Back on March 5th MoreThanTheCurve.com published a social media post by the Saint Mary Polish American Society that provided details on the potential relegation of Saint Mary Church. Relegation is a process in which the property would be declared no longer a church. After being relegated, the property could be sold. The society has been raising funds to maintain the property and working towards a larger fundraising effort to make needed improvements to the roof and the electrical system.
The society states in the March 5th message that it was surprised that relegation was again on the table as it feels it has been upholding what it promised in terms of paying the monthly bills. In that message it promised that the society would release all the documentation it had with Saint Matthew Parish (the parish that oversees the Saint Mary Church property) and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It did so last evening.
In addition to paying the bills, the main argument against relegation made by the society is that the conditions necessary for relegation do not exist. This is all detailed by the society in the below social media posts.
On March 12th and 19th, Saint Matthew Parish published its intent to seek relegation of Saint Mary Church. The March 26th bulletin also will include (its available online already) the same message and this version includes the names of the members of the Saint Matthew Parish’s councils. The bulletins read:
From the March 12 and 19 bulletins:
On February 21, 2017 the Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils voted unanimously to renew our request for the relegation of St. Mary’s church. Both councils emphasized the need of having all parishioners worship at St. Matthew’s to enhance unity and help parishioners focus on the future of the parish community. The relegation will provide more effectively for the pastoral needs of the faithful, assure the vitality of parish life, provide for a better stewardship of resources and optimum use of clergy, and lay personnel. Fr. Heron, the Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils welcome your input and comments.
From the upcoming bulletin for March 26 (basically the same, but the names of the councils are listed):
On February 21, 2017 the Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils voted unanimously to renew our request for the relegation of St. Mary’s church. Both councils emphasized the need of having all parishioners worship at St. Matthew’s to enhance unity and help parishioners focus on the future of the parish community. The relegation will provide more effectively for the pastoral needs of the faithful, assure the vitality of parish life, provide for a better stewardship of resources and optimum use of clergy, and lay personnel. Fr. Heron, the Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils welcome your input and comments. Members of the Pastoral Council: Joe Carr, Pat Getzfread, Ed Garbacz, Debbie Golas, Michelle Borkowski, Mary Kay McKenna, Mary Ann Cook, Mary Ann Pruskowski, Joe Boccella, Paul McConnell. Members of the Finance Committee: Leah Hepler, Ed Pluciennik, Chris Pecoraio, Ellen Mansfield, Matt McKendry, Kevin McMonagle.
Below are all the Facebook posts from the the Saint Mary Polish American Society, that include all the communication between itself and the Saint Matthew Parish and Archdiocese officials: