First of five church closings in Nanticoke

St. Joseph’s becomes the first of five Catholic churches in Nanticoke to close, with parishes set to consolidate in the current Holy Trinity

NANTICOKE – Members of St. Joseph’s parish gathered one last time Sunday afternoon in a commencement ceremony to say goodbye to their parish before the churches’ doors were closed for good.

The closing of St. Joseph’s is the first in a series of five Catholic churches in the Nanticoke area scheduled to close as part of a consolidation effort drawn up by the Diocese of Scranton more than two years ago.

Jerry Hudak, sexton at St. Joseph’s, explained the closings are a result of a declining member base along with a lack of priests to properly staff the parishes.

“A final vote was taken on what churches were to close and what churches were to remain,” said Hudak, “This is a combination of a two-year study by the diocese; unfortunately they’re depleted in the ranks of the priesthood, so they don’t have enough priests to service all the churches.”

St Mary’s will be closing on May 23, Holy Trinity on May 30, St. Stanislaus on June 6 and Holy Child in late June.

According to Hudak, Holy Trinity on Hanover Street in Nanticoke will serve as the new location which will accommodate all five of the churches set to close. The new parish will be called St. Faustina Parish and make the Holy Trinity building its home.

“We’re basically reduced down to one priest in the Nanticoke area,” said Hudak. “The prognosis for the Scranton Diocese was that for the year 2010 (there should be) one priest for every 2,400 practicing Catholics,” a number Hudak said is significantly lower in the Nanticoke area.

On Sunday afternoon, more than 75 members attended a special closing Mass at St. Joseph’s and directly afterward proceeded down the street to their new location, where they were welcomed by a large crowd of members from Holy Trinity and participated in a joint Mass.

Hudak explained members from the various parishes set to close have expressed mixed feelings. “It’s a very traumatic situation,” said Hudak. “Parishes have their own particular identities and people generally associate themselves with particular identities of each parish, so I think people are going to be looking around a little bit in choosing where they’re going to be going to church.”

For Dorothy Edanko of Nanticoke, the closing signifies a major loss after being a lifelong member of St. Joseph’s, where she was baptized, received her First Holy Communion and was married. “We’re all upset, there’s … no words for it,” said Edanko. “I was wishing that this day would never come.”

“It’s almost like a death in the family, it’s very hard for all of these parishioners,” said Marie Passetti, a member of St. Joseph’s. “I’ve been a member of St. Joseph’s for a little over 33 years but I can’t imagine the people who have been there for baptisms and weddings and funerals to feel what’s tugging in their heart strings now.”

In conjunction with the closings, many of the original members of Holy Trinity said they are both welcoming the new parishioners and are optimistic for the merger.

“Some people are for it, some people are against it, but you can only say that it’s got to go forward and I would hope that it would succeed. Maybe it’ll take a period of time, but I believe it will come together,” said Edward Kerbaugh, of Nanticoke, who has been a member at Holy Trinity for more than 50 years.

As for the new location, Hudak said Holy Trinity was chosen because it is one of the largest churches in the merger. However, he explained there are a few issues that need to be addressed throughout the consolidation process.

“It’s (Holy Trinity) not in good condition,” said Hudak. “It needs a lot of repairs (and) an upgrade.” Hudak explained the parish will be working over the next several months to ensure the building is capable of accommodating the influx of new members while working to address any necessary upgrades.