Pastor, parishioners willing to fight
Fr Jeff Scheisman, pastor of the Greene County Catholic churches, didn’t call it a holy war, but he pledged Sunday to fight to keep St Brigid Catholic Church open in Grand Junction.
The Catholic Diocese of Sioux City on Feb. 25 announced its “Ministry 2025” pastoral plan that includes transitioning 40 of the 108 diocesan parishes. St Brigid is on the list, as are St John in Ogden, St Joseph in Lohrville, and St Elizabeth Seton in Glidden. Members of the parishes will have an option to become an oratory* or closing.
Closing churches isn’t new. The diocese closed St John in Paton in 1995 and St Paul in Scranton in 2013. St Patrick in Cedar Township was put into oratory status in 1996.
There were six Catholic parishes and three priests in Greene County in 1995. There is now one priest serving three parishes. Reducing St Brigid to an oratory or closing it would leave the county with just two parishes, St Columbkille in Churdan and St Joseph in Jefferson.
Ministry 2025 was developed “with the hope of using limited priestly resources as wisely as possible while creating and sustaining vibrant parishes,” according to the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Globe. The plan was created by priests with help from the consulting firm TeamWorks International.
The primary justification for Ministry 2025 is a lack of priests. There are currently 58 priests active in pastoral ministry. That number is expected to be only 31 by 2025. The figure accounts for retirements and estimates of men entering the priesthood.
The Globe quotes Bishop Walker Nickless as saying, “There is a real lack of available priests. My responsibility is to take care of those who still are in full-time ministry, to keep them healthy, give them time for growth, holiness, and not let them run themselves ragged.”
Fr Schleisman opened his Sunday homily at St Brigid saying, “My heart goes out to every parishioner here.”
The next step in the process is a meeting April 11 with diocesan officials at which a delegation from St Brigid can make a case for keeping the church open.
Fr Schleisman said that if he could go to the meeting and name young men from the parish who pledged to enter the seminary, it would open the eyes of the committee. “I know there are vocations out there. If you’re thinking of it, let me know,” he said.
The diocese used “vibrant” to describe what it is looking for in parishes. “I see us as a vibrant parish with lots of young children who are oftentimes here. I see the number of people that goes out past the doors into the vestibule. These are things I’ll mention to the bishop. I’ll tell the bishop St Brigid is a thriving parish and it shouldn’t be closed,” Fr Schleisman.
There are 65 households registered in the parish, and mass counts done in November showed an average attendance at Sunday mass of 120. According to parish council president John Lynch, November counts are generally lower than most months and mass counts at St Brigid have increased in the last three years.
Lynch said that parishioners have worried for years the church would be closed, but the proposal for a change in status now took them by surprise. The parish council very recently replaced the floor at the parish center. “When we were talking about it, Fr Jeff assured us that on his watch the church wouldn’t be closing,” he said.
Lynch noted that parishioners from other closed churches, including St John in Paton and St Mary in Jamaica, are now members of St Brigid, and that there will be a time that rather than changing parishes, people will just leave the Church.
“The bishop is afraid of priests being overworked. He’s worrying about priests, but there’d be no Church if it weren’t for the people,” Lynch said.
He also said that of the three remaining Catholic churches in the county, St Brigid is the most handicapped accessible. “The bishop is worried about priests. I’m worried about how the elderly will be able to go to church.”
The present church was built in 1987 and a new roof was put on three years ago.
Lynch said the church is self-sufficient financially and makes very few demands on a pastor. “All a pastor has to do for us is come say mass.”
If the delegation at the deanery meeting in April is unsuccessful, St Brigid parishioners will be asked to decide whether to close the church or become an oratory. If it is closed, the property would be sold. If it becomes an oratory, there will be no funding from the diocese or another parish to maintain the building. Like St Patrick Church, former members would assume the upkeep and maintenance.
Fr Schleisman pledged to fight to keep St Brigid open. “Three years ago I was asked if I was here to close you down. No! I’m here to help you grow and prosper. That’s my goal and intention. I’ll do that if at all possible, even if it’s a fight, a good fight that we need to do because you’re worth it. I see this as a vibrant parish,” he said Sunday morning.
Persons who have views on the proposed closing they would like to share with decision-makers can send them in letter form to Fr Schleisman at St Joseph Catholic Church, 501 N. Locust St, Jefferson. He will take them to the April 11 deanery meeting.
*Oratories are a place of prayer. They do not have weekend masses or programs like religious education or faith formation. Only the building exists, and although it can be used for weddings, funerals, or other special events, it no longer functions as the home of a parish.
