Parish picnic strengthens neutral site concept
Sep. 20—Merging seven parishes into one is no picnic.
On the other hand, a picnic can certainly help point the way.
Holy Spirit was formed in 2019 as part of a Diocese of Pittsburgh initiative to consolidate its parishes, and Father Joseph McCaffrey was assigned to be the pastor who would shepherd seven Lawrence County churches on their route to becoming a single entity.
However, when COVID-19 arrived just months after the merger became official, it threw a roadblock into McCaffrey's attempts to mesh the diverse parishioners into one family.
In an effort to make up for lost ground, the pastor and his staff scheduled a first-ever parish picnic Sept. 11 at Cascade Park. The parish picked up the tab for the park rental, as well as for food and entertainment.
Around 1,500 people turned out.
"It could not have gone any better," McCaffrey said. "The liturgy (a pre-picnic Mass in the pavilion) was packed; someone said we had about 650 people, some of whom had to sit outside. I talked loud so they could hear.
"Everybody was mingling and enjoying each other, and we were all together."
It's not the first time McCaffrey has seen that kind of response from the various former parishes.
"When we have done these events in neutral territory, we've always had a wonderful response and a very positive experience," he said, citing the Masses he celebrated at New Castle High School shortly after his arrival, the parking lot Masses held outside the former Sears store when the pandemic pre-empted indoor worship, and finally, the picnic.
"The Mass at the high school when I first came was very well received, and people were coming to realize, 'I didn't even know this person was Catholic, and here we are, they belong to one of the other parishes,'" he said. "The Sears Mass was another neutral place where we had people from all over, even from out of our parish. and then there was the picnic, where everyone had the opportunity to just get together and talk and enjoy each other's company."
Such results, McCaffrey said, strengthen his case to build a new church that all seven churches can call their own.
"I really think that that is the answer for our parish, moving forward," he said. "With the declining number of priests — and that is a diocesan-wide reality — and the fact that one day, probably sooner rather than later, we may be down to one priest, to have a space where we can gather 1,000 to 1,200 people comfortably would be very important. One priest would be able to handle all the Masses, and there would be enough room for people to gather.
"And many of the folks whose buildings we are not using right now for weekly or weekend Masses are very much desiring of a new place that they can call their own as well, that belongs to everybody."
McCaffrey says that he already has a feasibility study underway to look at building a new worship site and to gather facts that will be presented to the parish.
"We can't think in terms of two or three years; we have to look up the road for what's going to stabilize our parish for the next 20 years," he said. "With the age of our buildings and the enormous amount of revenue it takes to keep these buildings safe and up to date, it's just killing us.
"So I think a neutral place that would belong to everyone, that would sustain the largest number of people for Masses would be the best solution moving forward."
As for the parish picnic, McCaffrey sees that becoming an annual event, no matter what else the parish's future might hold.
"There was a great deal of interest in doing it again," he said, crediting the folks who gave of their time to make the inaugural event a success.
"I'm so impressed with the volunteers who worked so hard to make it all happen. We had so many people doing regstration, and caring about all the different preparations, and it all paid off."
