To the editor:
We, the Parish Council of Holy Cross Church in Charlotte, take strong issue with the October issue of the Courier, which discussed Pastoral Planning.
While we are aware that Mass attendance has decreased over the years, we found the tone of the entire article negative and one-sided. Specifically, we do not believe that the section of the article that highlighted weekly attendance was fairly presented. We do understand that numbers can be used in a variety of ways, but we believe that the article should have used the average total weekly Mass figure rather than using the average-per-Mass figure. Holy Cross has five Celebrations of the Eucharist each weekend due to the smaller capacity of our church, compared to two celebrations at both Holy Name and Our Lady of Mercy and four at St Charles, St John the Evangelist, and Mother of Sorrows. Because we have more Eucharistic celebrations, our average per-Mass attendance would logically be lower.
Numerous parishioners have expressed their concern over the negative tone of the article. We are working hard with our pastor and pastoral team in an effort to promote more regular weekly church attendance and believe that the Courier might want to highlight some of the positives at each parish in the Planning Group rather than concentrating solely on the negatives. This would present a more balanced picture and perhaps convince more Catholics to attend Mass every week. For example, over 100 people worship daily between our 7:30 a.m.and 5:20 p.m. Masses.
Although we have to continue to work hard to increase Mass attendance, we have plenty of good things taking place at Holy Cross and we invite you to come and see a parish where all are welcome.
Holy Cross Parish Council
Rochester
