Because of dwindling congregations, decreasing Mass attendance and a persistent shortage of priests, Catholic churches in the Diocese of Syracuse continue to consolidate.
Baldwinsville’s St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church will link up with St. Stephen’s Church in Phoenix “upon the next pastoral opening at St. Stephen’s,” according to the Most Rev. Robert Cunningham, Bishop of Syracuse.
Since St. Stephen’s pastor, the Rev. Philip Brockmyre, has served four years of his six-year term, that change is anticipated within the next two years.
In an Oct. 27 letter to local pastors, Cunningham also predicted the linkage of Pope John XXIII Church on Soule Road and Christ the King Catholic Church in Bayberry, both in the town of Clay.
“Due to the size of the worshiping congregations of Pope John XXIII and Christ the King and to assure the continued ministry of St. Stephen’s in Phoenix, it will be reassigned to the Baldwinsville Pastoral Care Area,” the bishop wrote.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church was established in 1985, and the church building at 3494 Route 31 was dedicated 1987. It now serves some 1,200 families and individuals. The Rev. John Finnegan is the pastor.
“With the ever-decreasing numbers of priests to serve the parishes in the Diocese of Syracuse,” Finnegan said, “planning has been a constant for several years.”
St. Stephen’s has already been reassigned to the Baldwinsville Pastoral Care Area, which includes St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and two other B’ville parishes, St. Mary’s and St. Augustine’s
“To be ready for this change, Pastoral Care Area groups have been meeting to work on Mass schedules so that one priest pastor will be able to preside at the Masses in each parish,” Finnegan said. “Probably all four parishes will need to eliminate one presently scheduled Mass. However, Mass attendance has been taken over the past several years, and a new schedule will provide for the numbers now attending the respective Masses in each of the four parishes.”
Finnegan, 84, who helmed St. Elizabeth’s from its inception in 1985 to 1996 and returned as pastor in 2005, hopes to serve as pastor of the combined churches.
St. Stephen’s Church dates back to 1928, and the present church at 469 Main St., Phoenix, was constructed in 1957 using elegant stained-glass windows from the original church on the west side of the Oswego River.
These aren’t the first local churches to merge. In mid-2011, St. Joseph the Worker in Liverpool linked up with Galeville’s Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Galeville.
The Syracuse Diocese has 142 parishes, 11 missions and three devotional chapels, serving some 300,000 people across seven Upstate counties. There are five diocesan junior/senior high schools and 23 elementary schools.
Since September 2013, local Catholics have been studying a new phase of pastoral planning called “Crossing Natural Bridges.”
In his Oct. 27 letter, Bishop Cunningham quoted Pope Francis: “God is not afraid of new things.”
“Parish structures certainly will change, and there will be considerably more lay leadership and involvement in the Church that will evolve,” Finnegan said. “Trust in good solutions is firmly based on what Jesus said, namely that his church will remain until the end of time.”
