ARBUTUS, Md. — Baptisms, funerals, weddings, First Communions. Catholic parishes in Baltimore hold memories dating back generations.
But many in the city and county are holding farewell masses this weekend. Several dozen are earmarked to shutterby next Sunday.
That includes, for example, Transfiguration Catholic Community in Pigtown. The Archdiocese of Baltimore designated the church for closure and merger with Our Lady of Victory in Arbutus, and Father Mike Murphy, the parish's pastor.
"It'll be a totally kind of new community," Murphy noted to WMAR, "because it'll be parishes coming together, bringing traditions and their own gifts and talents."
There will be similar closures and mergers in the next few weeks across several dozen churches. Murphy worked with a 'transition team' to accommodate the change for his merging parishes, which also includes St. Joseph's Monastery and St. Benedict's, which permanently closed last year.
The emotion across the city isn't lost on Murphy, who observed "There's still a lot of hurt and a lot of pain. A lot of questions, some mistrust."
"But we try to stay in the positive, to be clear about what we're trying to do," he continued.
The closures and mergers are part of the "Seek the City" final plan from the Archdiocese, amid cited rising maintenance costs and vanishing church attendance across the last few decades.
READ MORE: Archdiocese: Closing churches will begin final masses in fall, close by December
Murphy said many of Baltimore's Catholics have voiced their opinions on the changes with their feet, walking away altogether.
But now, Murphy's mission is to increase the church's ground game, helping the local community in both charitable and religious endeavors.
"From my perspective, what I'm trying to do," he said, "is to create a renewed sense of what church is. It's about the community, it's centered around the Eucharist for us as Catholics."
“My focus is from here, really down, into, how can the church be relevant and present? And we’re talking about that by being present in the community. Maybe not in a church building, but the church in its core being present in people and trying to reach out to find out what their needs are.”
WMAR asked Murphy about winning over the younger generation in particular.
"What's the hook that's going to get them in is care for the poor and service and the marginalized. And a church that really lives that and believes it is where their heart is," he said.
Closing churches must do so by December 1. Some communities are awaiting the results of appealing their closure to the Vatican after their appeal to the local Archdiocese failed.
