Johnstown parishes become one

Immaculate Conception, St. Anthony's and St. Patrick's parishes in Johnstown have merged into Holy Trinity Church.

The arrangement was formalized on June 15, the Feast of the Holy Trinity, with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard. Former pastors -- Revs. Joseph Barker from St. Patrick's, Joseph DiMaggio from Immaculate Conception and Francis Dunbar from St. Anthony's -- concelebrated, along with the current pastor, Rev. James Fitzmaurice.

But the merger didn't happen overnight; it has taken 12 years of work, prayer and collaboration.

Preparation

Jeannie Popp, pastoral assistant for administration at Holy Trinity, told The Evangelist that the parishes have been talking about merging since 1991, when it became apparent that two of the pastors were retiring. The third followed a year later.

"The three parishes decided to form a cluster committee to begin a dialogue about what could be done," Ms. Popp said.

A first step occurred when the parish councils combined and "changed from a business-oriented parish council to one with a broader pastoral vision that was more in line with the diocesan guideline of pastoral councils that operate in most parishes today," she said.

Step two

Another "of the changes we made was within the faith formation area," said Lucy McHenry, pastoral associate for faith formation and youth ministry.

"We formed a core team of representatives from all three parishes," she continued. "Once the children started taking faith formation classes together, their parents naturally became more involved with each other through the activities and events related to religious education."

"We've also combined the administrative offices of the three parishes," noted Ms. Popp, who manages the Pastoral Center, located at St. Anthony's. "When we merged the offices, we invited parishioners from all three parishes to come for an orientation meeting. Some people were skeptical, but basically everyone was pleasantly surprised and pleased with the new set up."

The parishes have also been blending traditions: the annual cluster picnic, the children's choir, the Italian festival in July and Bingo.

Some bumps

Father Fitzmaurice said that the transition from three separate parish entities, each with its own ethnic identity, into one parish with a common identity, has not been without some difficult moments during the five years that he has been pastor of all three churches.

"Anytime you have a blending of communities, there is uncertainty, confusion and some fear," he said. "People experience a loss of the familiar -- of that space and community they call their home -- and fear losing the building where they have worshipped. For some, it is the place where they have worshipped for years and years; for others, their entire lives."

But he noted that the merger has been relatively smooth in spite of those fears, due to the fact that people have been preparing for it for such a long time.

"They have shown great patience and understanding in this process," he said.

Future plans

For now, all nine buildings in the three parishes will remain open, and all liturgies will continue without interruption.

"It is very important that people know that we will not be closing any of the churches in Johnstown," Father Fitzmaurice said. "It will be up to the parishioners to decide what building will close and when. We are in the process of forming a finance and grounds committee to look at the feasibility of keeping the buildings open."

Ms. Popp said that "the vision of Holy Trinity parish is to continue to grow as a faith community and to move forward, responding to our baptismal call. We are committed to living out the teachings of Jesus Christ through our ministries and service to the people of the Johnstown community."

Added Ms. McHenry: "Discernment and collaboration have to be done through prayer, which until now has served us well. Whatever we decide, it must be done prayerfully, through the Holy Spirit. It's the only way we can continue to be successful."

(6/19/03) [[In-content Ad]]