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June 27, 2010 An Open Letter from our New Pastor =========================================================== Guardian Angels Church Cincinnati, Ohio 45230 "As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body." (1 Cor 12:12) "There are many kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same spirit." (1 Cor 12:4) There are two places of worship where we come to praise and thank God but one parish. My sisters and brothers of St. Jerome, Next weekend, as we Americans celebrate the birth of our nation we the people of St. Jerome and Guardian Angels mark the birth of a new parish. Following the plan of the Archdiocese based on the future availability of priests, St. Jerome and Guardian Angels form a new pastoral region so that spiritual needs of all Catholics can be assured. With thanks to Almighty God and to Fr. Carl, the St. Jerome community will be able to continue to worship together for the foreseeable future. As you may know, Guardian Angels and St. Jerome have worked together for decades. For many years the pastor of St. Jerome resided at Guardian Angels. So we look at this union as continuing our journey together, bringing us closer as we seek to further God's Kingdom on earth. So when you hear the fireworks going off and the sky lighting up with blasts of color, remember that the whole community is celebrating with us our unity in Christ. Welcome my sisters and brothers. We are blessed to have you. Sincerely yours in Christ, Fr. Thomas M. King |
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====================================================== And we, Fr. King, feel very fortunate to be a part of your parish. Please count on us for our full support. ====================================================== |
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June 9, 2010 It's official! Archbishop Schnurr has issued a decree which allows St. Jerome Church to be open for worship for the foreseeable future. Among other things, he said: "I further decree that the pastor of Guardian Angels Parish, Cincinnati in conjunction with the Director of the Department of Financial Services of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, is charged with the supervision of the temporal goods of St. Jerome Parish, Cincinnati in accord with the Code of Canon Law and The Document on Temporal Affairs of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. St. Jerome Church will remain open and may be used for divine worship until the decision is made to close it." To read the entire decree, click HERE. To read our SOC Operating Plan document, click HERE. |
Click on the message board icon above to see what your fellow parishioners have to say and add your own comments about the pending closure of St. Jerome Church. |
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5-9-2010 Fr. King has accepted our revised operating plan and will take it to Guardian Angels' Parish Council for their approval and, if they approve, it will be sent downtown for the Archdiocese to approve or change. Watch this space for updates. |
Fr. King has accepted our plan in principle. |
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An "operating plan" has been composed. It outlines all the concerns we had at all the meetings and lays out a plan for the continuation of St. Jerome as a mission of Guardian Angels. |
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Results of the Survey |
About sixty people attended the Save Our Church meeting January 10. Fr. Carl and Ron Kienzle met previously with Fr. Len Wenke who is in charge of Priests' Personnel in our Archdiocese. He indicated that St. Jerome, as a parish, mush close June 30, 2010. The church, however, could continue for some time as a Mission church of Guardian Angels Parish if Fr. King and the people attending St. Jerome are willing to keep our church open. However, either a flood, a fire, lack of interest and support on the part of our people, or inability to find a priest would cause the permanent closing of St. Jerome. |
Save Our Church (SOC) Next Steps Outline Phase 1 – Fact finding, needs analysis, organizing for success · Describe effect of closing · Decide upon a focused objective (e.g., 1 Mass per week, no Parish Hall, visiting priest, etc.) · Elect steering committee and chairperson o Meet with Archdiocese representatives to learn their attitudes o Gather and analyze o Identify parishes with similar demographics and issues and list factors in their survival o Identify available resources (priests, church, hall, furniture, equipment) o Identify risk · Announce results Phase 2 – Planning · Create a draft plan (straw man) o Disaster contingency response (flood, fire, etc.) o Funding for repairs and maintenance (furnace, roof, etc.) o Frequency of Masses o Agreement of available priests o Types of fellowship activities o Preliminary budget with revenue and expense projections · Meet with parishioners to refine plan · Publish completed plan (tin man) and seek further input · Finalize plan Phase 3 – Implementation · Present plan to Archdiocese · Act upon final decision |
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Here is Fr. Carl's letter to his flock: |
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December 9, 2009 Dear Members of St. Jerome’s, I wish to say “thanks” to all of you who have been praying to God for me since my disastrous accident September 5th. I have come through my neck surgery November 3rd but I still face problems with my right shoulder and possibly with my left kidney. Accordingly, I still request your prayers even now after 3 months have passed. During this time, I have met with quite a few doctors; I have met with Fr. Len Wenke, the director of our priests’ personnel office; I have met with Fr. Tom King, pastor of Guardian Angels’ Church; and I have met with Archbishop Pilarczyk and Archbishop Schnurr. The consensus of all of this is that the best thing for me to do is to offer my resignation as pastor of St. Jerome’s and to seek retirement as a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. It is customary for priests to retire the next June 30th following their letter of resignation. Accordingly, I will offer my letter of resignation in spring and I expect to retire June 30, 2010. The minutes of St. Jerome’s Parish Pastoral Council of April 18, 2005, echo the results of previous meetings held at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church (the Futures Implementation Team) for our deanery. St. Jerome Church was coupled with Guardian Angels’ Church. As you probably know, Fr. Thomas King is the only priest at Guardian Angels’ Church. The inclusion of St. Jerome’s into Guardian Angels’ will mean the closing of St. Jerome Church about the time of my retirement. Fortunately, Guardian Angels’ Church is very large and can easily accommodate our people. This transition may be hard at first but I trust that God will help all of us in the months ahead. I commend you for your loyalty to St. Jerome’s and to our Catholic Faith. I trust you will understand, as difficult decisions must be made on our journey to the Lord. With my gratitude in Christ, |
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