We have learned which parishes in our area will "merge" and which will "twin"--there's a fine legal line separating those realities.
We have learned at which parish our priests will live, and at which one the offices will be housed.
And that's pretty much ALL we know.
I really hate not knowing stuff. (Just ask TheDad. I'm sure I drive him nuts in that regard.)
We don't know which parish will hold Mass at which time.
We don't know who gets custody of the Easter Vigil (maybe they will take turns!) Not like it matters; I love the Easter Vigil and will go anyway.
And then there's the question of ministries and activities, especially, for me, the ones my family and I enjoy. In some cases we may have expanded opportunities (Boy Scouts and Secular Franciscans come to mind) and in other cases it's a big fat question mark (choir and altar serving).
What happens to our deacons? What happens to the secretary? The DRE? The maintenance man?
This is one of those times when all the questions turn into anxiety and where does that lead me? Ultimately to defiance. "Why does (insert name here) get to say what we do? How much of a clue does (insert name here) have about this anyway?"
Defiance is not a helpful attitude in this situation.
It's time to put a smile on my face and keep a prayer in my heart and do whatever I can to make sure we all get along, help each other, work together, and remember that no one wins here until we all do this. It's not a contest that some will win and some will lose. We'll all lose if we can't make it work together.
May God bless the people of the parishes affected in this merger, that we will learn to work together and remember why we're really here anyway.
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