July 2004
July 31, 2004
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I’m tired of angry assertions based on misinformation. I’m tired of distorted facts used to back up gross generalizations that defy common sense. I’m tired of an uncompromising mistrust which will not open itself to dialogue nor move beyond its own dismay. But I’m learning to live with all of this, and I’m working on understanding that I am powerless over most of it.
At this point, every time I round the corner from the corridor near the piano and enter the church in the procession at Mass, I am struck by the sad reality that I am the pastor who will preside over the closing of our parish.... that one day, soon, I will round that corner for the last time and no other priest will ever do that again... and my heart is heavily burdened with those thoughts...
In the past several weeks we celebrated two funerals: one for an older man of 76 and one for a young man of 24. In both cases, the church was filled with family and friends of the deceased. Among those assembled were Catholics who are at Mass every Sunday, and Catholics who have been away from the church for a long time, and those not of our faith who came to mourn with a grieving family. All were deeply touched by the prayer Our Lady Parish celebrates and offers. These liturgies were celebrated with grace and reverence. The music was beautiful and prayerful. The funeral rite helped lift up heavy hearts for God’s healing and consoling touch. And, if the feedback was accurate, the preaching was effective. In both cases, I know that many left the funeral with a new or refreshed appreciation of what the Catholic church is and what it has to offer. For many, Catholicism has become identified with tragic headlines and grim stories in the news. Curiously, a beautifully celebrated funeral was the occasion for many people having a positive experience of the Catholic faith. And my heart weeps when I stand in our empty church when the funeral is over and I try to understand why this place of prayer will close its doors on October 25.
Yet, on the days when I am honest with myself and not a victim of my own anger, mistrust and dismay, I understand that what happened at those funerals is, as they say, a “moveable feast.” My heart is not without the negative elements mentioned in the first paragraph of this letter. But if I dwell on them, if I stew in them, then I will lose sight of what our funeral celebrations have so beautifully taught: that not only is there life after death, but indeed, it is in dying that we are born to life anew.
Perhaps you are tired of hearing me write and preach on these matters. I understand how some may have wearied of this topic. But because so many of us are in different stages of dealing with the closing of our parish and because our community is so mobile in the summer months, I believe that ongoing attention to these issues is important. In addition to that, many of you tell me that my reflections have been helpful in your dealing with what is happening. And finally, these communications help me to deal with the loss of something I treasure so deeply... Let us be patient with each other... Let us open our minds to the truth and to the facts... Let us imagine our parish life as a “moveable feast”... Let us trust again in life after death... Let us save our energy for the work we will need to do in building a new Catholic parish in Concord...
On Sunday afternoon I am leaving for a two week vacation. I’ll be
visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Denver and flying to Los Angeles
for a conference on liturgy, art and architecture - in the company of 5 of
the priests with whom I have dinner on Saturday nights. I’ll be away
for just one weekend, when Fr. Gerry Flater, OMI will be here for our previously
scheduled annual mission appeal. Please welcome Fr. Flater warmly! NOTE: Fr.
Pat Sullivan, SJ is having some medical procedures done and may not be able
to celebrate weekday Masses while I’m away. Because we will need to
be flexible about this, please call the OLHC Mass Schedule Line (24 hours
a day) at 978-369-1800 for updated information on when weekday Masses will
be celebrated. And please pray for Fr. Sullivan’s health!
Sincerely,
Fr. Fleming
July 24, 2004
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
This Sunday will mark two months since the announcement of parish closing. These have been a terrible and tumultuous 60 days. People often ask me how I'm doing. Well, the truth is that, considering all the turmoil, I believe I'm doing well. That doesn’t mean I don’t have some very difficult days - I do. Nor does it mean that all things move along smoothly - they don't. But taking the long view, I am grateful for a number of things and I want to share my blessings with you.
I am grateful for the last ten years - the happiest decade of my 31 happy years as a priest - indeed, the happiest decade of my life. It’s here at OLHC that I have learned to be a pastor - and you have been the best and gentlest and wisest of teachers. I'm grateful for you and for the way you have welcomed me and my ministry into your parish and your hearts. I’m especially grateful for the mutual support we have offered and received from each other over the past three years through the sexual abuse crisis and the present trauma of the closing of our parish. I am grateful for your email messages, notes, cards and letters and for your warm and generous sentiments of support and love. As you know, I'm one who values and appreciates words and the words you have written have meant more to me than... well more than words can say!
I am grateful to our parish staff who have continued to faithfully serve our community, respond to its ongoing needs and plan for ministry in the new parish while simultaneously working through the closing of our parish books and business and all the myriad details that entails. These are difficult times for all of us and in particular ways for our parish staff but they have never for a moment faltered in their commitment to serving our community and the mission of the church.
I am grateful for my brother priests, especially the crew with whom I have dinner on Saturday nights. Their friendship and support have been a real blessing over the years and particularly in the last two months. The company and conversation of brothers who understand my joys and sorrows from a presbyteral perspective is a special gift. I'm grateful to our Vicar, who has been faithfully attentive to me in a number of ways. And I am deeply grateful to my spiritual director, a priest whose knowledge and reverence of my heart's secrets and unrest is second only to the Lord himself.
I am grateful to the Lord who has walked with me every step of the way since I stood at the reception desk in the Parish Center on May 25th and opened the letter announcing that our parish would be closed. The path from that moment to this has been strewn with stumbling blocks and pitted with potholes but the One who shepherds us through the valley of darkness has been faithful in guiding me as I walk with you through these difficult times. Once again I have learned that even when I am distracted or even unfaithful to prayer, nothing keeps the Lord from walking faithfully at my side. Though the Lord may often be slow to solve our problems, he will never abandon us to them.
And lest you misread everything above: one thing I'm not grateful for is how easily so many believe whatever they hear on the street. I continue to be amazed and dismayed at the wealth of information some claim to have about my future. To the best of my knowledge, neither Archbishop O'Malley nor the Priests' Personnel Board have even begun to discuss my next assignment. But when they do, I have a hunch that I will hear about it at least a day or two before the person whose shopping cart bumps yours at the supermarket. So, the next time someone tells you where I'm going or not going next, please ask him or her to call me immediately: I'd like to know, too!
Sincerely,
Fr. Fleming
July 16, 2004
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
At the end of Mass on the weekend, at the time for announcements, I can sense in the assembly some anticipation, even a hunger, for news of what’s happening in the process of closing the two Catholic parishes in Concord. I wish I had more news to give you because, like you, I know how disappointing no news can be.
The Transition Team (TT), made up of representatives from both OLHC and StB have been more than generous in giving of themselves and their time to this difficult task at just that time of year when we all would like to have more free time than usual. (The TT has 14 scheduled meetings between now and the October closing!) Our parishes are blessed to have such hard working people making this effort on our behalf. (The names/e-addresses/phone numbers of the TT can be found on an insert in this week’s bulletin.)
The TT has been given a critical mandate by the archdiocese in that we are to make some very important recommendations for the new parish even before a new pastor has been assigned:
•As you know, when a parish is closed all its assets and liabilities become the assets and liabilities of the archdiocese. The TT, through the work of the joint parish Finance Councils, is to recommend a budget for the start up of the new parish and the archdiocese will then make a one time grant for that purpose. The TT is also responsible for making a recommendation regarding the disposition of parish properties. In its report in today’s bulletin the TT notes that we hope to retain the OLHC parish center as a facility for the new parish.
•Religious Education is a critical component of the life of every parish. As you know, for more than a year now, our two parishes have been collaborating on a joint religious education effort known as Generations of Faith (GOF). This collaborative venture predates even the beginning of the reconfiguration process, let alone the announcement in May of our parish closings. GOF has received mixed response from parishioners in both communities. My hope and prayer is that all will give themselves to this effort early on because GOF, of its nature, lends itself remarkably to the work that is ahead for bringing our two parishes together. (Note: in addition to our year’s work on GOF, the two parishes have worked collaboratively on our Confirmation program and Youth Ministry for a number of years!)
•The TT is to make a recommendation for the staffing of the new parish. This difficult task includes estimating the needs of a Catholic community which has the potential for doubling the size of either of the two present parishes. While many of our current staff members will probably carry over into the new parish, some may decide to leave and others may find that a new configuration of the staff will result in their losing their present position.
•The TT is working on ways to effectively bring together and blend the different volunteer ministries in the two parishes. The most difficult piece of work here will probably be the responsibility of those who serve in these ministries. A volunteer group almost always develops a healthy sense of “ownership” of its efforts. Those same folks will be called upon, in the new parish, to share their ownership with others for the sake of the mission of the church. This, of course, is nothing more or less than what the gospel calls us to in all things.
•The TT is working on communications. We want to keep you informed of what’s happening this summer and to provide top notch communication once the new parish is established. Good communication is important in any faith community, but it is particularly crucial in our circumstances because the rumor mill pumps out misinformation at an alarming rate! If you have questions, ideas or concerns, please be sure to be in touch with someone on the TT as listed in today’s insert.
• The TT intends to submit a profile of the kind of pastor they hope will be assigned to the new parish. As is always the case, the archdiocese does not seek nominations of particular priests for these posts, but rather inquires about the kind of pastor parishioners believe their community needs. (Your thoughts along these lines might be something you want to communicate with one of the members of the TT.) Indeed, the question I’m most frequently asked these days is, “Who’s going to be the pastor of the new parish?” I don’t know. I do know that in addition to its regular work, the Priests’ Personnel Office of the archdiocese is dealing with an unprecedented situation with the closing of 65 parishes and the need for reassigning so many priests at one time. I will not be surprised if it’s after Labor Day that we get some news about this. I hope, however, that I’m very wrong and that we’ll know much sooner.
•The TT is responsible for submitting to the archbishop a list of three suggested names for the new parish. Bishop Lennon has told us that it is most likely that the archbishop will choose the first name on the list submitted.
A parish may be named by a title of the Blessed Trinity, our Lord Jesus Christ invoked according to a mystery of his life or a title already accepted in the liturgy, the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin Mary (likewise invoked according to some appellation already accepted in the liturgy), or one of the saints or angels. The name of one declared “blessed” by the church may not be a title without an indult from Rome. (Please note that although the cause for the canonization of Rose Hawthorne has been opened, she has not yet been declared “blessed” by the church and so her name is not ready for consideration as the name of a parish.)
Sincerely,
Fr. Fleming
July 9, 2004
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
My letter last week addressed some difficult mail I have received with regards to how parishioners are experiencing the closing of OLHC. You should know that I have thanked my correspondents (whom I quoted) for writing - and for what they wrote. I certainly took no offense at their words and am genuinely grateful for their honesty. As I have said and written a number of times, we are all at different stages of dealing with this reality in our lives. Mutual patience and an understanding spirit are the greatest and most healing gifts we can offer each other at this time.
People in our parish are losing the building that literally housed their spiritual lives. Many are losing a life time of memories connected to OLHC - others the memories of decades, and still others the memories of just a few years or even a few months. The depth of our loss is in direct proportion to the way in which this parish has been able to touch peoples’ hearts for a century.
People are losing the house of worship where they were baptized or had their children baptized or hoped to have their children baptized... the place where they or their children received first communion - and the place where some of our children were already planning to receive for the first time... the place where so many have celebrated their wedding and the place where they hoped their children might do the same... the place that has housed our sorrow as we gathered to pray for loved ones who had died - and the place from which many hoped to buried themselves... the place where all of us for longer and shorter times have gathered weekly to anchor our lives in the prayer and sacrament that binds us all together and gives us hope in the eucharist... OLHC parish church is the place where we have brought and celebrated “the hopes and fears of all the years.”
OLHC is also the place where many have come to work out their anger and disappointment with the church around a host of issues - most recently the sexual abuse scandal. Many have identified our church building and its people as the last refuge for their badly shaken faith and trust... and now the building will be closed...
OLHC is a place where people have learned to literally change their lives and make new and difficult choices and decisions because here they heard the word of the Lord clearly enough to understand what God was asking of them...
Yes, I understand at least some of what people are experiencing as loss... As is often the case at the time of a death, sometimes all I can do is be there, give a hug, hold a hand, share in the tears and offer a prayer... I pledge to continue to do this and the pledge is not difficult for me to make, because I believe that the word we have heard here, the faith we have celebrated here, the joy and peace we have found here is something we are meant to take with us to a new place...
The ways in which we deal with and respond to this great loss are as many as the number of OLHC parishioners. I hear, as you do, that some folks are planning to leave the Catholic church after the closing of our parish. The loss of people to the Catholic church and to our parish in particular saddens me much more deeply than the loss of our church building. It’s the “living sanctuary” our parishioners comprise that is most important to me. When I think back on other parishes and communities I’ve served in, I seldom think of their church buildings - I remember the people who worshipped in them. I hope and pray that we will not lose too many as the living sanctuary of OLHC makes its home in another building.
I know that many are finding it difficult even just to be at OLHC for Sunday mass because being in church is such a palpable reminder of what’s happening. I assure you, I share in that sorrow. It’s difficult for me to judge how much or how little attention I should give our parish closing in my homilies. I know that some find it difficult to hear, and yet others find comfort in hearing the issues addressed. As I did some months after 9/11 and after the abuse crisis, I’ll work towards using my letters as a vehicle for commenting on issues related to the parish closing and to preaching with less emphasis in that direction. Of course there will be weeks when the scriptures will clearly address our situation and loss and I will not pretend otherwise on those occasions.
The Transition Team (TT) for establishing the new parish is in place and has begun its work. An insert in this bulletin gives you the name of the TT members and their mission. The people on the TT are doing a large and important piece of work under difficult emotional circumstances and at a difficult time of the year. I am most grateful for their generous response.
With the important transition task well in hand, I want to gather together OLHC parishioners who will work on an Events Committee: a group to plan and execute events to mark the closing of our parish. While the work of this group needs to begin now, I envision that most of the events will take place after Labor Day and the return of vacationing parishioners. If you are interested in working on this committee, or in assisting in this effort once the committee has a schedule of events, or if you have ideas about events to mark the closing, please let me know at your earliest convenience either by emailing me (FrAustinFleming@aol.com) or by calling the office (978-369-2810) and leaving your name and phone number. If you choose not to join the committee but have some ideas, please submit them in writing at your earliest convenience.
It is curious to me that so many people speak with such surety about where I will and won’t be assigned after the closing of the two Concord parishes. It’s curious because I myself have no information in this regard. I understand how easily rumors fly at a time like this but please do what you can to squelch them. What I know has been either preached or written and all of that information has been published either in the bulletin or on the parish web page. I have no secret information - nor am I withholding information from you. In this past week’s Concord Journal I tried to summarize what has happened and what is about to happen to help the community at large have a sense of the facts in the case. Please trust that as I receive more information you will be the first to know.
I’m going to take the first two weeks in August as vacation. (A mission priest was scheduled months ago to come for an appeal on the weekend of August 7/8.) I’ll be going to a conference on liturgy in Los Angeles. Full disclosure: it’s in Hollywood! It’s the annual Form/Reform Conference on environment and art for Catholic liturgy. The Hollywood setting puts the conference in arm’s reach of the new Los Angeles Cathedral. I understand that such an itinerary may not sound like a vacation to many - but to someone like me, it is. An additional feature of this conference is that I’ll be going with four of the priests with whom I have dinner on Saturday nights. On my way to L.A. I’ll be stopping to spend some time with my sister and brother-in-law in Castle Rock, Colorado, just outside of Denver.
Sincerely,
Fr. Fleming
July 2, 2004
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Many of you have commented positively on how I have tried to handle the crisis of the closing of our parish. My efforts have been directed at helping us to move through what we experience as “the valley of the shadow of death,” trusting that the Lord, the great shepherd of this journey, will bring us to a time and place where once again he will “spread his table before us” to nourish us for the mission which is ours as the church.
My mail this week helps me understand that some may have misread my work and words, leading them to wonder if I am unaware of the pain the people of our parish are enduring. Looking back, I can see that my effort to be a strong leader might have made me appear indifferent to the hurt we are experiencing. So, let me tell you of my pain...
These past five weeks have been a nightmare for me.
When I first came to Concord, the Sunday collection was counted in “the
money room” on the
second floor of the rectory. Pictures of all the pastors of OLHC were hung
on the walls of this room. I can remember thinking about the time when my
picture would be added to that religious rogues’ gallery. Never did
I dream that I would be the pastor who would preside over the closing of Our
Lady Parish; that I would be this parish’s last pastor; that there would
no wall left when the time came to add my face next to Fr. Curley.
This parish is my first pastorate and I have given myself to it as fully as I know how. Being a pastor brings with it many responsibilities that assistant pastors (remember when we called them curates?) do not have. But when I became the pastor of OLHC it was like discovering for the first time (21 years after ordination!) what it meant to be a priest. A priest is meant to pastor a community and a pastor, especially one without ordained assistants, has a unique relationship to his parish. I have had the joy of experiencing this unique relationship with a unique community. In my judgment, the relationship you and I have shared over the past 10 years has been deep, genuine and fruitful. I knew that I would need to leave West Concord in two or three years and I had begun trying to prepare myself emotionally and spiritually for that time. But now a whole different set of circumstances confronts us and they are as painful for me as they are for you - even if in different ways.
One of my correspondents this week wrote from her own life’s experience and of her having no hope of being able to continue as a worshiping Catholic. She asked me, “Have you thought about the depth of personal loss that most parishioners may be experiencing? I hope my note will bring you to a clearer understanding of the magnitude of loss some of us are experiencing.” Well, as a matter of fact, thinking about the loss most parishioners are experiencing is just about all I’m able to think about these days. My cheeks and shoulders are damp with your tears and mine; my heart is filled with the stories of your and your family’s faith life’s ties to Our Lady Parish, and my email overflows with messages of anger, hope, hurt, betrayal, perseverance, disappointment and determination.
At our prayer service on the evening of May 25th, the day we received the letter announcing our closing, I said that my task as pastor would be a difficult and delicate one: to be attentive to the pain and grief of your loss and at the same time to lead you forward. I said that night that I would need: to preach what many would not be ready to hear; to write what many would not be ready to read; to lead where many might not be able to follow.
One of my greatest regrets is the surety with which I encouraged all of you to believe that our parish would not be closed. I deeply believed in that myself and invited you to join me on what I called the “Hope Train.” Well, we had hope and we got on the train but the train delivered us to a station we didn’t expect to be our destination. And now I’m in the position of asking you to trust (to hope!) that we will find and make a new home for our faith and worship and work in a place we did not expect to be. I certainly do understand the painful situation in which you hear and read my words: I understand it because I speak and write these words out of my own pain. Have you ever stood waist deep in ocean water at the beach, facing the shore, only to have a large, unexpected wave sneak up and break over your head? I feel that way a number of times each day. Just when I think I’m finding a little peace, some serenity, one of those waves of depression sneaks up from behind and crashes over me. Fortunately, it passes, the water calms, and I become a little more vigilant.
Yes, I’ve thought about the depth of personal loss that most parishioners are experiencing... I have given just about every day of the past 10 years to OLHC and I’ve done so happily and with satisfaction beyond my dreams. Perhaps I will experience some anxiousness about investing myself in my next assignment, just as you might be anxious or hesitant about investing yourself in the new parish. We will all be more cautious in accepting what we are told; we will take our roles more seriously; we will pay greater attention; we will take more responsibility for parish ownership; we will involve ourselves and our families less freely in some ways and more deeply in other ways; we will keep our eyes and ears open; we will demand accountability; we will speak up and speak out; we will want and assume greater participation in decisions affecting the life of our parish: and all of that is good - all of that is growth.
Have I thought about the depth of personal loss that most parishioners may be experiencing? I believe I have, and I believe I do, and I believe I will for the rest of my life. I will never forget the pain of what we experiencing right now. I regret that I have not had the opportunity to be with each parishioner, each family in the parish, as we walk this difficult journey. I rely on my preaching and letters to try to communicate with the community. I know that my words are not “one size fits all” but I hope you will trust that my words are spoken and written from the same brokenness that is yours.
Another correspondent told me this week that her family is leaving our parish now to join another one because the pain of worshipping here is too great. She wrote, “The greatest sadness for my family in the closing of our church is that fact that it is finally finished. What a shame to let all this hard work go to waste.” I don’t believe that one moment of hard work has gone to waste since this parish was founded in 1907 - not a moment. All the hard work of the last 97 years has contributed to making us the people of God that we are - and that is a thing of beauty, depth, goodness and grace. We are about the business of the spiritual life here and what we have, no one can close; what is in our hearts, no one can take; and what we have become can never go to waste.
Our parish will be less when we lose the people who are leaving us. Their departure deepens my sorrow and losing them is a far greater loss than losing our building and its sanctuary. I pray that one day they will return to us and that we will be there to welcome them.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Since Archbishop O’Malley has decided to close both Catholic parishes in Concord and to establish one new parish, he has asked us to submit a slate of three names for the new parish. The Transition Team is looking to parishioners to suggest names to submit to the archbishop. You will receive a form in the mail and the same form will be available in church. The form will also invite you to write a short rationale for the suggestion you make.
I’m pleased to announce that Fr. Pat Sullivan,S.J. is well enough to celebrate weekday Mass again! Mass will be celebrated this week on Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 9:15 a.m.
Sincerely,
Fr. Fleming
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