Same church, different pew Newark Archdiocese finds ways to avoid closing small parishes

Star Ledger ^ | 03.06.07 | JEFF DIAMANT

[Coleus]

Gloria Latherow strolled the aisle of St. Mark Church in Rahway, nudging wooden kneelers into place with her right foot, while expressing hope for the future of the parish, her spiritual home since Harry Truman was president. "I don't think they'll close us," Latherow, 78, said just before Sunday's 10 a.m. Mass. "They just took up a collection for $30,000 for the parking lot. Why would they take up that money if they're going to close it?"

Three years ago, it seemed a certainty that St. Mark, a church founded in 1871 for German-speaking Catholics, would be closed. The Newark Archdiocese proposed combining it with nearby, bigger St. Mary to save money. Parishioners were devastated. But while many Catholic schools in the archdiocese have closed since 2004 as planned, the parish of St. Mark, like several other churches targeted for possible closure, has been spared.

The archdiocese has kept these churches open but made them share a pastor with another church. Archdiocese leaders now say they expect fewer closures, overall, than the dozens predicted three years ago. In May 2004, a task force proposed closing as many as 25 of the archdiocese's 235 parishes in the following two years, with the prospect of additional closures through 2008. Yet so far, Archbishop John J. Myers has approved just six clo sures and mergers, plus six other arrangements in which a pair of parishes share one pastor.

[livius]

Very positive. One other thing that would help is if these churches got out and did some evangelizing in their neighborhoods. Many of the downtown neighborhoods are probably black now - but I can't think of any reason that black people wouldn't like to hear the Gospel and come into the Church. Well, actually, I can think of one reason - the rest of us never tell them about it.