Parish X

As this Lentiest of Lents finally drew to a close, I was reminded that for our (former) parish of Holy Rosary this time of suffering has lasted not 40 days, not 400 days, but for years. I reflected a bit on this in an essay called All is Loss back in November.

Our final Mass after almost 130 years was celebrated not in our beautiful church, not even in the gymnasium to which we had been exiled for two years, but outside in the parking lot under a smoky apocalyptic sky reddened by nearby wildfires. Step by step our parish had lost everything.

I’m most grateful to Archbishop Etienne for celebrating our final two Masses this past Summer and Fall. And I’m consoled by the fact that he chose to celebrate his very first weekend Mass as Archbishop of Seattle in our gymnasium.

Now, of course, three other Tacoma parishes are being suppressed: Saint Ann, Saint Rita, and Visitation. Their parishioners are to be merged with those of Holy Rosary into a newly established parish, which we’ve been temporarily calling “Parish X” for lack of a proper name. For many of these parishioners, their long Lent continues as they struggle to come to terms with this.

Like the parishioners of Holy Rosary before them, they will step their way through the stages of grief in their own time. For them, this Lent will continue for while. Pray for them in their struggle and their hurt.

It’s unfortunate that all four parishes in the city named after female saints are being closed, two them Marian churches. I hope that the new parish will have a Marian character to help replace what is being lost.

As part of the process of bringing these parishes together, the Archdiocese has facilitated a series of meetings of “key stakeholders” at each parish, including the pastors, deacons, staff, and some of the lay faithful. The purpose of these meetings is to start making personal connections among the parishioners in the merging parishes.

There have also been ten or so sub-committees meeting to tackle various areas of parish life, including the many parish ministries, communications, facilities, and of course the Sacred Liturgy. These groups are meeting together over Zoom to formulate recommendations for the new pastor, who will take up his office on July 1.

As part of this effort, I’m serving on three sub-committees: Archives and History, Communications, and Liturgical Support.

So far these meetings have been positive and productive. The folks I’ve met have been uniformly committed to making this whole thing work, which is a tall order indeed. I’m grateful to them for their committed service, especially since many of them are wounded and hurting.

There will certainly be challenges, not least of which is the coming together of four parish communities, including (at least) three distinct ethnic communities. Differences of opinion are inevitable, but I’m optimistic that if we stick close to the Lord and act in perfect charity with one another, we will follow the path laid out for us. “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity!” (Psalm 133/132)

If nothing else, the potlucks should be amazing!