Last Mass for churches
By Nate Smith, Staff Writer
The Washington Times Herald
Published August 17, 2008 11:25 pm -
As of noon Sunday, St.Simon Catholic and St. Mary Catholic churches were no more.
After 170 years at St. Simon and 134 years at St. Mary, both churches closed their
respective doors in ceremonies to allow the formation of Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church
set for Aug. 31.Sunday's closing Mass at St. Simon brought many to the pews, with the
whole congregation filing out to close the doors to one last time. It will reopen Aug. 31
as Our Lady of Hope. For St. Mary is was the last Sunday of service for the venerable
building, as Sunday afternoon purple ribbons were put on the doors of both
churches."In this church, we have encountered Jesus Christ in words and sacrament and
each other," Rev. Gordon Mann said outside St. Simon church. "But now after many
generations of faith, with thanks to God who brought us here, I declare this church to be
closed. We move forward in faith to the parish that awaits us, Our Lady of
Hope."Assisting Rev. Mann during the closing Mass was Rev. Jim Merold, who has come
from Chicago on several occasions to help Mann during ceremonies. Merold, in the sermon,
cited a radio program he had heard on his way to Washington that said when a new church is
merged, 10 to 15 percent of the congregation goes away. And among some Catholics in the
city, there has been some discontent with the merger."This is a kind of church that
you strive to build in Washington and surrounding communities," Merold said. "It
is thriving. It is open. It is welcoming, truly Catholic. It is able to see the sign of
the times and respond courageously to that, making bold moves to strengthen the
church."In the program for the ceremonies, one of the reasons for the merger was
"the breakdown of the wall of animosity that separated the two parishes for over a
century."Other reasons
noted in the closing program were finances, education at Washington Catholic schools, the
future when a possible decline in priests and the idea that the Catholic community should
operate as one community.St. Mary, although it has a Spanish Mass, has more Hispanic
parishioners than its counterpart. Sunday, the Spanish Mass was held at the Washington
Catholic Middle School gymnasium.The move to combine the two churches has been in the
works for years, with the two combined into the Catholic Community of Washington since
2007.For the rest of August, Sunday Masses will be held in the WC middle school gym while
the Knights of Columbus hall, 319 E. Main St., will hold weekday Mass. Any funerals during
this time will be held at St. Peter's in Montgomery. Mann and members of the church
were starting the process of moving chairs after Sunday's Mass at St. Simon. He said
over the month, artifacts from St. Mary will be moved into the former St. Simon
building."We're basically using this building but we're filling it with the
things from St. Mary as we merge the two parishes together,"
Mann said. "That's probably the biggest change (parishioners) are going to see,
seeing those artifacts up here."On Aug. 31, the Mass of Inauguration for Our Lady of
Hope will begin with Revs. Mann and Merold, along with Bishop Gerald Gettlefinger with the
Evansville Diocese, leading the congregation from the middle school gym to the new
church.Along the way, a statue of St. Theodore Guerin will be dedicated. Guerin, one of
the founders of Washington Catholic schools, was canonized as a saint in 2006. Mann said
after Sunday's ceremony that although the church is moving forward, this weekend's
ceremonies were emotional.
"I think it was for everybody because they had to let go of the past," Mann
said. "To hang onto the future, you only have two hands. It's best you can grab
both going the same way. I think people have embraced it pretty well."