Cohoes parish selects a name

Holy Trinity parish has emerged the winner, and parishioners will celebrate the decision Sept. 26 with a Mass and rededication.

Last winter, St. Agnes/St.Patrick's Church finally closed its doors and brought its 101-year history to an end. Parishioners joined with the nearby St. Marie's community to celebrate the formation of a new parish family with joint liturgies that began at each church and concluded at St. Marie's.

During the months after the merger, a parish committee surveyed parishioners and tried to come up with a new name for the parish. St. Agnes/St. Patrick/St. Marie's was used at first, and that name was under consideration as the permanent name; other ideas included Holy Family, Resurrection and Holy Trinity.

A vote taken during the summer selected Holy Trinity Church as the choice by a 2-to-1 margin. The parish sent its suggestion to Bishop Howard J. Hubbard for his approval, which he granted last month, according to Rev. Arthur Becker, pastor.

The change in name appeared in the parish bulletin on Sept. 12-13, and the stationery eventually will be changed. Parish staff members have been saying the new name when people call on the phone, and Father Becker hopes to have a new sign in place outside the church later this year.

Father Becker is pleased with the new name and the way in which parishioners reached a consensus on what to rename their parish.

"I'm very happy with it. I think we went through enough of a process with the parish to really discern what the feeling of the parish was on a new name," he said.

As for the significance of a parish named in honor of the Holy Trinity, more than the obvious meaning -- three parishes becoming one --may apply, Father Becker noted: "There's a whole new emphasis on the Trinity within the whole spirituality of the Church. I think it reflects one of the most basic beliefs of the Church and the coming together of the three parishes."

(Holy Trinity parishioners will celebrate their new name with 4 p.m. Mass on Sept. 26 and a rededication of the parish. There will be a pot luck supper at Cohoes Catholic School afterward.)

(09-24-98) [[In-content Ad]]