SHENANDOAH — One week after celebrating the 100th anniversary of their church, the parishioners of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Parish in Shenandoah were saddened as their church was closed on Sunday.
However, they also prepared themselves for the next chapter in their faith journey as their parish, along with others in Shenandoah and Lost Creek, are merging into Divine Mercy Parish effective today.
The closing Mass at 11:15 a.m. was celebrated by Monsignor Ronald C. Bocian, pastor.
The announcement of the new parish was made in March, which allowed parishioners to prepare for the closings of six parishes — Annunciation BVM on Saturday and St. Stephen, St. George, St. Mary Magdalen, St. Casimir and Our Lady of Mount Carmel on Sunday. The seventh parish, St. Stanislaus, will officially close with Mass at 7 p.m. today.
The Annunciation BVM Parish Hispanic Liturgy also closed at the noon Mass on Sunday.
The new Divine Mercy Parish is located in the former Annunciation BVM Church, Cherry and Chestnut streets. Another church building, St. Casimir, will remain open for sacred worship as part of the newly-formed parish.
As the new parish begins its first day, it was announced that all regularly scheduled Masses for weekdays and weekends will be celebrated in St. Casimir Church due to renovations in Divine Mercy Church
Before Mass began, reader Mary-Jo Jones opened with a statement read at all closing Masses about the changes and the promise for the future.
“Today marks the end of something beautiful and we are called to place ourselves once again into the loving of hands of God the Father in total trust that He has something wonderful in store for us,” Jones said.
Bocian devoted part of his homily on what has transpired and will transpire involving the merger.
“We are not closing churches this weekend,” said Bocian. “Tomorrow (Monday) will be the last time we do this at St. Stanislaus Church. What we are doing is we’re closing parishes.”
Bocian used St. Mary Magdalen Parish as an example. On Jan. 19, 1984, the Lost Creek church was destroyed in a fire. The Most Rev. Thomas J. Welsh, the bishop of the Diocese of Allentown at the time, decided to not rebuild because the parish census was too low to build another church in the small village. The rectory was remodeled to include a chapel where Sunday and weekday Masses could be celebrated.
“They didn’t rebuild the church. They set up an altar and some pews in the living room of the rectory and that’s where the people worshiped — as a parish,” Bocian said. “All of us right now could be picked up, loaded onto buses and brought to a barn on a farm nearby and celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as a parish. We come together as a parish. We don’t come together as a church. This is a building. We can celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass anyplace.”
He said St. Mary Magdalen and St. George still exist as parishes, even though the church buildings are gone.
“At the end when we’re leaving, someone is going to take the key and lock the door to this church ceremonially, closing this parish, not the church. Closing the parish. That’s what we have to remember,” said Bocian. “What will happen at the very end, and I’ll repeat it again because I know there are so many emotions going on here today, Tim (Dando, altar server) will come down with the Paschal candle (before the altar). The Blessed Sacrament will remain on the altar and will be incensed and then Tim will begin walking down the aisle slowly. All of you are asked to follow him outside and down the stairs and gather around that lit Paschal candle. The last person to leave this church will be Jesus and I will carry Him out with the humeral veil.”
Bocian added, “Remember the past, treasure the past, but think of the future. Think of what you are doing for the people who come after you and the faith you are building up for them to follow in your footsteps.”
After the post-Communion prayer, Dando took the candle and stood in the center aisle and after the Blessed Sacrament was incensed, he turned and walked slowly to the front doors, closely followed by the people in the recessional. There were tears in some people’s eyes and everyone had sorrowful expressions on their faces as they slowly walked out for the last time.
As Bocian stood on the porch near the front doors, he said, “You’ve had so many memories and traditions in this church building, but think of all the new memories and traditions that will begin in your new parish. I beg you to bring your traditions and customs with you to your new parish to enrich it. Bring what you have done here to the new parish so that others may prosper spiritually from what you have done here. I ask you to continue to pray for the living and deceased members of this parish. And I ask you continue to pray as we have in the past two months for those people who have left the church so they return trusting in Divine Mercy.”
After Bocian blessed everyone with the Blessed Sacrament, the doors were ceremonially locked by parishioner Thomas Talerico.
During Mass, Carmella Toborowski, 83, of Shenandoah, sat in the front pew, in the same spot she sat last Sunday for the centennial Mass. She spoke after Mass of her sadness, but that time moves on.
“We’re sad, naturally, but we have to go with the flow, as they say. I’m going with the flow,” said Toborowski, who is a lifelong parish member and Shenandoah native. “I was christened here, married here. I’ve been here for ages.”
Another lifelong parishioner, Agnes Esposito Ferguson, also is a Shenandoah native whose religious life is connected to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
“I was baptized here, got first Holy Communion and Confirmation here. My parents were parishioners,” Ferguson said. “This is sad in a way, but you have to look forward. There are so many memories that are so beautiful and deep. We had some nice priests and we had some sisters from the IHM (Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) who taught us for first Holy Communion and Confirmation.”
Ferguson also remembers growing up in the church and helping out.
“My mother used to send me up here every Saturday with my girlfriends to the pews and around the church,” said Ferguson. “We used to go up into the choir and jump around. You know, we were kids.”
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