A new journey - Good Shepherd

By Tanya Connor
The CAtholic Free Press

Three Blackstone Valley churches held final Lord’s Day Masses last weekend. They were closed as part of the consolidation of five parishes in the Blackstone Valley into two – St. Mary Parish in Uxbridge and the newly named Divine Mercy Parish in Blackstone.
The Good Shepherd Church in Linwood was locked after Sunday afternoon’s Mass. Good Shepherd Parish merged with St. Mary’s, effective today. The expanded St. Mary’s Parish will continue to use St. Mary’s Church.     
Yesterday the last Masses were to be held at St. Augustine Parish in Millville and St. Theresa Parish in Blackstone, which merged with St. Paul Parish in Blackstone to form Divine Mercy Parish, effective today. The new parish is to worship at St. Paul’s Church.

LINWOOD – Good Shepherd’s parishioners embraced priests who returned for the closing Mass Sunday afternoon. And the shepherds seemed equally delighted to mingle with this flock.
“I wanted to be there in the pews with you,” Father Victor Sierra, previous administrator, said when called forward at the end of Mass. Moving up the aisle, he was repeatedly embraced. “It’s not about us; it is about Jesus,” he told parishioners. “We belong to a bigger church. ... You are so loved by God. ... I love you all.” (He’s now associate pastor at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Milford.)
Good Shepherd’s congregation of more than 125 also gave standing ovations to Deacon Michael J. Hafferty and his wife, Marsha, and parishioners who served there, as Father Nicholas Desimone thanked them. Father Desimone, pastor of St. Mary’s in Uxbridge, celebrated the closing Mass. He served as administrator of Good Shepherd during the transition period in which five Blackstone Valley parishes were consolidated into two. Good Shepherd has been merged with St. Mary’s.
Father Desimone had Father Sierra join him and other clergy in a closing prayer, facing the statue of the Good Shepherd.
A former pastor, Father John J. Foley, preached. He shared fond memories of Good Shepherd, his first pastorate, and his experience with the results of a merger at his last parish before retirement – St. Anne in Shrewsbury. Members of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Worcester, which had been merged with St. Anne’s, adopted their new parish within two or three years, he said.
“It’s right to feel nostalgic,” Father Foley said. “And yet we move on in life, as hard as that is.” He said the parishioners made Good Shepherd special. He called them a family which will not go away, but may get larger. What they had will continue, as they bring their gifts with them, he said.
There have been changes in the parish’s shepherds, as new priests came, and now there’s a change in the stable, as parishioners move to another church, said Donald Bruneau, a parishioner for more than 30 years. After Communion he read a letter he’d written to the parish council. He said if the walls could talk, they’d tell of sacraments received there, and of prayers of worried parents, memories for parishioners to carry with them. They are people of the Eucharist; that’s what will keep them together, he said.
Other parishioners shared their feelings with The Catholic Free Press after the Mass.
Bethany Pomfret said Good Shepherd was a small but very dedicated parish, indicated by “everybody hugging,” and she’ll miss it. She said she plans to go to St. Mary’s.
Dimitri and Lillian Thompson, whose daughter Ailionora was crossbearer, said they’re not sure where they’ll go.
“We want the same community spirit,” Mrs. Thompson said.
“In all my years of going to different parishes, you can’t find a more loving, compassionate, faith family than here,” said Mary Beth Guertin. She said when her husband, Dennis, was injured, parishioners helped and their pastor, Father Lawrence J. Esposito, now retired, was there for them spiritually.
Parishioners also help non-members, she said. She said it’s sad that they can’t continue to be a beacon from this church building, but their spirit will continue wherever they go, and the transition will be good if they listen to God’s call.
Lettie Trottier said Good Shepherd’s rosary-making group she’s part of sends rosaries everywhere, and hopes to teach the skill to people at St. Mary’s in Uxbridge and St. Mary’s in Milford.  
Good Shepherd’s archives will go to St. Mary’s in Uxbridge, said Roger Poulin, who displayed some in the church hall for the reception after Mass.
Eileen Metivier said she would share things from the day with her husband, Roger, who couldn’t attend the Mass.
“I just turned 85,” she said. “I’ve been coming to this church since I was 17. I was going out with my husband. This was his church.”
She said she has favorite memories of the parish, mostly of the people, and she was close to Father Foley.
“I gave him a big hug,” she said.
Now she figures it’s time to “start out a new journey.”

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