Discussions to Begin on Merging Parishes in Barre and South Barre

Discussions to Begin on Merging Parishes in Barre and South Barre

September 13, 2012, WORCESTER, MA – At St. Joseph Parish in Barre and St. Thomas-a-Becket Parish in South Barre, a letter from Bishop McManus was read last week announcing that the parishes would being discussions of how to plan for a single, merged parish in the coming year. The text of the Bishop’s letter is as follows:
“Over the past seven years, our diocese has been actively conducting pastoral planning during which time parishes have been involved in the process of self-evaluation in anticipation of changes in personnel, increases or decreases in the number of Catholic families in an area or other factors. St. Thomas-a-Becket and St. Joseph Parishes began this process a few years ago, and discussion between pastoral leaders ensued to begin to understand better the pastoral needs of your two parish communities.”
“Meanwhile, over the summer, physical building problems came to light which have added a sense of urgency to these planning discussions. Therefore, I have asked Father Hultquist and Father Lavallee to begin a series of parish meetings in order to develop a process to bring the two parishes together as one parish community to meet the needs of Barre and South Barre. Part of those discussions will include how to use the various physical properties of the two parishes in the future.”
“Although the process of change can be difficult, the goal of developing stronger communities of faith to further the mission of Christ’s Church in a given community will be the light that gives us hope. Please be assured of my prayers as you embark on this new journey of self-assessment and let us join our voices together in prayer to the Holy Spirit to guide us with the gifts of wisdom and right judgment.”