CONNECTICUT
Hartford Courant
Jordan Otero Sisson and Ken Byron
Cheers erupted through Holy Trinity Church in Hartford Saturday night at the moment worshippers learned that their beloved and historic building would not be closing, something parishioners feared for months would happen under a church reorganization plan.
But in Cheshire, the mood at the 4 p.m. Saturday Mass was much different: Parishioners at the Church of the Epiphany heard that theirs would be among the 59 parishes slated to merge with other parishes under the Archdiocese of Hartford’s reorganization plan, released Saturday. Their church will close.
“I’m going to minister to you as best as I can,” the Rev. John L. Williams Jr. said in his homily to Cheshire parishioners. “The nearest thing I can compare this to would be ministering to people who have suffered a death in their family. There’s going to be pain.”
The emotions inside the churches in Hartford and Cheshire Saturday will likely mirror what parishioners will experience Sunday morning at Masses celebrated across the archdiocese. The areas hardest hit by the changes were parts of New Haven County, including Waterbury where four church buildings are slated to close.
Parishioners at Holy Trinity first believed their small church on Capitol Avenue in Hartford would make the cut under the plan, which will merge dozen of parishes this summer. But as planning entered its final weeks, they worried their church was doomed.
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