Any rural Catholics out there?

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Dicerning

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I have been attending some diocesan forums on re-structure of our parishes. It looks like we are heading towards Clustering in my diocese. Now for those of you who live in cities I am sure you wont have an idea what that means for rural folks. I live in a town of 8000 people. The nearest town of size 10000 people is 16 miles through the country side. There is talk about clustering the catholic parishes together. We have it easy because it will only be a 32 mile round trip to church functions. However thousands of Catholics in my diocese are facing closure and cluster and the vast majority of them will be forced to travel 30-40 miles one way to attend mass. Our diocese has a newer bishop who is ROCK solid (he has already gotten 9 additional seminarians) but he can only do so much.

10 years ago we had 89 priests now we have 56 and 9 are to retire in the next 2 years. On top of that an additional priest who wasn’t planning on retiring passed away unexpectedly just yesterday. (eternal rest grant him). Are there any Catholics who live in rural areas that have gone through clustering?

Oh Dear! Gone are the days of daily Mass
Gone are the days of benediction
Gone are the days of running up to church for confession.

Living in the sticks has its benefits but then again it also has its drawbacks. There used to be hundreds of little parishes scattered across the rural Iowa countryside…now they are almost all gone. But the population hasnt really shifted that much…in fact in later years some city dwellers moved to the farmsteads to get away from the bustle.
 
Dicerning said:
I have been attending some diocesan forums on re-structure of our parishes. It looks like we are heading towards Clustering in my diocese. Now for those of you who live in cities I am sure you wont have an idea what that means for rural folks. I live in a town of 8000 people. The nearest town of size 10000 people is 16 miles through the country side. There is talk about clustering the catholic parishes together. We have it easy because it will only be a 32 mile round trip to church functions. However thousands of Catholics in my diocese are facing closure and cluster and the vast majority of them will be forced to travel 30-40 miles one way to attend mass. Our diocese has a newer bishop who is ROCK solid (he has already gotten 9 additional seminarians) but he can only do so much.

10 years ago we had 89 priests now we have 56 and 9 are to retire in the next 2 years. On top of that an additional priest who wasn’t planning on retiring passed away unexpectedly just yesterday. (eternal rest grant him). Are there any Catholics who live in rural areas that have gone through clustering?

Oh Dear! Gone are the days of daily Mass
Gone are the days of benediction
Gone are the days of running up to church for confession.

Living in the sticks has its benefits but then again it also has its drawbacks. There used to be hundreds of little parishes scattered across the rural Iowa countryside…now they are almost all gone. But the population hasnt really shifted that much…in fact in later years some city dwellers moved to the farmsteads to get away from the bustle.
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Or diocese is undergoing restructuring too. My parish will not be affected, but some of the smaller rural parishes will be, and some of the ethnic parishes in the cites will be also. I believe that one of the rules in our diocese is that when parishes are merged or clustered, or whatever process they use, is that the parish be within 30 miutes driving time. My mother’s small rural church in another diocese near me has merged with 2 other small rural parishes, but her church is the worship center and theirs have been closed. It is hard to accept, I know, but unfortunately, that is what is happening all over the country, esp. in areas that have been hard hit economically where there has been a mass exodus to other areas of the state or country, as is happening in my area, and with the shortage of priests. I guess the dioceses are doing the best they can with limited resources, but a lot of people will be impacted
 
We are nearby, in WI. But, we are not clustering. Our diocesan plan calls for liturgical sites to remain open even if we consolidate into one parish. So, basically, if there were 3 parishes, there would become one new parish-- which streamlines finance, parish council, etc. But, all three churches physically remain open and continue serving the local community with Mass, CCD, etc.

We do not have daily mass now. We share our priest with two other parishes. So we have daily mass only on Thursdays.
 
I don’t live in a rural area myself, but my folks do and much of my diocese is rural (there are some counties in my diocese that only have one parish in them!). This sort of clustering is pretty much affecting every diocese.

It is a sad reality. There are many reasons for this: shifting demographics, less priests, increased expenses, drop in financial contributions, etc.

These decisions are almost never made in haste. All the factors are considered (many of which we do not see) and many people are consulted. The bishop has to think not just of the present time, but of how many priests he is likely to have in 5, 10, 20+ years down the road.

In an ideal world, every Catholic would have a parish within walking distance, but that’s simply not possible.

My parents went from the suburbs of a big city where the parish was less than a mile away to retirement in the boonies where the nearest parish is a half hour away (staffed by a priest who is pastor of 4 small rural parishes). They don’t mind because they knew what they were getting into when they moved there. 🙂 But I know it’s a different story for those raised in the rural area who suddenly find themselves having a much longer commute to get to Mass.

It’s a tough situation all around. It’s good that you are attending some diocesan forums on the restructuring. It gives you a chance to hear the explanations in addition to offering your own perspective, which I am sure your bishop desires and values.
 
In our local rural area we have 6 small parishes that are served by one pastor, one parochial vicar and one weekend priest (retired). Each small parish has one weekday Mass and one Sunday Mass. Confessions have just been reduced to the centrally located parish and on Saturday only. The priests have assured us that we can call for an appointment and IF they get to Mass early enough they would try to hear confessions.

All small parishes still have their own Councils, clubs, committees, etc.

Our weekend priest will one day pass on. When that happens, we got problems. So our current situation is one that is evolving. Several of us are already transitioning to the FSSP but thats 120 miles away. We are very fortunate in that we have a new Archbishop who has a reputation of getting things done. So we’ll be waiting, watching and praying.
 
Dicerning, your story puts a pit in my stomach, because I fear that your present is our future within the next pastor re-assignment. We are a small parish with one priest and a deacon shared with the the closest parish to us (a 25 min drive). The next closest parish in any direction is 45 min at best. I forsee having to share a priest and daily Mass being a thing of the past. I truly gives me a melancholy heart to think about it. I already feel that we are somewhat isolated, like hardy pioneers, and to have to live out a Catholic life without a resident priest and access to all that a resident priest brings, well, it’s very distressing to me.
 
corsair said:
The priests have assured us that we can call for an appointment and IF they get to Mass early enough they would try to hear confessions.
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How exactly does calling work? Do you hope the priests doesn’t have caller ID and tell him to head of to the church and sit in the confessional at such and such time?

The priest MUST provide for anonymity
 
Dicerning said:
How exactly does calling work? Do you hope the priests doesn’t have caller ID and tell him to head of to the church and sit in the confessional at such and such time?

The priest MUST provide for anonymity
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No, anonymity is not a guaranteed right. In fact, in small parishes, it may be impossible.

The screen is for comfort, but is no guarantee of anonymity. Even at a cathedral parish, I’ve been greeted by name by the priest through the screen, as the priest recognized my voice. Further, nothing prevents others from observing who is in line for confession.

What is protected is not who is going, but what is said.

Further still, many Eastern Catholic Parishes don’t have confessionals at all; within the byzantine rite confession is usually done in the front of the nave, standing before the icon of Christ Pantocrator.
 
I grew up in a rural area, with only one parish within a reasonable driving distance. Fortunately, it was a good parish, as most were back in the dark ages.

Now, DH & I live in the city, and we can hardly imagine what rural Catholics go through. We can get in the car and be at any of four parishes in five minutes. Add another ten minutes to the drive time and we can choose from at least fifteen, maybe more. We have our nearby home parish where DH is an usher and I am a cantor. If we want a change of scenery, we can go to the parish with the great music or the parish where we like to go to confession, or the one that’s got the Mass at a particularly convenient time.

Also, our home parish is in a bad neighborhood, has an aging and dying congregation, and who knows how long it may stay open. We have just found the parish we will make our home if our parish should ever be closed. It’s a very good, secure feeling.

I really feel for you all out in the country, and admire your courage for sticking it out. We who are so spoiled should realize how blessed we are and how brave you are.

Betsy
 
I live in a rural county in West Central Ohio. Our parish has been clustered with 2 other parishes for several years now. Holy Trinity (HT) is the “lead” parish as it is the largest. The priests reside at the HT rectory, and the cluster offices are located at HT as well. My parish of St. Anthony is approximately 10 miles from HT. We no longer have a daily mass. We have 2 parish penance services; one during Lent and one during Advent. Confessions are not heard at our parish other than the penance services. We have a separate CCD program, but I, as DRE, work closely with the DREs of the other parishes in the cluster. St. Anthony has one mass on Sunday morning. We have separte Fincne Committees, Parish Councils, Ladies Sodalities, Mens Groups, and CYO groups. St. Mary parish, the 3rd parish in our cluster, is situated geographically between HT and St. Anthony. Their circumstances are pretty much identical to ours (one Sunday Mass, separate CCD program) Since we “clustered”, the goal has always been to maintain separate parish “identities”. We’ve been able to accomplish this. We celebrate Confirmation as a cluster because of the Archbishop’s limited time. All other sacraments are celebrated separately. It was not an easy transition. A lot of people objected to not having daily Mass at our parish. It would be so much more convenient to be able to run 3 miles to St. Anthony for confessions vs. 10 miles to HT, but it is what it is.
 
Church history often mimics salvation History. Vatican II, with its renewal and revitalization of the Church was Holy Thursday. The backlash form the council, and the struggles we face today is Good Friday. Do not worry. Hold fast to the faith, because Easter is just aroun the corner!
 
Dicerning said:
How exactly does calling work? Do you hope the priests doesn’t have caller ID and tell him to head of to the church and sit in the confessional at such and such time?

The priest MUST provide for anonymity
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I am also in a rural area with one priest for two churches. I am lucky that I am only 15 minutes away from one of them.

We only have one weekday Mass as well. One on Saturday afternoon and one on Sunday morning. Then the other church has a Sunday morning Mass as well.

This quote caught my eye because I brought this up in another thread. It is slightly OT but not completely because in smaller rural congregations, I feel anonymity is even more important.

I tried to schedule an appt for confession with my priest. He told me to come Saturday before Mass. I had to tell him in front of everyone I was ready to go to Confession and he told me to go sit in front of the church.

Then when he came up front to the confessional, he waved me in.

I need to go to Confession again but I am not doing so in front of the entire congregation. I didn’t know this rule about anonymity. I am just uncomfortable doing it.

So there are problems with rural areas. You can’t decide you like one parish better than another because there is no other parish. If your pastor decided he’s doing things a certain way, you’re stuck with the way he does them.
 
GoneAstray said:
I am also in a rural area with one priest for two churches. I am lucky that I am only 15 minutes away from one of them.

We only have one weekday Mass as well. One on Saturday afternoon and one on Sunday morning. Then the other church has a Sunday morning Mass as well.

This quote caught my eye because I brought this up in another thread. It is slightly OT but not completely because in smaller rural congregations, I feel anonymity is even more important.

I tried to schedule an appt for confession with my priest. He told me to come Saturday before Mass. I had to tell him in front of everyone I was ready to go to Confession and he told me to go sit in front of the church.

Then when he came up front to the confessional, he waved me in.

I need to go to Confession again but I am not doing so in front of the entire congregation. I didn’t know this rule about anonymity. I am just uncomfortable doing it.

So there are problems with rural areas. You can’t decide you like one parish better than another because there is no other parish. If your pastor decided he’s doing things a certain way, you’re stuck with the way he does them.
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There is no rule about anonymity. The rule is about confidentiality, which is what the Seal of Confession guarantees. In a confession line, people are not anonymous. Everybody can see you are in line. But in the Confessional everything is confidential. There is no shame in people knowing you are going to Confession. It’s part of our Faith, and is a good example for others, to see that you take your Faith seriously. We need more of that in the Church. It’s too bad others don’t follow your example.
 
CB_Catholic said:
There is no rule about anonymity. The rule is about confidentiality, which is what the Seal of Confession guarantees. In a confession line, people are not anonymous. Everybody can see you are in line. But in the Confessional everything is confidential. There is no shame in people knowing you are going to Confession. It’s part of our Faith, and is a good example for others, to see that you take your Faith seriously. We need more of that in the Church. It’s too bad others don’t follow your example.
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There is no line. In the year I’ve been attending this church, almost always on Saturdays. I’ve seen ONE person besides me go to confession.

So either they’re going by appointment, they never sin or they just don’t go.

It’s a very small congregation. It’s a small town. People notice and talk and speculate. They probably think I’m a serial killer because they see me go so much. Or having an affair. Neither of which is true.

I just think I should be able to go to confession without having to do it publicly if I choose. I know the priest is busy but surely he has some time to schedule a confession.

The other thing about going right before Mass is that I always feel rushed because the priest has to get ready to say Mass in 10 minutes or whatever. They only allow 20 minutes before Mass for Confession.
 
GoneAstray said:
There is no line. In the year I’ve been attending this church, almost always on Saturdays. I’ve seen ONE person besides me go to confession.

So either they’re going by appointment, they never sin or they just don’t go.

It’s a very small congregation. It’s a small town. People notice and talk and speculate. They probably think I’m a serial killer because they see me go so much. Or having an affair. Neither of which is true.

I just think I should be able to go to confession without having to do it publicly if I choose. I know the priest is busy but surely he has some time to schedule a confession.

The other thing about going right before Mass is that I always feel rushed because the priest has to get ready to say Mass in 10 minutes or whatever. They only allow 20 minutes before Mass for Confession.
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The point I was trying to make is that you said you didn’t know about the rule about anonymity. There is no such rule, and never has been. Sacraments are not anonymous. The rule is about confidentiality. I was just trying to help you feel better about the whole thing , pointing out what a great witness it is to the rest of the people in your church, but I guess that didn’t work:o

And my guess is that the people in your church aren’t thinking anything about you going to Confession, except that you are a good Catholic.
 
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