Investigation

There have been many church closings and mergers in our area.  It has been a long and difficult road for many many people.

Everyone has been impacted in one way or another. 

Everyone from parishioners, school children, pastors, church staff members, communities, everyone.

But we must move forward.  We must find a way to keep our faith and find a new way.  A new home.

And we have been trying to do just that.  For the past 18 months we have been trying to figure out who we are as this new parish.  I was lucky enough that the building where I have always gone to mass is still open but that is the only thing that remained the same.  The staff only has 1 member left from prior to the merger of our 2 parishes.  The pastor is different.  And change is hard.

But the only constant in life is change.  Sometimes we want to fight it so hard and refuse to see any good in the change.  For me some of the changes have been harder than others. 

But I love the new pastor and some of the staff as well.  I have hope and faith that we will find our new way and it will be better.  We have the choice to make it better if we choose to have faith.

There have been people who have written to the Vatican because they are so unhappy with these changes.  They have started petitions against the new pastor when none of this was his fault.  The pastors too are doing the best they can.  There are people who are refusing to move forward.  So now there is an investigation into these changes made by our bishop.  And I worry some things may change back.  And I don't want to go back.  I like where we are headed. 

While some of these changes have been difficult, I feel very blessed to receive them.  So I pray...