Our Lady of Mercy

A Roman Catholic Church

36 Armstrong Road, Rochester, New York 14616

STAFF CORNER

May 11, 2008

COMING SOON

May 4, 2008

On January 12, 2009 Fr. Tyman, Rose Marie and I will lead a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  This will be my third time to the Holy Land, each time with a Christian pilgrimage organization called Educational Opportunities, a ministry the developed out of the United Methodist church as an affordable way for Christians of all denominations to experience the Holy Land.  EO has an informative website at www.Travelwithus.com. Click on Holy Land Tours and then Catholic Pilgrimages-2009.

            I first visited the Holy Land in 1994.  To be honest, I really wasn’t very excited about going.  The only reason I went was that I was able to get a very reasonable price at a time that was convenient.  My attitude changed drastically the first day of that trip.  It’s hard to explain but just the fact that I was there where Jesus was born, lived and died, walking in the steps of Jesus and the prophets and the great figures of the early church was overwhelming.  Even the air I breathed seemed different.  Call it naiveté or call it the work of the Spirit, I knew that first day that I would return again and again, as often as I could.  I knew that I was not a tourist but a pilgrim.

            I remember that I was very concerned that first trip about many things.  How much would it really cost?  How safe was it? What about the accommodations and food?  All of these and other concerns were immediately put to rest.  It is safe and convenient, and there are no hidden costs.  Everything is above board.

            For those who wish, there will be a three day extension to Petra, in Jordan.  Information on the extension is available on the EO website.  There will be an informational meeting here at the parish in two or three weeks.  Please watch the bulletin for the date.  In the meantime please feel free to direct any questions to Fr. Tyman or myself.

 Deacon Dick

APRIL 27, 2008

Dear Friends,

          Last weekend I announced that in order to address our financial difficulties by reducing our expenses, we need to share staff with our neighboring parishes.  This situation is not unique to us.  All the parishes in our planning group (Holy Cross, Our Mother of Sorrows, Holy Name of Jesus, St. John the Evangelist and St. Charles Borromeo) need to cut their expenses and share staff.  Because the situation for us and Holy Name is acute, Bishop Clark has asked Fr. John Gagnier to continue as pastor of Holy Name and also administer Our Lady of Mercy for a year beginning on June 24^th.  During that year, the steering committee of the East Greece/Charlotte planning group will develop a plan for sharing staff and services among all six parishes.  This steering committee is comprised for 4 representatives from each parish: the pastor, a staff representative, a parish council representative and a parishioner-at-large. 

Some people have asked why I am the priest being moved.  It is a matter of looking at the needs of the parishes and the talents of the individual priests.  Our Lady of Mercy and Holy Name need attention to their finances.  In past assignments and during this past year at Holy Name Fr. Gagnier has shown some ability in managing parish finances.  At the same time, St. Anne in Rochester and Our Lady of Lourdes in Brighton are being clustered at the end of June.  There is a particular need there for a priest who is strong in liturgy.  It is thought that I can fit that need.

We can be angry about this development and lash out at the Bishop, diocesan officials, Fr. Gagnier, the people at Holy Name parish, me or the staff here, or even at God.  But I ask you to look at the reality:  in 1965 Our Lady of Mercy reported 2400 people at Mass on the weekend (even during the summer); in 1975 we had 1400 at Mass on the weekend;  when I came 3 years ago, I hoped to increase the attendance to 500, but we struggle to stay above 400.  No one is picking on Our Lady of Mercy.  No one is being insensitive to the needs of OLM parishioners.  We all know that the community around us has changed and continues to change.  This has its effect upon our parish.  It is the simple reality that we can no longer pay our bills and will have to do some consolidation with neighboring parishes if we are to continue.  By asking Fr. Gagnier to lead both Holy Name and Our Lady of Mercy for a year, the Bishop is trying to help our two parishes begin to reduce expenses.  This is only for one year, because the Bishop wants to give the planning group steering committee time to develop a longer term plan whereby all six parishes will be sharing staff and programs.

We can be angry, or we can be grateful.  We can be grateful that the Diocese has been carrying us for many months, and that even now diocesan officials are less concerned about collecting the debt and more concerned with helping Our Lady of Mercy go forward.  We can be grateful that we are not alone; we have other parishes to collaborate with us to the mutual benefit of all.  We can be grateful that the priests at Holy Cross, Our Mother of Sorrows, St. John the Evangelist and St. Charles Borromeo at committed to help Fr. Gagnier so that the weekend Mass schedule will not change and all funerals and weddings will be covered.

We can choose to be angry, or we can choose to be followers of Christ.  We can stoke our anger by making unfounded charges against any number of people, blaming them for something they did not cause, or we can ask ourselves, “How can I serve the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this circumstance?” 

At our last parish council meeting, we considered experiences of resurrection in the life of this parish.  One member recalled the anguish when the school closed, and noted that yet the parish rose to new life (indeed, more than half of the history of the parish has been without the school).  This reminds us to trust in God.  When things are troubled and the future uncertain, God will open new life and possibility for us.  Yes, we are sad and upset, but we should not give way to a mentality of victimization and useless anger.  Rather than wallowing in self-pity and rage at imagined conspiracies against us, we should ask ourselves how Christ wants us to build up God’s Kingdom today.  We need only to faithfully live Christ’s love, hospitality, compassion, forgiveness and hope.  Our closing hymn last Sunday expressed perfectly the spirit we need:  No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that rock I’m clinging.  Since Love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?

Grace and peace,

Fr. Gary Tyman