It was easy to view the restructuring process in West Hartford as a threat. Notwithstanding the fact that many understood that the process might be necessary given the shortage in priests, the prospect of change was daunting, particularly when the possibility of the shuttering of parish doors loomed.
Now, with the the threat of closures at least temporarily behind us, the parishes of West Hartford are embracing the restructuring effort and the possibilities that come with the renewal of relationships between parishes. While we might have been forced together by questions of restructuring, we choose to continue to work together to build a greater community.
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Chris -- this is a great idea. Well done!
Regarding the front page, one comment. We had our open forum at St. Tim's this week, and a pretty widely held belief among parishioners was that 'linking' -- which the archdiocese has pencilled in for St. Tim's -- is really closing in slow motion. I don't know what the facts and stats regarding linked parishes, but submit that it may be premature to declare victory on the church closing question. I don't think we should over-react and assume that is the case either, but I'm just not sure we know enough at this point in the process.
At risk of starting an online mud-wrestling match, my personal perspective is that we have a supply problem and not a demand one. From the demand side, our WH churches are full and doing well overall. We just aren't being adequately supplied with priests. And frankly without an increased supply of priests, everything we're doing is buying us only a temporary reprieve. This is not to say that the idea of a WH community isn't a great idea -- I think it is outstanding. It's the part within our control and we should do it. But we simply need more priests as well.
Anyway, thanks again for setting this up.
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