On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the Diocese of Gaylord shared its Pastoral Plan 2026, which will begin implementation in July.
The plan includes the closure of two parishes, St. Mary in Burt Lake and Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish in Atlanta, as well as 20 limited-use designations, which means they won’t be holding regular mass.
According to Renee Shimmel, director of communications for the diocese, a parish closing can be traumatic for local Catholics.
“They might’ve been going there for years and you kind of get attached to it,” she said. “So, if a parish closes, or even some of the parishes that are turning into limited use, you know, it’s a big change for people and that can be very, very hard.”
Reverend Jeffrey Walsh, Bishop of Gaylord, acknowledged the hurt of those who will lose the use of a beloved parish.
“My own family lived through a parish closure,” he said. “We know the sorrow, and we also know that we are never left abandoned and remain as a family of faith.”
He urged those parishes that would be receiving new congregants to be welcoming and be ready to “receive and accompany brothers and sisters who may join (their) community.”
The pastoral plan also involves the establishment of 18 new parish clusters, updating priest assignments to balance workloads, continuing support to 17 unchanged parish structures and sustaining Catholic education for its 16 unchanged schools.
“These decisions were difficult and made with attention to details like Mass attendance, priest availability, finances, geography and future projections — but above all, with a vision of faithful stewardship for the gift of the Catholic Church across the 21 counties of northern lower Michigan,” Walsh said.
— Contact reporter Connor Veenstra at CVeenstra@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Gaylord diocese reveals 2026 Pastoral Plan, closure of two parishes
Reporting by Connor Veenstra, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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