Parishioners react to Grafton merger

BY TANYA CONNOR
THE CATHOLIC FREE PRESS  

The announcement at Masses last weekend that the three Grafton parishes will be merged has resulted in a variety of reactions from parishioners; some are worried, but others are seeking more vibrancy.
Representatives from each parish worked on the merger process and recommended forming one parish. Bishop McManus accepted the recommendation. 
St. Mary, St. Philip and St. James parishes will be merged July 1. All buildings will stay open for now.
These were among the concerns that members of the three Grafton parishes raised. 
Frances Kuchinsky, 86, explained, “I don’t want to see the churches closed … because, please God, (people will) come back again someday.” 
Ms. Kuchinsky is a former St. Mary’s member and is now at St. Philip’s. But she said she is more concerned about not overloading priests. 
“We have to take care of our priests,” she said. “If we don’t have a priest, we have an empty building.” 
She said she grew up making the sign of the cross when passing a church; “what made it holy was the priest, sacraments, Mass.” 
 Rita Whiting, 79, a parishioner of St. Philip Parish since she was 8, said, “People don’t adjust to change too easily.”
“The idea of having to go into a different environment makes me uncomfortable,” she said.  
She wonders about doing her ministries of altar serving and setting up for funerals in a different church, but said, “I’m not saying I wouldn’t be open to being re-trained.”  
She said she heard people from all three parishes say, “The bishop’s going to have the final say,” so they didn’t think their input would count. She thinks St. Philip’s parishioners figured, “It looks like we’re doomed” and many changed parishes, some going to Millbury.  
Katie Hanna, 51, said she thought some parishion-ers were resistant to the change in the beginning, but now see the benefit.
Mrs. Hanna was one of St. Mary’s representatives. “Are there still people (who are) resistant? Yes. … When you love something you don’t necessarily want it to change,” she said.
It helps that church buildings are not being closed now, “because people do get attached to what they know,” she said. “The building becomes a very important part of your history or your family,” Mrs. Hanna explained.  
When she joined St. Mary’s five years ago, she said, she wondered why there were three parishes in the small town and they were not overflowing with parishioners. 
“One of our goals has been to revitalize the Catholic Church in Grafton,” and people will more likely want to be part of a spiritually alive community, Mrs. Hanna said. 
“We all could be better evangelists,” she said. “COVID made us very inward-looking. It’s time for us to look outward again,” she emphasized. 
 Edward Romeo, 52, was a parish representative from St. Mary’s. He is excited about bringing the three parishes’ diversity and strengths together. 
He said parishioners will continue to promote opportunities to come together in new ministries. 
Father Anthony J. Mpagi, pastor of St. James, is grateful for the parish representatives and asked that people continue to pray for the ongoing renewal of the community. 
“All we need is found in God,” he said. “The process that is happening in Grafton is an answer to that. … It requires us to walk with the people. We need to understand what they are going through and also to challenge them.”  
 Anne Marie Flavin, 62, who read the announcement of the merging to the congregation at St. James on Saturday, said she’s excited that Father Mpagi will be the pastor of the new parish. 
“I’m hopeful and I’m hoping that more people will come back to church,” she said.  
Father Leo-Paul LeBlanc, pastor of St. Mary’s and St. Philip’s, who expects to retire, found it a good sign that youth from the three parishes led Stations of the Cross together recently.  
“The youth are leading the way,” he said. “The key is evangelization, not self-preservation. I’m dreaming what God wants and … young people need to have the vision for the future.” (See Joel 3:1)  
 The process went well because of the bishop’s support and pastors’ collaboration, said Richard Ross, 70, a St. Mary’s representative who recalled earlier attempts the parishes made at working together. 
He said there’s been discussion for decades about whether three Catholic churches are needed in Grafton, but now the focus is growing the Catholic community here. 
“You don’t want to lose anything,” Mr. Ross said. “Some of it might be physical,” like St. James’ large hall. But things that are not physical might need preserving too.  
The fact that an Eagle Scout candidate is preparing to make another sign for St. James Church is hopeful, noted Lori Lauria, 61, a representative from that parish, “because why would you make a new sign for a church that’s closing?” 
Mrs. Lauria said she’s talked to many people from St. Philip’s. 
“They want to work together and they’re just thrilled that there’s going to be something cohesive,” she said. 
“They’ve been talking about the options and having us provide input,” said St. Philip’s parishioner Lisa Yitts, 54. The merger “made sense financially,” and because of the priest shortage. Being viable is what’s most important, she said. 
Rolande Parent, 70, said St. Mary’s has been a vibrant parish for years.
“Like all parishes, it has diminished some over the years,” with attendance dropping during the pandemic. She said she thinks younger people seek the right parish for their families and the new parish will offer that choice. 
Combining resources will bring in more parish leaders, she figures, and “new people mean new ideas, creative ideas.”  
 Stacy Willar, of St. James, said it will be different, but she is open to the change if the spiritual message is the same. 
“Keep the community together,” she added. “Welcome everybody into the Church.”