Catholics in Beverly and Mount Greenwood were happy to hear five of their churches will remain open, with an increased emphasis on working together and encouraging people to practice their faith.
Cardinal Blase Cupich and other Chicago Archdiocese leaders recently announced St. Christina, Christ the King, St. Barnabas, St. Cajetan and St. John Fisher Catholic parishes will remain separate, each with its own parish council, administrative staff and elementary school.
One change, however, will be the pastor of St. John Fisher, at 10235 S. Fairfield, will also serve as pastor of St. Cajetan, at 2445 W. 112th St. The two parishes are about 2 miles apart.
The decision followed meetings earlier this year of teams of parishioners and parish representatives formed to gather feedback and ideas about their parishes’ futures as part of the archdiocese’s Renew My Church initiative.
Archdiocese leaders “expressed significant concern about the low Mass attendance despite the large Catholic population in each parish.”
However, they recognized that if any of the parishes were formally combined, they might face other challenges.
“Based on all the research, the Beverly and Mount Greenwood area is densely Catholic, but we don’t see that in church attendance and practice,” said Maura Saas, a longtime member and alumni director at Christ the King, at 9235 S. Hamilton Ave.
Saas said she believes the archdiocese has given the parishes an opportunity to remain independent but work collectively.
Christ the King and St. Barnabas, less than 2 miles away, at 10134 S. Longwood Drive, are expected to share the same pastor, the archdiocese said.
“We were given a pass in this recent decision, and we have bought some time to figure this out,” Christ the King said in an email to its parishioners. “But we don’t have the luxury of sitting back and simply enjoying our successful outcome.
“Our church is in trouble,” the parish email continued. “We have a shortage of priests and a greater shortage of priests that have the qualities required for being an effective pastor. The number of people actively practicing their faith, particularly among the younger generation, is likewise in decline.”
The archdiocese instructed the five parishes to embark on “dedicated evangelization efforts.” The Christ the King’s email explained that means those engaged in practicing their faith and supporting the parish need to figure out how to get others to do the same.
“If we can’t or don’t, there is little question where this is all leading in terms of the continued viability of our neighborhood parishes,” the email stated. “Our pastors will give us guidance and support, but at the end of the day, it will rise or fall on the efforts, talents, and faith of the laity at (Christ the King) and the neighboring parishes.”
Sass was a member of Christ the King’s Renew My Church grouping and feedback team, which met with the team from St. Barnabas from January to May.
The six members from Christ the King were the pastor, the principal, Saas and three parishioners of different ages.
“That was very strategic on our part. We didn’t want one perspective,” Saas said.
The St. Barnabas and Christ the King teams proposed they open up their ministries to the other parishes and jointly host programs, such as Lenten prayer groups, a Peace and Justice Committee, book clubs and guest speakers.
“I’m extremely optimistic because what we see coming up is very strong lay leadership,” Saas said.
The next step will be for the parishes to jointly form an oversight council of lay members to guide their collaboration and to maintain accountability, focusing on St. Barnabas, St. John Fisher, St. Cajetan and Christ the King, the archdiocese said.
The Rev. Wayne Svida, associate pastor at St. Christina, 110th and Homan Avenue, said he expects no changes to staffing.
Julie Egan, who grew up in St. Bede’s Parish and attended Most Holy Redeemer in Evergreen Park when she was raising her children, now is a member of St. Christina, although she lives in Orland Park. She brings her grandchildren, a 3-year-old, a preschooler and a kindergartner, to Mass at St Christina, while her daughter is home with a new baby.
Egan’s parents and her daughter’s family, too, are parishioners of St. Christina.
“I love this church,” Egan said, and she said she likes the deacons, John Mutnansky and Stanley Rakauskas.
Low attendance on Sunday is a problem, she said.
“I think that is a problem everywhere,” Egan said.
On May 29, St. Christina’s clergy conducted a motorcycle blessing in the church parking lot. Rakauskas, a motorcycle rider himself, started the event when he became a deacon in 2006.
Motorcycle rider Charles Dvorak, who has been a member of St. Christina’s for 22 years and sent his children to the parish school, said he had not heard about the Renew My Church initiative.
“We do go to Mass whenever we can,” Dvorak said. “As long as people stay in the neighborhood, it will continue to improve.”
All five parishes were instructed to make a financial commitment to evangelization, which will include training parishioners and engaging families who attend the parish schools.
Christ the King pastor the Rev. Larry Sullivan said he hopes more people will come to church and support the parish, but the first priority is that people have a way to express their faith.
“There is a faith crisis in our country,” Sullivan said. “All denominations are hurting in membership. People are less and less depending on God, and God is less and less talked about.”
People may believe in God and say they try to live according to their religion’s teaching, but if they don’t attend and participate in a church and its programs, “it’s harder to pass that to the next person, to the next generation. You kind of need the structure to go from one generation to the next,” Sullivan said.
He compared it to baseball. Children become interested in baseball when they throw a ball, play catch with someone or run the bases, he said.
“No kid has ever picked up a book about the rules of baseball and thought this is the game for me,” Sullivan said. “The relationship comes first, and then the rules follow. But you can’t play baseball without knowing the rules.”
“It’s the same with faith,” Sullivan said.
Kimberly Fornek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
