divides his time between two parishes, but he hopes St. Paul's and St. Peter's parishioners accept the situation.

Working it out

"It can all work out, I'm not that concerned about it," he said. "I'm more concerned about how some of the parishioners are going to respond to change, because it's going to be big-time change."

One of the immediate changes will be an interim summer Mass schedule, which will be reevaluated based on Mass attendance. St. Paul's will continue having its 4 p.m. Saturday Mass, and 9 a.m. and noon Sunday Masses; but it will lose its 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass. The noon Mass -- a pre-Vatican Council II-style Mass that began one year ago -- could be moved to St. Peter's.

St. Peter's will have its 4 p.m. Saturday Mass switched to 5:15, but its 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass will remain. Father Flanigan has celebrated weekend Masses at O'Neil Apartments and Kennedy Towers, but Father McNerney hopes transportation can be provided to residents so that they can attend Mass at St. Peter's.

Reinforcements

Father Flanigan, who will continue to live at St. Peter's, will be involved in ministry in both parishes as needed. Rev. Joseph Halloran, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in New Lebanon, will live at St. Paul's after he retires in September and will minister to both parishes when necessary.

Ultimately, Father McNerney will assign their duties, but he anticipates doing most of the ministry himself, at least in the beginning.

"I'm setting the whole thing up for one person to do," he said. "If other people are around and helpful, that's fine. The others can help, but initially I want to do most of it myself because I want to get to know the people at St. Peter's."

Cluster effort

The two parishes probably will hire one of the Daughters of Charity currently living at St. Peter's to work part-time with families, shut-ins and adults. The three cluster parishes -- St. Paul's, St. Peter's and St. Patrick's -- will have the Daughters of Charity influence, since another member of the order will become principal of St. Patrick's School in the autumn.

The cluster wants to share more resources, from a religious education coordinator to a snowplow person, because there are ways for them to utilize the time and talents of one individual. "I think the point of clustering is the practicalities, [such as] hiring one person for all three parishes," Father McNerney said.

Staying flexible

This period of transition will require flexibility on the part of parishioners, but the pastor doesn't worry about having one priest in two parishes.

"I think it's going to all work out fine," he said. "It depends on the people, if they will continue to support St. Peter's and adjust to the new Mass schedule."

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