Northside churches to merge
Bishop Robert J. Cunningham sent a letter on Dec. 7 to parishioners of some churches on the northside of Syracuse regarding the future of their churches. He cited the continuing need for the presence of the church and the ministry it offers in these areas. “However, due to the changing population, the beautiful facilities are underutilized and their costs have limited the ability of parishes to respond to the new needs of the areas that they were established to serve,” Bishop Cunningham wrote.
After consulting the recommendations from parish planning committees in November and meeting with the council of priests regarding these recommendations, Bishop Cunningham accepted the planning committees’ suggestions on the condition that they occur on a more accelerated time-line. “For the sake of parishioners and our neighborhoods, it is important that the parishes of the northside regain their sense of stability,” he wrote.
Holy Trinity Church will merge with and into St. John the Baptist Church at the site of St. John the Baptist on Feb. 14, 2010.
St. John the Evangelist will merge with and into the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on June 30, 2010. The Asian Apostolate at St. John the Evangelist will be welcomed into its new home during the first week of July 2010. The location is to be determined in consultation with the leadership of the Asian community.
The bishop has also asked the leadership of the Church of the Assumption, Our Lady of Pompei/St. Peter and St. John the Baptist/Holy Trinity to provide an operational plan for their collaborative future by March 2010.
