St. Edmund's, St. Christopher's merge under diocesan plan
by NICHOLAS J. PRIMERANO Ken-Ton Editor

The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo has announced that 10 parishes and one mission will merge into five parishes and one oratory will close, as part of the effort to cut costs.

Announcements of the mergers were sent to affected parishioners this past weekend.

In the Town of Tonawanda, St. Edmund's will merge with St. Christopher's. The two parishes are the only suburban parishes that will merge, with the other remaining parishes in the Southern Tier and rural Western New York.

"This weekend we began communicating phase one of our parish restructuring," said Bishop Edward U. Kmiec. "The Journey in Faith and Grace is an effort to create parish communities that are much more than a place where Sunday liturgy is celebrated. Our goal is to establish faith communities that provide formation programs for the sacraments, religious formation for both children and adults, and outreach to those in need. This restructuring will provide for even more lay involvement, good pastoral leadership, and financial stability."

The churches designated to merge are St. John the Evangelist in Sinclairville with Immaculate Conception in Cassadaga and the Mission of St. Patrick in Crittenden with St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Corfu. St. Mary's of East Arcade and Blessed Sacrament in Delevan will merge into SS. Peter & Paul in Arcade and be known as St. Mary's.

St. Elizabeth's in Buffalo will merge into Assumption Church, also of Buffalo.

"The merging of St. Edmund and St. Christopher parishes is very much a homecoming," said Rev. Charles Slisz, pastor of St. Christopher's. "Some 42 years ago, St. Edmund was established from a large segment of St. Christopher parishioners and some from St. Francis. Good liturgy and a strong commitment to Catholic education are hallmarks of both communities.

"With more people working together, having the advantage of increased space and more facilities, I see only the potential for spiritual growth for the people of the merged parish and greater service to the wider community," Rev. Slisz added. "May God, who has begun the good work in us, bring it to perfection in the day of Christ Jesus."

Rev. Robert Wozniak expressed happiness about the joining of the two churches.

"As pastor of St. Edmund's, I am excited for our faith community for the new opportunities of ministries and life that await us as we join together with the faith community of St. Christopher's Parish," he said. "I strongly feel this merger is much like a marriage, where two people bring their unique giftedness and join together to become one, thus creating something new that would not have been possible alone.

"This merger will benefit both communities by offering new life in the form of ministry and strengthen both existing congregations to expand beyond their present realities," he added. "This result of the merger was a collaborative effort of many through the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit."

There are currently 273 parishes, missions and oratories in Western New York.

According to Bishop Kmiec, the Journey in Faith and Grace strategic planning process was designed to identify the religious, spiritual, and education needs of the Catholic faithful throughout the diocese, and determine how those needs can best be met. The goal is to ensure that parishes will have the membership, leadership, and resources to be vibrant centers of parish life.