Strengthening a sense of place - your parish

By Susan Bailey |  CFP Correspondent
    
What is a church?
Ask any parishioner about their parish and they will speak with fondness, even affection, for the place where they gather. It is inside those doors where couples have been married, children baptized, and loved ones remembered in the funeral Mass. Congregations have worshipped week after week; individuals have knelt in prayer in front of the tabernacle where the real presence of Christ resides, pouring out their hearts in petition or thankfulness. If the walls of those buildings could speak, they would reverberate with history, telling memorable and poignant life stories.
Whether the building is a magnificent city cathedral or a simple country church, there is a visceral connection between it and the people it serves. Bishop McManus once stated, “The life of the parish — this is where it happens for you.” He recognizes that upkeep of the church buildings, halls and rectories is an essential part of parish life that must be addressed.
This is why the Legacy of Hope campaign has assigned an amount of $12,000,000 for parishes so that these capital projects can be addressed. Because of the structure of Legacy of Hope, parishes will see a return of 40 percent of the monies collected. Once a parish surpasses its target, 60 percent of funds raised above that point would go to the parish.
For small parishes living literally week-to-week on their collections, this fund could prove critical.
Father Francis A. Roberge, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Baldwinville, presents a stark picture in the video for Legacy of Hope. Sitting on a newly constructed set of stairs at the rectory, he points to a second set of stairs in a state of collapse. “Those stairs need to be repaired as well,” he says, “Not an expensive job, but when you don’t have it, you have to let it go.”
Despite other needs such as a paint job for the rectory, to protect the wood, and switching the chandelier to LED to improve lighting in the church, Father Roberge appreciates that all parishes, small and large, are part of a bigger reality.
“We live in a part of the diocese that is unknown to many Worcester diocesan Catholics. We live simply, trying as best we can to be a part of the universal Church. That being said, we are one with all the parishes in the diocese in that we share the mission and the message of the Church. We want to be a sign of the Church made from living stones.”
Msgr. Michael F. Rose oversees a much larger community (including a school) at St. Mary Parish in Shrewsbury. St. Mary’s too, has needs.
“We shall use our portion for the interior of the church, which is nearly 60 years old,” he said. “It will include new lighting, new flooring and carpeting and a new baptismal font, all in preparation for the 100th anniversary of the founding of St. Mary’s Parish in 2023.”
Msgr. Rose appreciates the scope of Legacy of Hope.     
“There is a nice balance in the campaign between the needs the diocese has identified and the needs of our individual parishes,” he said. “The diocese will be able to build upon existing endowments that will assist people directly, namely our retired priests, and families who desire a Catholic school education for their children but cannot meet the rising tuition costs.
“The new endowments will also assist people directly with meeting their very basic needs of food, as well as new efforts to evangelize and share the good news and the ‘joy of the Gospel.’”
Indeed, the Church is its people. Legacy of Hope seeks to address the many needs of the diocese, and the individual parish. A paint job, new pews, repairing stairs, fixing a roof … such upkeep and maintenance, big and small, constitute that concrete and sacred space where people come to worship.