STORY - "When a Church Closes "

Earlier this year Holy Family community Merewether Beach was informed that their church would close. Reasons given for this decision were the shortage of priests in our diocese and the close physical proximity of churches in the city region.

Any change is difficult, but the closing of a church after 52 years is a serious rupture to a faith community. After the announcement was made, leaders gathered to set in train a series of events that would help the assembly deal with the mixed emotions that such a situation creates. As with any loss or change, timing is important. Holy Family community had a relatively short period of time to come to terms with the decision of the church closure and to move on.

A church building is a holy place where the sacramental presence of Christ is housed and holy people gather to worship. The faithful identify a church building as their home because it is the place they associate with significant events in their lives. Babies and adults are welcomed into the Christian community, and other moments of initiation – Confirmation and first Communion are celebrated. Christians are married in churches and buried from churches. Holy Family Church carried sacred memories – not only for the present community but for many others who had once worshipped there and since moved to other parishes.

The leaders of Holy Family decided to ritualise these sacred memories in the lead up to the church closure.

On Trinity Sunday the community remembered all the weddings that had been celebrated at Holy Family. They presented couples with sprays of flowers and wedding vows were renewed. Wedding registers were brought forward and placed in a prominent place during the Mass.

On the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ the community was to have focused on those who were initiated into the community. This Mass was to have centred on the baptismal font as well as the table of Eucharist. The creed was to have been highlighted with a sprinkling rite and baptismal registers were to have been prominently displayed. However nature intervened and the storms forced the cancellation of that Mass.

The Sunday before the church closed people were invited to remember those who had been buried from Holy Family Church. The Book of Remembrance was added to the procession of gifts. Those who had died were recalled in the Prayer of the Faithful and during the Eucharistic Prayer. At the conclusion of Mass a parishioner from St Joseph’s was invited to inscribe the names of loved ones into their own book. On that same Sunday the banners that had adorned Holy Family Church were ceremoniously given to the missions.

Each Saturday the local community hosted many visitors who were former parishioners. On one occasion many of the Sisters who had served at Holy Family returned. The other faith communities in the parish were mindful of Holy Family during this time. Each week this was made tangible by representatives of neighbouring Eucharistic assemblies who presented the community with an arrangement of flowers.

The final Mass was solemn in its simplicity. A neighbouring community assisted local musicians, and people gathered one last time from across the diocese to ensure that this occasion would be significantly remembered. The Easter candle was lit and the Mass proceeded as usual. After communion the altar was stripped by the sacristans and the sacred vessels removed. The tabernacle was left empty and the candles extinguished while all observed in silence. For many, this was a poignant moment filled with deep emotion. After the final blessing the assembly processed from the church following the light of the Easter candle, the book of the gospels and the Holy Family banner – all the while singing ‘Let us build the city of God.’

The closure of Holy Family church was, for all those involved, a very real sign that we are a people of cross and resurrection – of suffering, struggle, pain in the midst of hope and joy. Our Christian legacy includes rich rituals and symbols that enable us to live through such moments of upheaval as encounters with the mystery of Christ. We welcome those who belonged to Holy Family into other faith communities with reverence and love as we recall the words of Blessed Mary MacKillop ‘we are but travellers here’.

Carmel Pilcher RSJ

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