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Parishioners respond to new Catholic church groupings in the South Hills

By Eleanor Bailey, Harry Funk, Trista Thurston And Mike Jones staff Writers writer@thealmanac.Net 7 min read
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During his first week as an administrator, the Rev. John Skirtich played the numbers game and his timing could not have been better. He hit the jackpot in his attempts to celebrate Sunday Mass in his new parish grouping that includes four churches in Bethel Park, South Park and Whitehall.

“If you know all the side roads and you get lucky with the lights, you can get to St. Valentine and Nativity in eight minutes and St. Germaine in four minutes,” said Skirtich, who is based at St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin Church in Whitehall.

“Where you live is not relevant. Where you serve is,” he said during his homily at the Oct. 21 Mass at Nativity.

His mission is matched with that of the readings of Mark 10:45 about the Son of Man not coming to be served but rather to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. Skirtich, too, is here to serve.

“My first priority is to love and serve the people. Be there for them and get to know them,” he said in an interview.

Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Father John Skirtich is the administrator of the new church grouping with St. Gabriel, St. Germaine, Navity and St. Valentine parishes.

The changes fall under the diocese initiative named “On Mission for the Church Alive,” which is designed to promote healthy growth and shift the focus from maintenance into ministry and mission. The reassignments announced in April are as a result of a dwindling number of priests and active Catholics and part of the move to place 188 parishes into 57 groupings. The diocese had 260 active priests in 2010, a number that has dropped to 178 now, diocesan spokesman Bob DeWitt said.

The process has ranged from smooth to chaotic, depending on the grouping.

For parishioners of St. Bernard in Mt. Lebanon and Our Lady of Grace in Scott Township, the grouping decision came late in the game. Originally, St. Bernard was to be grouped with St. Winifred, also in Mt. Lebanon, and St. Anne in Castle Shannon.

“It became evident that, for whatever reason, that wasn’t going to be a good fit,” said the Rev. David Bonnar, the pastor at St. Bernard. “And so we were then led to the city churches of Brookline and Beechview, and there was great excitement about that possibility. But then that changed, as well.”

The eventual call was to pair St. Bernard and Our Lady of Grace as the Dormont-Mt. Lebanon-Scott grouping.

“It really is exciting, because we have two parishes with storied histories, with strong schools, and in between us are a whole host of health-care institutions,” Bonnar said. “There’s a wonderful opportunity for shared ministry.”

Sharon Loughran Brown at Our Lady of Grace and Anthony Merante are serving as co-principals of what eventually will be a single school.

“They’re two great schools with great history of academic excellence, now being able to look ahead to the future, to how we can sustain quality Catholic education in this area for years to come,” Brown said. “Catholic schools are a wonderful gem in the church’s history but also are a great drain on a parish’s resources.”

Combined, the annual cost of operating the two schools is nearly $1 million.

“That’s why the school issue is our first priority. We need to have one school very soon,” Bonnar said. “I’m a lifelong product of Catholic education, and I wholeheartedly believe in Catholic education. At the same time, though, I know that there needs to be more to a parish than just the school.”

The Rev. Robert Grecco, who is now overseeing a grouping of churches near Green Tree and Carnegie – St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Margaret of Scotland and Ss. Simon and Jude – said it’s “all a work in progress.” Though he has only been in the role since Oct. 21, he said the staff has been very supportive and welcoming. Parishioners are naturally concerned about changes to their favorite Mass times but have all been cordial.

“They all realize we’re all in this together,” Grecco said.

Grecco said he hopes to meet with the lay leadership of the pastoral councils to get a sense of their concerns in the coming weeks. He hopes to get the three churches connected as time moves forward.

“We’ve had parishioners at one church coming to another,” he said, which tells him they are taking this process seriously and are starting to feel comfortable worshiping at a new church.

The Rev. Robert Miller, who has served at St. Benedict the Abbot in Peters Township for seven years, is now the administrator there and for St. Francis of Assisi in Finleyville and St. Isaac Jogues in Jefferson Hills. He noticed an uptick in Mass attendance this past weekend due to the abbreviate weekend schedule.

“I thought we had a good first weekend, actually. The Masses were filled,” he said of the worship services at the three churches being cut from nine to seven. “We weren’t sure how the parishioners would respond, but they responded by going to the other Masses, so they were more crowded than they had been previously.

He sensed a “little sadness” because of the changes, but also more engagement with the songs and reading of scripture.

“The whole thing isn’t just about cutting, but vibrancy and being alive,” he said. “Take the resources we have and leverage them the best way we can.”

One way was combing scripture study during Lent around the time the groupings were announced. They hoped for a dozen people at the first class, but instead attracted 50.

“It kept growing,” he said. “There was a real excitement there.”

Parishioners are now exploring the other churches and pleased with what they’re seeing, Miller said. They expect to bring the three churches into one administrative parish, but he was adamant that St. Benedict would not swallow the other two churches.

“They’re discovering new things,” Miller said. “There really is a lot of life and a lot of things we can do to enhance people’s faith. And that’s what it’s all about.”

Meanwhile, Skirtich has been trying to bring together his four churches that have different personalities, Mass habits and staffs.

“It’s been hectic,” he said. “They all have questions and a lot of them I can’t answer. My major concern is that the volume is going to be so great that it may be difficult to meet all the needs.

“Everybody wants all their questions answered today and we simply don’t know all the answers,” he added.

That’s why he finds comfort in the Gospel where the Apostles argued over who was the greatest and how the Lord addressed them, as well as the leaders.

“There is so much about discipleship that involves suffering and sacrifice,” he said. “But when we love and serve, we receive so much fulfillment. When we sacrifice for the good of others, we simultaneously find fulfillment.”

South Hills Catholic Church Groupings

Grouping 15: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Margaret of Scotland and SS. Simon and Jude

Grouping 16: St. Bernard and Our Lady of Grace

Grouping 21: St. Anne and St. Winifred

Grouping 22: St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin, St. Germaine, Nativity and St. Valentine

Grouping 23: St. Benedict the Abbot, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Isaac Jogues

Grouping 24: St. Joan of Arc and St. Louise De Marillac

Grouping 25: St. John Capistran and St. Thomas More

Grouping 26: St. Barbara, Holy Child and St. Mary

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