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ALBANY — Cities across the greater Capital Region will bear the brunt of a massive plan to close 33 worship sites throughout the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, Bishop Howard Hubbard announced Saturday. Troy will be ground zero in an unprecedented consolidation the 14-county diocese is undertaking to cope with shifting demographics and a shortage of priests. Hubbard, despite lobbying to change the outcome, decided to close six of the Collar City's dozen Catholic churches. That is more than any other city. And the list of soon-to-be-shuttered Troy churches includes St. Peter's, the state's third-oldest Catholic parish.Elsewhere, St. Teresa of...

Among the casualties of Oakland’s new Cathedral of Christ the Light is Old St. Mary’s Church, a 155 year-old parish that will close permanently in September. Oakland Bishop Emeritus John Cummins celebrated a special Mass of thanksgiving on July 26 at Old St. Mary’s Church to honor former parishioners, alumni of the old parish school, and all those who had ministered at the parish since its founding in 1858. St. Mary’s parish, however, goes back a few more years. "Oakland's first Catholic chapel was established on this site in 1853," parishioner Grant Ute told the Oakland Tribune. "In the early...

She spent her life praising God at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church - but Carmen Gonzalez's funeral will be held on the sidewalk outside the East Harlem building today because the Archdiocese of New York shuttered it last winter. Gonzalez, 72, a nearly life-long Our Lady parishioner who died Monday after a bout with cancer, fought the closure until the end, leading loved ones to say that the unusual memorial would be most fitting. "I have mixed feelings about this, but on the other hand, I think my mom would be very happy and would approve," her son Alfred...

The canon Missioner for the Diocese of Colorado who is in charge of congregational development for the diocese, says that as many as 12 parishes will close with three already having made the decision to shut down. He calls it "holy dying." He also blames it on "National Church issues". Lou Blanchard, known unaffectionately as the "Grim Reaper of Church Growth" by an orthodox priest in the diocese, announced this week that St. Francis, Colorado Springs has made the decision to close after declining over several years for many reasons including National Church Issues. Their final service will be on...

WEYMOUTH - More than two dozen stained glass windows removed from Catholic churches that are closing throughout Greater Boston will be installed in the new Sacred Heart Church in Weymouth when it is rebuilt next year. Eleven of them will come from Sacred Heart in Lawrence, which will soon be low-income housing. ‘‘We’re very excited - the windows will be spectacular,’’ the Rev. Harry Kaufman of Sacred Heart in Weymouth said yesterday. The 130-year-old Weymouth Landing landmark was destroyed by fire in June. The church hopes to break ground on the new building in the fall, with construction scheduled to...

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York announced plans yesterday for the most sweeping reorganization in its history of more than 150 years, recommending the closing of 31 parishes and 14 schools throughout the metropolitan region.At the same time, the archdiocese recommended creating five new parishes in Staten Island, Orange County and Dutchess County and constructing several new church buildings, mostly in northern Westchester County, Rockland County and Dutchess County, where many Catholics who have left the city have relocated.The closings would hit the archdiocese the hardest in its southern parts — the Bronx, Staten Island, Manhattan, Yonkers and central...

LAWRENCEVILLE, Pa. — Hops ferment in vats where wine was once consecrated on the altar of the former St. John the Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, Pa. A confessional is a souvenir stand in a pub that advertises “heavenly cuisine.�It has been years since bells pealed over worshippers in this old red-brick church. Mass was last celebrated beneath its high-vaulted ceiling in 1993 when the Diocese of Pittsburgh shuttered and sold St. John’s. A sign out front now advertises The Church Brew Works.Church closings are a reality in older U.S. cities. Since 2002 the Archdiocese of Chicago closed 10. Catholics in...

THE Church of England is to demand an urgent government cash injection of £55 million a year to avert an “apocalypse� with the closure of hundreds of medieval churches. The Right Rev Richard Chartres, Bishop of London and the Church’s third most senior bishop, is calling on the Government to stop treating the Church as a “museum piece� and to recognise its contribution to modern Britain. “It’s not apocalypse now but it is limited apocalypse soon,� he said. “If no extra money is forthcoming we will see a spate of church closures and losses to whole communities of buildings that...

A congregation that refused to pay its dues in protest of the Episcopal Church of the USA's ordination of a homosexual bishop has been dissolved by its diocese. Rochester's Episcopal diocese in New York voted Saturday to shut down All Saints Episcopal Church in Irondequoit, according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper.The church's property and other assets are to be turned over to the trustees of the diocese. The church refused to pay $16,000 it owed the diocese after the 2003 ordination of Bishop Gene Robinson in New Hampshire – a practicing homosexual – and the denomination's decision to...

As parishioners struggle to save the Holy Trinity Church in the South End from closing, they say they are both fighting the loss of their spiritual home and resisting the possible demise of a tradition found nowhere else in the Archdiocese of Boston -- the Latin Mass. Many said they believed it is because of their traditionalist background that Holy Trinity is on the list, a charge a church spokesman said is untrue. Terrence C. Donilon, spokesman for the archdiocese, reiterated the basic reasons for church closures -- a shortage of priests, parishioners, and money -- and insisted the Latin...

Hub voters would be asked if the Archdiocese of Boston ``has failed'' in its handling of church closings in neighborhoods under a nonbinding ballot question to be proposed by a trio of city councilors today.      ``In the past we've had nothing but failure and breakdown in communication and in the future we need to have better communication,'' said Brighton City Councilor Jerry P. McDermott, the lead sponsor.      The measure, which will be introduced at today's City Council meeting, will be on the Nov. 8 ballot if it passes. Also sponsoring it are South Boston City Councilor James M. Kelly and...

ROCHESTER — Less than a year ago, Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson was the wedge that split the Church of the Redeemer. Yesterday, he presided over its final service, accepting gifts and praising parishioners for their faith and service to the church. Though it had been open for 100 years, the church had been hampered for years by financial difficulties. The difficulties worsened when the majority of parishioners decided to leave the church rather than accept the leadership of Robinson, who is openly gay.

Members of St. Nicholas' Episcopal Church and supporters from churches around the city, state and nation began to fill the pews nearly an hour before Sunday's service. By 7 p.m., chairs spilled out into the sanctuary's foyer until there was standing room only. It was the final Sunday many of St. Nicholas' parishioners would gather together in the building they built only four years ago. Nearly 90 percent of the congregation is leaving St. Nicholas' to begin Christ Church Midland (Anglican Communion) after Bishop Wallis Ohl of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwest Texas told those who were dissatisfied with the...

Dwindling attendance and money problems behind diocese's reason When Jane Chynoweth looks around St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church, memories flood her mind. The church is where she raised children, socialized with lifelong friends and worshiped for more than 40 years. Now it is closing. ... The church — one of two Episcopal congregations in Modesto — owes $150,000 to the Fresno-based diocese, parishioners and clergy said. The closure is based on dwindling attendance — and giving — at the Carver Road church, which draws about 50 Sunday worshipers. ... ... Duke Golden, chief financial officer for the diocese, confirmed the church...

TARIQ ZEHAWI / THE RECORDWhere once the pews were full, warden Roy Van De Voort exits St. Mary's Memorial Episcopal Church in Haledon, which will close for good Sunday. Where once the pews were full, warden Roy Van De Voort exits St. Mary's Memorial Episcopal Church in Haledon, which will close for good Sunday. It was once the town's elite church, a quaint, hilltop chapel overlooking crowded streets and humming textile mills.But now the red velvet seat cushions are flat and faded, the choir robes are moldy and the guest book hasn't had a new signature in more than...

BROOKLYN DIOCESE TO SHUT 26 SCHOOLS February 10, 2005 -- Twenty-six Catholic elementary schools in Brooklyn and Queens will close after the school year — forcing more than 4,100 youngsters to find new schools before September, the Diocese of Brooklyn said yesterday. The largest blood-letting in diocese history — announced on Ash Wednesday — comes less than four months after The Post first reported that as many as 25 parish schools were facing the closing bell because of dwindling enrollment. The affected schools, 17 in Brooklyn and nine in Queens, represent more than one in six schools in the diocese.

Challenging “Challenges” Exposing Carpetbagger Egan on the Lie of “Realignment” Your Eminence: One could drive a Popemobile through the holes in your shopworn rationale for “realignment.” We exposed them a year ago in a letter to Catholic New York [CNY], still neither published nor answered. In “Challenges,” your November 2004 editorial for CNY, you didn’t even try to cover them. As far as you’re concerned, they simply don’t exist.

ROCHESTER (1/20/2005) - Citing overburdened leadership and a lack of worshippers to help carry the load, parishioners at the Church of the Redeemer have decided that now is the time to move on. Parishioners met privately with Bishop V. Gene Robinson Wednesday to make official the closing of the church after more than 100 years of operation. Those who spoke of the closure said the decision was made solely by the parishioners, not Robinson or the Diocese of New Hampshire. "With much disappointment and sadness, (the parishioners) reached the decision that there was just not a critical mass of people...

A MESSAGE TO CARDINAL EGAN AND HIS LACKEYS ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAST NOVUS ORDO MASS AT THE NATIONAL SHRINE OF SAINT ANN’S You, Sir, may be finished with this church. But we are not finished with you. You may think you have won, but we will not rest until your name is blackened in the annals of the Church and the mere mention of “Egan” nauseates the faithful as does “Esau” and “Judas.” When you enter a room, be it the Waldorf Astoria’s Grand Ballroom, the Metropolitan Opera’s Belmont Room, or any of the other humble venues you...

Vt. diocese faces historic changes January 9, 2005 By KEVIN O'CONNOR Staff Writer How do you staff 130 parishes with 55 priests, settle yet another round of clergy misconduct lawsuits and replace a retiring bishop? For Vermont's 148,000 Catholics, the new year promises historic challenges and change. Members of the state's largest religious group will start work Saturday on their chief concern when as many as 300 priests and parishioners meet privately to discuss how to consolidate churches to deal with a clergy shortage. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Vermont projects the number of priests will drop by half in...

Officials of the Archdiocese of New York, one of the city's largest property owners, expect to sell off a significant number of church buildings, schools, and charitable facilities in the next year, to compensate for shifts in Catholic population concentrations, a church spokesman said yesterday."We are going through a process of realignment that will very probably result in the sale of property in Manhattan, the Bronx, and possibly Staten Island," the communications director for the archdiocese, Joseph Zwilling, told The New York Sun. "We will also look to add parishes in Rockland, Dutchess, and Orange counties where the Catholic communities...

Seventeen churches in Aceh province were closed down during September by local government authorities. The authorities gave no reason for these closures that have deprived over 10,000 Christians of places to meet for worship. One congregation has tried to meet in the open air in a palm oil plantation. Christians in Aceh have been under increasing pressure since the implementation of Shari’ah (Islamic law) in the province in March 2002. Although Shari’ah regulations were only supposed to apply to Muslims, Christian women are being forced to conform to Islamic dress codes. Aceh is a strongly Islamic province and the implementation...

Catholics outraged by the treatment of parishioners attending a South Natick church's final Mass are considering staging sit-ins at other parishes the Boston archdiocese intends to close. ``The archdiocese has shown its true colors in calling in the police, and we will act accordingly,'' said Peter Borre, co-chairman of the Council of Parishes, a coalition of parishioners concerned about Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley's decision to close more than 80 parishes because of fiscal problems. Our Lady of Mercy in Belmont is scheduled to close Friday after its final Mass tomorrow, and four Cape Ann parishes are slated to close Jan....

The Christian Underground http://www.christian-underground.com READ IT - LEARN FROM IT - PRAY OVER IT - SHARE IT --- Why 85 Episcopal churches closed their doors December 25, 2004 By Les Kinsolving New Hampshire's Episcopal bishop, the Right Rev. Vicky Gene Robinson, continues to attract extensive coverage in our nation's left-wing dominated Old Media – because he is the only known Anglican (or Episcopal) prelate who left his wife and daughter and who now lives unmarried with his sodomist lover. The decision to consecrate him a bishop has caused a worldwide rift in the 77 million-member Anglican communion. There are further...

Saturday, December 25, 2004 Why 85 Episcopal churches closed their doorsPosted: December 25, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern By Les Kinsolving © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com New Hampshire's Episcopal bishop, the Right Rev. Vicky Gene Robinson, continues to attract extensive coverage in our nation's left-wing dominated Old Media – because he is the only known Anglican (or Episcopal) prelate who left his wife and daughter and who now lives unmarried with his sodomist lover. The decision to consecrate him a bishop has caused a worldwide rift in the 77 million-member Anglican communion. There are further consequences at home in the United States. Already reported has been...

A century-old Catholic church in Boston closed its doors on Sunday after police stepped in to force out protesting parishioners. About a dozen members of the Sacred Heart Church were holding a vigil to protest the decision by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston to close their church over Christmas weekend. According to the Associated Press, two church members, Anne Green and Leo Ryan, were arrested on Friday night, and the dozen parishioners stepped in to resume the vigil. Police entered the building and threatened the parishioners with arrest; there were no arrests since all the parishioners heeded to the advice...

The Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle: From Sanctuary to Abortuary Egan's relentless pursuit of "realignment" is untutored by any notion of churches as tools of Catholic evangelization. Does he believe Catholic churches only serve the people who are already Catholic? (I had thought, as William Temple famously wrote, that the Church is "the only society on earth that exists for the benefit of non-members.") If Egan gets his way, many more scenes of heartless, and needless, destruction such as those above will be visited upon New York City. Click on the link above for more evidence of his legally...

As with Saint Ann and Saint Thomas, so with Saint Brigid . . . blind-sided parishioners . . . monies collected under false pretenses, whereabouts unknown . . . inflated repair costs, parishioner alternatives ignored . . . "no decision has been made". . . talk of low-income housing . . . 1011 First Avenue sings the same tune, but no one is dancing to it. "ARE YOU NEXT ON EGAN'S HIT LIST?" Seen on placard at Save Saint Brigid/Save Saint Thomas Protest March and Rally outside Saint Patrick's Cathedral, November 7, 2004

65 Boston-Area Churches Slated To Close BOSTON -- The announcement this week that the Archdiocese of Boston would close dozens of churches has left many faithful parishioners stunned and angry. NewsCenter 5's David Boeri reported that Masses this weekend could be especially difficult, and include some unusual instructions the archdiocese has given to priests. When Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley and his staff met with pastors behind closed doors in Weston Thursday, a planning guide was given out to the pastors of 65 parishes slated for closure. Comparable to manuals for factory closings and other exercises in corporate downsizing, the manual...

Today is not an easy day for the people of the Archdiocese of Boston. This morning all of our pastors and parishes were notified of the results of the reconfiguration process. Many parishes received the news that they would be remaining open and welcoming people from other parishes in the months ahead. As a result of this process there will be 65 less parishes, but this translates into the closing of 60 churches since five of the former parish churches will continue as worship sites. Although this reconfig-uration responds to the very special needs of the present, a radical reconfiguration...