Good things come in small parishes: dioceses are attempting to solve the priest shortage and save money by closing small parishes, but these communities deserve a chance to support themselves.

WHENEVER A DIOCESE ANNOUNCES PARISH closings, I cringe. I often wonder what prompted the decision, especially if it was determined just by the size of the parish or if the vitality of the community was given consideration. I also wonder if the real reason was the number of priests available or willing to serve in a small community. And I question if closing small parishes is really the best solution to challenges like the clergy shortage or financial constraints.

I raise the issue because I fear that we are losing something important by closing or consolidating our small communities, gifts that are hard to come by in the large suburban megaparishes springing up on the church landscape. My own experience of small parishes suggests that this is indeed the case.

Several years ago, when I was working in a rural diocese, a call came to the office inquiring about the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. The caller was from a mission parish of 18 households. They had heard about the RCIA program and wanted to know more about how it worked. After several meetings with them, I was sure that they knew the foundational principles of the rite and were ready should someone desire to join their community.

Several months later a member of the parish called to say that they had an inquirer. I was curious about what they had planned, but it turned out they had a superb understanding of the process. The whole community was involved in the journey with this inquirer from Day 1. Parishioners took turns sharing their experience of living the faith. The inquirer was invited to all the community's activities. Each of the steps of the RCIA was celebrated at the appropriate time with the whole community present.

Needless to say, the way this small parish welcomed its new member was a model for celebrating the RCIA. But such an experience couldn't have happened in a large parish. In bigger churches more structure is needed, and the process of the RCIA becomes removed from the community. In fact, the community's involvement is often missing altogether, and parishioners as a whole can be oblivious to those who are coming to the faith.

Sad to say, this mission parish was closed. The parishioners were asked to travel 20 miles and become members of a larger parish. To this day the community is still 18 households, but they have never really acclimated to their new parish. They continue to live as a small community even though they regularly attend Sunday Mass in the large parish, and they are not much involved in parish life. Some might call their response sour grapes, but I wonder what would have happened in the early church if St. Paul had told the Corinthians to join with the Christian community of Athens or Delphi.

WHAT DOES THIS STORY REVEAL ABOUT SMALL PARISHES? Put simply, everyone is needed in a small parish. There might be delegation of some responsibilities, but everyone knows how to do everything. If a parishioner is missing, the job will get done, but somebody will always call your home to inquire if everything is OK. If someone needs rides or meals during a time of sickness, the whole community is involved in delivering aid. No one person is in charge or needs to organize a new ministry or contact the office for names of people who have volunteered to help out. It just happens.

A prime example of such care and concern is what happens when a death occurs. Meals are taken to the family of the deceased--and it won't be just one meal but enough food and more for all who will be coming to the funeral. No one says he is too busy or that she has already contributed; members simply pitch in until the need is met, no matter how long it takes or how many times you provide the assistance.

In a small parish everyone belongs, and people know that they are needed and expected to be present--and they are. When someone is absent, he or she is missed the first time they are not there. Everyone is known by name and by relationship: There are no strangers. When someone is visiting, he or she is greeted warmly and made to feel welcome. The visitor is invited to participate in all aspects of the community's gathering--Mass, social events, celebrations. Parishioners take notice of visitors and reach out to bring them into the family.

If there are repairs to be made to any of the parish buildings, painting to be done, sidewalks to be replaced, or maintenance of any type, those with the skills simply do the task. There are no endless meetings about whether the repairs are needed or if there is money in the budget. The repairs are done, and everyone contributes what they can to help defray the costs of materials. The labor is all contributed service. It doesn't take a committee to hire a landscaper, plant flowers in the spring, mow the yard, or remove the snow. All of the buildings are properly maintained and cared for out of love and a sense of pride.

ALL THIS AND MORE WOULD BE LOST IF WE FOLLOW OUR culture's steady march toward "bigger and better" in our parish life. Too often the sense of community in a small parish gives way to anonymity in a large one. It becomes easier to simply be a number--an envelope with no face or story. A large parish may even give the illusion that a parishioner is unneeded. With all ministries sufficiently staffed, who needs volunteers? A parishioner might not know how to get involved or may indicate a desire to get involved but is never asked to do so.

The larger the parish the more structure--or the appearance of structure--there is, and the parish office can sometimes seem more corporate than pastoral: more formal, less flexible, and more challenging to the average parishioner. Procedures are set for most activities, from arranging a meeting space on the parish campus to registering as a new member or starting a new ministry. Such structures and procedures might make for smooth-running parish operations, but they often deter many parishioners from getting involved or from joining the parish at all.

In light of the many gifts of small parishes, it stands to reason that dioceses should find other ways to meet the challenges of

dwindling clergy and financial resources. Threatened parishes could be given the option of coming up with an alternative plan, including ensuring a Sunday liturgy or finding the funds to pay a lay pastoral administrator to keep the parish open. Given the dedication of many small communities, I don't doubt they could come up with solutions.

I NOW MINISTER IN A LARGE SUBURBAN PARISH. IT IS A Wonderful, caring, vibrant community with lots of parishioners involved in a great variety of ministries. There is much we can do because we have the sheer number of willing and committed parishioners. Many people do know each other by name, and their absence is noticed when they are not present. However, the challenge is always before us to reach out, to be more inclusive, to become the community of Christians who are known by the love and care they have for one another and those beyond.

My heart continues to go out to the parishes that are closed simply because they are not large enough to warrant a resident priest due to the shortage of priests in our church today. These small parishes, viable communities of living faith, are necessary for the mission of Jesus Christ to go to the world and tell the Good News, and we shouldn't let their gifts be lost.

By SISTER GAEL GENSLER, O.S.F., pastoral associate at St. Julie Billiart Parish in Tinley Park, Illinois and a team member of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate.