Passionate Steward - 10th Anniversary Edition

48 THE PASSIONATE STEWARD
enough new members to compensate for the lower proportion of
even nominally Christian persons and cultures represented by
current urban repopulation trends. Our cities have become more
ethnically and socially diverse, and the number of neighborhoods it
takes to sustain a parish today simply makes many of our churches
redundant. Unless we consolidate them, or learn how to use these
properties in exciting new ways to fulfill our Christian mission, we
will continue to expend resources for the sole purpose of
underwriting property, while possibly undermining the Church
which could use these resources elsewhere.
The landscape of the Old World is dotted with churches now
over a thousand years in ruin which once thrived, but which,
through design or tragedy, outlived their viability. We must come to
grips with the idea that while some of our parishes may have
fulfilled an important role in their day, the changing demographics
of their neighborhoods makes them no longer necessary.
Stewardship is a two-way street. Not only does it require the
faithful to give generously of their time, talent and treasure. It also
requires the leadership of the Church to be good stewards of the
resources which have been entrusted to their care and management.
Aside from liberating the financial resources of the Church from
building maintenance and upkeep on what can clearly be declared
excess or under-used property, the Church can reinvigorate itself by
creating parishes where parishioners gather in sufficient numbers to
breathe joy, life and a sense of unity into the community. While the
decision to close or merge parishes is always difficult, we must
recommit ourselves to the premise that the Church is not the
building: it is the community of faith. Liberating ourselves from the
constraints of any particular property can free the Church to
rededicate itself to fulfilling the Gospel message, and helping us to
live out our vocations as Christians.