September 2004
September 24, 2004
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This weekend finds us exactly four months since the May 25th announcement of parish closings and only one month from the closing of Our Lady Help of Christians. I share all the loss, pain, grief and anger which I hear in your voices, see in your faces and read in your messages. Many of you were with us when we gathered for prayer on the night of May 25th. Perhaps you remember me saying that my task in the months ahead would be a difficult one: to shepherd our parish through a dark valley, carrying with you the weight of grief, to a place where we might grow and flourish anew. Well, the valley has indeed been a dark one, even under the light of the summer sun.
This past summer, the roses in the parish garden did not bloom. While I’m told that the weather was the reason for this, I can’t help but wonder if the very earth and its flowers haven’t joined us in our grieving. And then, about a month ago, the church building seemed to droop its shoulders in mourning when pieces of the ceiling let go and rained down in dusty tears. Folks who know about these things have explained to me that old water damage had finally made its way through to the interior and the ceiling began to give way. After contractors and professional cleaners did their work, a structural engineer gave us what we were unable to obtain from other quarters: a certificate of occupancy.
Occupancy is what it’s all about here. Our Lady Parish has occupied her people’s hearts for generations. As did the Lord with the people of Israel, she has pitched her tent among us and oh, what a beautiful tent it is! Our Lady Parish has staked a claim on our hearts, has branded our memories with the mark of her love, has welcomed us to her table and has made herself a real and deeply precious part of lives. And as we have discovered in the last five months, Our Lady Parish has occupied not only the hearts of the Roman Catholic Christians of West Concord, but also the hearts of Concordians of every faith.
It is precisely because Our Lady Parish has occupied our hearts with such beauty that we all find it so painfully difficult to surrender our occupancy of her house.
Which then is more important? That we have occupied this building for 97 years or that this parish has occupied the hearts of her people for just as long. I know: that’s an unfair question and one we wish we did not need to answer. But decisions have been made that make the question unavoidable. How will we respond? As you know, I haven’t recommended physical occupancy of the church building as a path for our community to take. I don’t believe that such actions will change the harsh reality. I recommend, instead, that we give our hearts, so fully occupied by Our Lady Parish and her spirit, to Holy Family Parish. When we lose someone we love or admire to death, we often speak of how that person’s spirit will live on in us. In a unique and very real way this is true of our present circumstances. Thousands of people around Concord and around the world have been touched by the prayer, sacrifice and generosity of Our Lady Parish. Our parish has touched not only the lives of her members, but also the lives of Concordians who have never been inside our church building and the lives of Haitian people who have never left the hills around Fond des Blancs. A God-given spirit lives within us and among us: we cannot allow our grief and anger to so occupy us that our parish spirit slips from our hearts’ grasp.
In the month ahead we will need each other as never before. Some have already left our parish - and some who left have already returned to be with us to the end! Many ask me,”What can we do for you, Father?” The most important thing you can do for me is to be with us over the next four weeks: nothing lifts my spirit more and gives me strength to do my work than your simply being with me at the Lord’s table. You will do me a great favor if you will pass that message on to those who no longer join us for Mass. I know it’s difficult to come to Mass at OLHC these days: I know because I do it four times every weekend. You are familiar with my telling those who join us only for Christmas and Easter: “We are greater parish for your presence here, and a lesser one in your absence.” In the month ahead, these words will ring with more truth than ever before.
On the reverse side is another invitation to join us for our closing events. REMEMBER: On Sunday, October 3 at the 9:30 Mass, I will make a special effort to speak to the children of our parish as we come near the closing of our parish.. Also in the bulletin is an insert for this weekend’s Prayer of Lament: a prayer we need, a prayer we need to offer. Please, be there...
Sincerely,
Fr. Fleming
Prayer of Lament
Sunday, September 26, at 7:00 p.m.
Lamentation rises up from the deepest places in our hearts
where our trust in God and in each other is most vulnerable.
To lament is to stand as a plaintiff before God,
lifting up to the Almighty my pain, my disappointment, my grief, my loss,
my anger, my confusion, my distress, my hopelessness and my helplessness.
Allow your heart’s cry to rise up to God in prayer...
WEEP over the sadness enveloping our church...
MOURN the loss of the innocence of abused children...
CRY for justice in the face of crimes committed and covered up...
REJECT any vile vocabulary used to vilify any of our brothers and sisters
in Christ...
GRIEVE over trust betrayed and faith shaken to the core...
LAMENT the closing of our parish...
PLEAD for God to shepherd us through this dark valley.
In song and in silence, with scripture and prayer,
we will make our lament to God;
there will be an opportunity for individuals
to name their lament aloud,
-or- to write it on a card to be placed on the altar,
-or- simply to offer it to God in silent prayer...
This will not be a time for name-calling or laying blame:
it will be a time to name our grief
and pray that God will lift the burden of our loss and pain
and free us for the work ahead.
Prayer for Healing
Sunday, October 3, at 7:00 p.m.
Evening Prayer
Sunday, October 10, at 7:00 p.m.
Our Lady Parish and West Concord Union Church
Pray and Sing Together
Sunday, October 17, at 7:00 p.m.
September 18, 2004
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
The las thing most folks want to do during the summer is to add more meetings to their schedule. But that’s just what a generous group of parishioners from OLHC and StB parishes have been doing since June.
Our Transition Team (composed of the pastors and staffs of both parishes, reps from the Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils of both parishes, and at-large members from the spectrum of age groups in our faith communities) has just submitted its report and recommendations for Holy Family Parish to Bishop Lennon. In next week’s bulletin you will receive a copy of that report. The members of our Transition Team continue to work towards the opening of Holy Family Parish and they are:
| Gregory Burch | George Perry | Al Murphy |
| Paul Lovecchio | Sandra Mueller | Paul Keane |
| Bill Reed | Jim Barkovic | Susan Bierwagen |
| Diane Krause | Joanne Cormier | Kevin Feeney |
| Carroll Griffith | Helen Cushman | Peter Jantzen |
| Bill Stone | Pat Tobin | Pat Waggett |
| Sheila Spooner | Chuck Clough | Rob O'Neil |
| Meghan Battle | Gary Lorenz | Taras Leschishin |
| Frank D'Ambrosio | Jean King | Nick Pollack |
| Phil Manzelli | Betty Carrigan | Jennifer Harney |
| Jane Audrey-Neuhauser | Rev. John Murray | Rev. Austin Fleming |
The joint Finance Councils of our two parishes have done a large and critical piece of work in preparing a request for a grant for startup financing for Holy Family Parish and they are:
| Gary Lorenz | Mary Ann Haas | Tom Conway |
| Nancy Crowley | Chris Webber | Brian Sykes |
| Carroll Griffith | Bill Stone | John Archamault |
| Claire Lawton |
Our own OLHC Events Committee has planned and prepared the ways in which we will mark the closing of our parish and they are:
| Brenda Dupont | Judy Dolan | Gail Keane |
| Claire Lawton | Jane Torpie | Kathy O'Grady |
| Diane Krause | Kevin Dupont | Jim Barkovic |
| Nancy Arsenault | Tom Valle | Bill Duggan |
| Charlotte Cardullo | Meg Gaudet | Nancy Crowley |
| Meighan Mathews | Meg Moreau | Joanne Cormier |
| Fr. Fleming |
Please know that some of those who are angriest about our parish closing are named above and have labored on these committees all summer. These are not people who have somehow escaped the pain and loss of the moment. Rather, in the midst of that loss they have found the strength and perseverance to do whatever they can to help establish Holy Family Parish as a faith community for all of us. We owe them our thanks!
There are many ways for parishioners to deal with, participate in and mark the closing of their parish. The path we have taken is meant to lead us through our pain and beyond it, towards healing and towards the founding of Holy Family Parish. It’s a path we are already walking with the leadership of our sister parish in Concord center and a path I hope and pray the people of OLHC will walk on October 25th. This is not a path that has put us in the headlines. The last time the Globe called to inquire about our parish was in June and I reported then that we had formed our Transition Team and were beginning the work of founding a new parish in Concord: no calls after that! Still, I know, and you know, and our neighbors know -and the archdiocese knows- that our pain over this loss is as real and deep as any of those parishes under the media spotlight.
What can we do? We can pledge to be faithful and strong to the last hour.
The folks I named above have worked hard all summer to provide us with prayerful
and beautiful ways to be together in prayer and fellowship over the next five
weeks. Please, don’t be alone in your grief. Others, hundreds of others,
share that grief and will be blessed and supported by your presence and participation.
As I have said before, the best thing you can do to support me personally
is simply to continue to be here with us in prayer, Sunday to Sunday and for
the special events we have planned. Below and on the reverse side is a recap
of our closing events.
Sincerely,
Fr. Fleming
Events to Mark the Closing of Our Lady Help of Christians Parish
•On four consecutive Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m., we will have special
services to help us move prayerfully toward the closing of Our Lady Parish:
September 26 - Prayer of Lament
an opportunity to lift up our loss and grief in prayer, together...
October 3 - Prayer for Healing
an opportunity to pray for healing and for the grace to build a new faith
community
October 10 - Evening Prayer
the sung, candle light service we usually offer in Advent and Lent, adapted
for this time
October 17 - Prayer with West Concord Union Church
a time to sing and pray with the people of WCUC with whom we have shared so
much
•We will have a special Mass for our seniors, including the anointing of the sick, on Friday, October 1, at 10:00 a.m. The Mass will be followed by a catered reception.
•Our Children’s Choir always sings on the first Sunday of the month. On October 3, we will make an effort in the liturgy, especially in the homily, to help children understand the transition we will soon be making from Our Lady Parish to the new parish. (Note: the Children’s Choir will also sing at the 9:30 Mass on October 24.)
•Our church will be open from 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m., October 10-23, for individuals, families and groups to spend an hour in prayer, keeping vigil in our beloved house of worship. (Our previous plan to have a sign up list proved to be more confusing than helpful. Please, come and spend some time in prayer whenever you are able.)
•Local funeral homes have helped us gather the names of all parishioners who were buried from Our Lady Parish since its founding in 1907. Perhaps you remember a family member of friend who was buried from Our Lady Parish but with the services of a funeral home outside our immediate area. If so, please give us the person’s name and date of death. All of these names will be printed on scrolls which will hang on the walls of our church during the last two weeks, October 10-24.
•At the liturgies on the closing weekend, we will give a place of honor to those ledger books in which are kept the sacramental records of our parish. But we know that in photo albums, shoe boxes and on book cases and mantle pieces you have pictures of family members celebrating the sacraments at Our Lady Parish: baptism, first communion, confirmation and marriage. If you would like to mount some of those pictures on a poster board, we’d be pleased to display them during our last two weeks. October 11-24. We’ll also have a table in the church for placing framed pictures. (Please be sure to indicate your name/address/phone so that the pictures will return to their proper places.)
•On the weekend of October 16/17, we will have a catered reception after each of the liturgies: wine and cheese after the Saturday 5:00 Mass and Sunday “morning fare” after the 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30 Masses. The refreshments will be special and no parishioner will need to plug in a coffee pot or clean up afterwards! At the reception after Mass, we will distribute “pocket medals” bearing an image of Our Lady on one side and an image of the Holy Family on the other.
•Our deacon, Chuck Clough, will preach at all the
Masses on the weekend of October 16/17. This will be Chuck’s
last opportunity to preach at Our Lady Parish. Some of the priests
who have served at OLHC will concelebrate the 11:30 Mass on October
17.
•Anticipating that many may have a desire to attend “the
last Mass” at OLHC at 11:30 on October 24, we ask you to seriously
consider attending Mass on that weekend at the time you usually come. Our
plan is for each liturgy on that weekend to equal the others in beauty, music,
and solemnity. Our music ministers are prepared to offer their services at
all four Masses on these two days. Less important than everyone being at the
11:30 on that Sunday is the opportunity for all to worship as prayerfully,
reverently and comfortably as possible. Your planning to come at your “usual”
Mass time will be a gift to all our other parishioners.
•Many have asked if there might be some way to “take a little piece of Our Lady’s with us” as the parish closes. Before the last weekend, the corpus on the wooden cross over our sanctuary will be removed and reset on a new cross. The cross which has hung over our prayer will be cut into small pieces which will be placed in small plastic holders with a prayer card. These momentoes will be distributed at all the Masses on the weekend of October 23/24.
September 4, 2004
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
We just completed our first Vacation Bible School and it was a great success!
Nearly 50 children participated over five days. A wonderful group of moms
and dads spent hours upon hours over the summer preparing for VBS and transforming
the church hall into Lava Lava Island Where the Love of Jesus Flows! Join
me in thanking the following who offered a week of joy and prayer for our
children just when we needed it the most: Caroline Arsenault, Susan Bierwagon,
Jennifer Braceras, Kate Callahan, Sharon Cotnam, Brenda Dupont, Michelle Fisher,
Joan Fitzgerald, Carol Gerolamo, Tom Jacobs, Charlene LaFerrera, Susan Merrick,
Lisa Nivison, Ted Nivison, Lee Poirier, MaryRose Sykes, Diane Reed, Sean Sullivan,
Denise Webber, Lynda Voghel and Karen Schmidt; and our younger volunteers
Tasha Stone, Jill McElligot, Jacqueline Nolet, Mackenzie Durand, Heather Fisher,
Amanda Fisher and Lauren O’Neil.
To those who have been away for the better part of the summer: Welcome home! We have missed you and are happy to have you with us again. Some who have been away may have been following parish life on our website, but for those who haven’t, a little catching up might be in order. Included in today’s bulletin is an update from the Transition Team. Here are some other related items: •Our parish will close on Monday, October 25. Our last liturgies will be celebrated on the weekend of October 23/24. •The Transition Team (TT), composed of representatives from both parishes, has worked hard all summer on behalf of us all. This week we hope to submit to the archdiocese recommendations on staffing the new parish and the disposition of parish properties, and a grant request for start-up money for the new parish. •While it is our hope that we will retain the Parish Center as a facility for the new parish, the archdiocese has not made a decision on that. •The TT has sent the archbishop a profile of the kind of pastor they hope will be appointed to the new parish. We have received no word about who the new pastor might be. •I have no word on my next appointment as pastor. As soon as I do - you will be the first to know! •In addition to the Transition Team and the joint Finance Councils meeting all summer, nearly 20 OLHC parishioners have worked on our Events Committee, charged with preparing events to mark the closing of our parish.
Next week’s bulletin will include a calendar for September and October, but here is some information to help you begin to make plans:
•On four consecutive Sunday evenings at 7:00, we will have special services to help us move prayerfully toward the closing of Our Lady Parish:
September 26 - Prayer of Lament
an opportunity to lift up our loss and grief in prayer, together...
October 3 - Prayer for Healing
an opportunity to pray for healing and for the grace to build a new faith
community
October 10 - Evening Prayer
the sung, candle light service we usually offer in Advent and Lent, adapted
for this time
October 17 - Prayer with West Concord Union Church
an opportunity to pray with our brothers and sisters from across the street
with whom we have shared so much
More information on these four services will be included in next week’s bulletin.
•We will have a special Mass for our seniors, including the anointing of the sick, on Friday, October 1, at 10:00 a.m. The Mass will be followed by reception. If you will need transportation to this Mass, please call the Parish Center at 978-369-2810.
•Our Children’s Choir always sings on the first Sunday of the month. On October 3, we will make an effort in the liturgy, especially in the homily, to help children understand the transition we will soon be making from Our Lady Parish to the new parish. (Note: the Children’s Choir will also sing at the 9:30 Mass on October 24.)
•Our church will be open from 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m., October 11-23 , for the two weeks leading up to the last weekend. We will offer sign up opportunities for individuals or families to spend an hour in prayer, keeping vigil in our beloved house of worship.
•We are putting together the names of all the parishioners who were buried from Our Lady Parish since 1907. Dee Funeral Home has already supplied us with the majority of names and we have contacted other local funeral homes for like information. Perhaps you remember a family member of friend who was buried from Our Lady Parish but with the services of a funeral home outside our immediate area. If so, please give us the person’s name and date of death. All of these names will be printed on scrolls which will hang on the walls of our church during the last two weeks, October 11-24. In this way we can remember and pray for “those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith” and who built the parish we have come to love.
•At the liturgies on the closing weekend, we will give a place of honor to those ledger books in which are kept the sacramental records of our parish. But we know that in photo albums, shoe boxes and on book cases and mantle pieces you have pictures of family members celebrating the sacraments at Our Lady Parish: baptism, first communion, confirmation and marriage. If you would like to mount some of those pictures on a poster board, we’d be pleased to display them during our last two weeks. October 11-24. We’ll also have a table in the church for placing framed pictures. (Please be sure to indicate your name/address/phone so that the pictures will return to their proper places.)
•On the weekend of October 16/17, we will have a catered reception after each of the liturgies: wine and cheese after the Saturday 5:00 Mass and Sunday morning fare after the 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30 Masses. The refreshments will be special and no parishioner will need to plug in a coffee pot or clean up afterwards! On the same weekend, the leadership of the Annual Crop Walk will be presenting an award to our parish recognizing our faithful support of this effort over the years. The award will be presented at the reception after the 5:00 Mass on October 16.
•Our deacon, Chuck Clough, will preach at all the Masses on the weekend of October 16/17. This will be Chuck’s last opportunity to preach at Our Lady Parish. I will preach at all of the liturgies on the weekend of October 23/24. (Next week we hope to announce a particular Mass to which we will invite priests who have served Our Lady Parish over the years to concelebrate.)
•On the weekend of October 16/17 we will begin to distribute mementos of Our Lady Parish. People have asked if there might be some way to “take a little piece of Our Lady’s with us” as the parish closes. Before the last weekend, the corpus on the wooden cross over our sanctuary will be removed and reset on a new cross. The cross which has hung over our prayer will be cut into small pieces which will be placed in small plastic holders with a prayer card. We will also distribute pocket medals bearing an image of Our Lady on one side and an image of the Holy Family on the other. (If the new parish is not named Holy Family, we will make an appropriate adjustment.) These pocket medals will be blessed at Mass.
•Anticipating that many may have a desire to attend “the last Mass” at OLHC at 11:30 on October 24, I ask you to seriously consider attending Mass on that weekend at the time you usually come. Our plan is for each liturgy on that weekend to equal the others in beauty and solemnity. Our music ministers are prepared to offer their services at all four Masses on these two days. Less important than everyone being at the 11:30 on that Sunday is the opportunity for all to worship as prayerfully, reverently and comfortably as possible. Your planning to come at your “usual” Mass time will be a gift to all our other parishioners.
•In my first homily at OLHC, I spoke of how a priest kisses the altar at the beginning and end of every Mass and that in my ministry I had served at altars at St. Ann Church in Wollaston; at the Morrissey Manor Chapel at the University of Notre Dame; at St. Ann University Parish in Boston; and at St. Joseph Parish in Medway. I told you how often those altars are in my mind and heart as I kiss the altar at Mass and that when I left Our Lady Parish, its altar would be added to my heart’s list. I’ll be bidding farewell to our altar two years earlier than I had anticipated and I invite you to join me in kissing it. We will have a small ramp to accommodate everyone’s passage up the step to the sanctuary. At each Mass on October 23/24, everyone will be invited to come forward and to kiss our altar goodbye as we process out of our beloved church. I’m sure that reading this material is as difficult as it is planning it and writing it. Our hearts are heavy, but they will be lighter if we lift them up, together, in prayer to God from whom flows all hope and healing
Sincerely,
Fr. Fleming
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