• What does a merger mean?

• Will there still be Eucharistic Adoration in the Beaver Valley?

• How will our new parish be named?

• Will there be staff present in both the Beaver Valley and at Saints John & Paul?

• What is the difference between occasional worship and regular worship?

•  What will the new Mass schedule be?

• What is our parish response to the low Mass attendance numbers?

• How many priests and deacons will we have after the merger

• What is the long-term plan for the church and school buildings at Our Lady of Peace and St. John the Baptist?

• Will we be keeping the Pierogi Project, the Apostolate Dinner, First Friday Fish Frys, and other ministries and programs from Our Lady of Peace and St. John the Baptist?

• Where will children go for Faith Formation?

• Will there be transportation provided in the Beaver Valley for individuals to attend Mass at Good Samaritan?
 

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What does a merger mean?

• A merger means that the four parishes of the Great Grouping will be suppressed, and one newly named canonical parish will arise.
• The names of each church building will be retained.
• Ongoing information about the merger will be published in the Evangelion.
• Council members will regularly provide updates about the merger at Mass and will be available to answer questions following Mass.
• Town Hall recordings and updates on the merger can be found on this page. 
• Parishioners can call our offices, or speak with staff members, clergy team members, and council members for more information.
• Keep in mind, rumors are things that are not published in the Evangelion or on our website.

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Will there still be Eucharistic Adoration in the Beaver Valley?

• Yes, Eucharistic Adoration will continue in the Beaver Valley.
• Currently a team is assessing the property at Good Samaritan to determine the best location for Adoration.
• There are still times available for individuals to sign up to spend time in front of the Blessed Sacrament in Adoration.
Contact Deacon Tom Boucek at Adoration4Him@gmail.com to reserve your hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

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How will our new parish be named?

After Bishop Zubik pre-approved eight potential names from which our new parish name might be chosen (Holy Angels, Most Holy Eucharist, Saint Anthony, Saint Gianna, Saint Kateri, Saint Lucy, Saint Luke the Evangelist, and Saint Timothy), parishioners had the opportunity to rank thier top three choices. From these rankings, five names will now be returned to the Bishop to help inform his consideration in determining our new name. The Naming Committee is currently reviewing parishioner responses to assemble the top five names.

 

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Will there be staff present in both the Beaver Valley and at Saints John & Paul?

• Our intention is to maintain a staff presence with our current employees in both the Beaver Valley and at Saints John & Paul.
 

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What is the difference between occasional worship and regular worship?

• Good Samaritan and Saints John & Paul will be designated as sites for regular worship. This means that all weekend and weekday Masses will be celebrated only at these two sites beginning on July 2, 2022.
• Our Lady of Peace and St. John the Baptist will be designated as sites for occasional worship. This means that weekend and weekday Masses will be discontinued at these churches beginning on July 2, 2022. At the request of parishioners and with the pastor’s permission, Our Lady of Peace and St. John the Baptist may be used for the celebration of funeral Masses, weddings, or baptisms following July 2, 2022.
 

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What will the new Mass schedule be?

• As part of the third stage of the merger process, a parish-wide survey was undertaken to help determine the new Mass schedule. Based on input from our parishioners, staff & clergy, and Pastoral & Finance Councils, the following Mass schedule has been approved by the diocese, and will become effective July 1, 2022:

WEEKENDS—
Saturday
4PM at Good Samaritan
5PM at Saints John & Paul 
Sunday
7:30AM at Saints John & Paul
8AM at Good Samaritan
9AM at Saints John & Paul
10:30AM at Good Samaritan
11AM at Saints John & Paul
4PM Spanish Mass at Good Samaritan

WEEKDAYS—
Monday/Wednesday/Friday
8AM at Good Samaritan
9AM at Saints John & Paul Grotto
Tuesday
7AM at Saints John & Paul Grotto
9AM at Saints John & Paul Grotto
6:30PM at Good Samaritan
Thursday
7AM at Saints John & Paul Grotto
8AM at Good Samaritan
9AM at Saints John & Paul Grotto

• This Mass schedule becomes effective July 1, 2022.
If you have any questions or comments, please email questions@greatgrouping.org
 

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What is our parish response to the low Mass attendance numbers?

• Prayer. In particular, we should be asking Jesus for the grace to lead people back to Mass.
• Evangelization programs such as Alpha and The Search enable us to reach out to our community to inspire them to join us.
• Our focus on youth ministry and family programs can help bring younger people back to the church.
• We are reaching out to our young Latino families to draw them into our parish community.
• Our outreach programs aim to serve individuals in need, knowing that the greatest need is to get souls to heaven, especially by attending Mass.
• By finalizing the census in the BV and conducting a census at SSJP, we become better able to connect to our parishioners

 

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How many priests and deacons will we have after the merger?

• Clergy personnel is determined by Bishop Zubik.  Our intention is to continue with our four priests and three deacons until further notice.

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What is the long-term plan for the church and school buildings at Our Lady of Peace and St. John the Baptist?

• For now, we are looking forward to merging all four parishes into one, and then discerning as a community the best way to use our resources to bring our people to heaven through the Eucharistic love of Jesus Christ.
 

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Will we be keeping the Pierogi Project, the Apostolate Dinner, First Friday Fish Frys, and other ministries and programs from Our Lady of Peace and St. John the Baptist?

• All ministries and programs at the church are run by parishioners. As long as adequate volunteers are available, ministries and programs will be able to continue.
 

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Where will children go for Faith Formation?

• Faith Formation will continue at Saints John & Paul. In the Beaver Valley, Faith Formation will be held at Good Samaritan.
• Our Great Grouping Faith Formation will continue under its current leadership.

 

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Will there be transportation provided in the Beaver Valley for individuals to attend Mass at Good Samaritan?

• A committee of council members is working on this to ensure that all parishioners in need have the opportunity to attend Mass at Good Samaritan or Saints John & Paul.
• Gratefully, we were able to provide five people with transportation to the Quigley Mass site last year and we look forward to offering this service to our parishioners.
 

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SUBMIT QUESTIONS TO QUESTIONS@GREATGROUPING.ORG