The Observation Deck

According to the PD, St Cyril & Methodius will remain opne but merge with St Rose in Cleveland.

St Lukes and St Clement will remain open.

St James and St Hedwig will close.

Any surprises?

A sad day for Lakewood and the entire Cleveland community, regardless of religious affiliation.

Lakewood's history is intertwined with its churches....this will be a time of transition.

However, hopefully things will work out for everyone -- the city, the diocese and parishoners -- in the long run.

A couple more closing notices from the PD:

St. Ignatius of Antioch (where I graduated grade school). This is the church on West Blvd. with the tall tower visible from I-90. Not affiliated with the high school.

St. Colman on W. 65th (where I was baptized). Many Lakewoodites have a family history here. St. Patrick's Day won't be the same anymore.

This just in from the Kate Deneen Hotline.....

St. Mark's is staying open (a complete non-surprise).

St. Mel's is staying open (which is a surprise).

Paul Schrimpf is posting information but from the Bishop

http://media.lakewoodobserver.com/media ... 065395.pdf

You might have thought as an outsider they could have gone into the basement and found a Raphael that would measure say 12" x 20" and sold it to keep St. James and other churches open.

I believe that last Raphael sold for $7 million, and it is rumored that the Vatican might own as many as 200 of them, along with DaVinci, Michelangelos, etc.

Of course to move any of them out of the basement where they are rarely seen by anyone, into the market could lower the value.

Seems almost tragic. My heart goes out to the families affected.

FWIW


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Jim --

There is little to add from what the Bishop has written. SS Cyril and Methodius (where I am a parishioner) and St. Rose have a lot of work ahead of them as far as the merging process, which will begin in earnest when representatives of all the merging and closing parishes gather for a diocese sponsored meeting on March 25. Our prayers and thoughts go out to the parishioners of St. James amd St. Hedwig. We had the pleasure of spending a lot of time working with these tremendous people.

It's a day of wildly mixed emotions that will take much time to get through. If you're so inclined, we appreciate your prayers. If I continue in this capacity I will share updates where appropriate.


Paul Schrimpf
Communications Liaison, Lakewood-Cleveland Cluster

Paul Schrimpf wrote:It's a day of wildly mixed emotions that will take much time to get through. If you're so inclined, we appreciate your prayers. If I continue in this capacity I will share updates where appropriate.


Paul Schrimpf
Communications Liaison, Lakewood-Cleveland Cluster

Paul

It was a shock to see St. James on the list. Half of my family has a long history there. I know that they had issues with roof, maintainence, and I suppose declining parishioners but they seem small.

Were there other reasons I might be missing?

In a period of utter decline everywhere it would seem that churches are needed more than ever.

Thanks again for the pdf and your hard work in this.

peace


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Stunned and saddened...my neighborhood will not be the same without St. James.

This news leaves me saddened and troubled.

I know how tough it is to find a church that you feel welcome to, that you feel like you belong to. Sometimes, it's nearly impossible and the search lasts a long time. To think that a family that has been loyal to one church for generations, can just pack up and hop next door to another church and feel welcome, I find that challenging.

Many good things came from these churches. These buildings have been treasure chests full of kindness, goodness, and inspiration to many people in this community. While those who belonged to these churches have lost a familiar place of worship, refuge and comfort, tonight I pray that they do not lose the many lessons that they have learned, the faith that they have been blessed with, and the many good deeds that they have done within the walls of these buildings.

As one not raised in the Catholic faith, the first time I entered St. James was just about the most awesome experience I've ever had.

The church is a thing of rare beauty.

I ended up volunteering to play at their Guitar Mass, and did so for about 8 years.

The many friends made there at a rather low time in my life, I will always cherish deeply.

In the process, I learned much about Catholic faith traditions, but I learned so much more about being accepted, it a world that did not do that often to a young man growing up with physical "differences".

As sorrowful as this moment is however, I am reminded of the words of Jesus regarding Solomon's Temple, about its destruction.

Indeed, all things in time... it is written that even Heaven and Earth itself, will pass away. It would be a mistake therefore, to attach too much value to things of bricks and mortar, when there is that of the Spirit that we must seek after.

What remains after those great doors shutter will be you and I and God...

Acceptance, understanding, compassion, love...These things must remain.

Back to that great third chapter in Ecclesiastes...

To everything, there is a season, and a time for every purpose under Heaven...

More and more, I believe that we are beginning to experience the times where the unthinkable is becoming ordinary...

...where the only thing the faithful will have... will be faith.

Maybe the flock should break free and purchase the church. After all, what percentage of the the tithe goes to keep the corrupt upper echelons of the church going? A while back I remember the priests saying that the diocese had raised their dues to cover diocesan and popeparian costs (most likely pending and future legal fees). It's time the faithful stop acting like sheep. form the American Catholic Church, abandon the Jesuit doctrine in Vatican II and tell Rome and their minions to take a hike.

Steve Hoffert wrote:Maybe the flock should break free and purchase the church. After all, what percentage of the the tithe goes to keep the corrupt upper echelons of the church going? A while back I remember the priests saying that the diocese had raised their dues to cover diocesan and popeparian costs (most likely pending and future legal fees). It's time the faithful stop acting like sheep. form the American Catholic Church, abandon the Jesuit doctrine in Vatican II and tell Rome and their minions to take a hike.

For the win.

Steve,

This is exactly what I have been waiting to happen since they announced they were going to close some churches. I have a feeling the Catholic Church might end up taking a bigger loss from people leaving because they are not willing to leave their communities church and will therefore just separate from the Catholic Church to keep it then they were losing for other reasons. I agree with Jim that they should have sold some of that hidden art to perhaps save the churches, but that’s another issue all together. It remains to be seen if we are right or not, but it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I am not Catholic, but I do feel for all of those out there that are losing their churches and hope for the best for them, what ever may happen, or where they may go.

Photo of the closing St. James Church taken at 7 am Saturday, the day it was announced.

While we could discuss, what becomes of the families it serves, the souls that it has saved, and the marriages and funerals that forever seem attached to it. I am curious what happens to the magnificent church. I just read a piece in USA Today about a group that sued to keep St. Brigid's open in New York, only to lose.

What happens to the block, what happens to the Social Security office. Is there deal with Lakewood Christian Church a church that is still in business now up in the air? Did the city know? How did these choices work with the power struggle of politicos and Catholics in Lakewood? With the Catholic Church downsizing all over the world, does it change its message, as it has so many times before? How so? So many questions.

Christopher
The very real problem is they horded them, now if they unload them they will take an even larger financial hit. Funny how it all works, funny how some have explained all of this to me. Rumors of a 5-square mile basement filled, sets my mind reeling. Dump the art, hoard the gold, hoard the artifacts, dump the ... God does work in strange ways eh?

Steve
I would agree the history of the church and religion is that of breakaway. usually set because of divine intervention but every now and then like the Episcopal church for money, which then split over sex, and is now ready to split again and again. In Frazier's book the Golden Bough it really lays out the progress and evolution and some might say de-evolution of religion. It would be interested to talk with some parishioners and how they feel. There has to be a sense of failure to keep their church open. This is often suffered by many parishioners when they church folds and closes.

We had studied the evolution of Lakewood's churches years ago when we noticed that many Lakewoodites had start to go to church in Leakwood, ie outside of Lakewood. Because of the peer pressures of some that had leaked out many felt the need to move to other churches and away from their Lakewood church. This of course speeds up the leaking out, from a variety reasons, drive time, peer pressure, long drives past homes for sale, all sorts of things. As the mega churches like Bay Presbyterian draw from Lakewood, the faster the closing of Lakewood churches happen. Once again the evil doers of regionalism kill the inner ring cities by stealing those residents religion.

FWIW

If it bleeds...
... it leads



One of the many reasons we started the Lakewood Observer, to
provide the city with good news, and context on the bad news.


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