Archbishop Sean P. O’Malley

2101 Commonwealth Ave

Boston, MA 01235

June 1, 2004

Dear Archbishop Sean,

As a Catholic mother trying to raise my three teenagers as Catholics, I would like to share some of my thoughts with you as they relate to the closure of Sacred Heart in Lexington.

I grew up in a very large Catholic parish in New York City. While in college, my parents moved to a suburb and when it was time to marry, I was married in their Church, a Church I had no connection to. My husband’s job relocated us several times over the next few years.

In the fall of 1992 I enrolled our first grader in a CCD class in New Jersey even though I knew we were moving again the following spring. In March of 1993 I made an appointment to take Kaitlin to meet the CCD coordinator at St. Brigid’s. She informed me that there was no room in the CCD class for my daughter. The only solution was to buy a first grade textbook and teach her myself. Kaitlin’s name could be put on a list for the following year. I certainly did not feel welcomed, I was not looking to be on a list.

In July of 1993 I called the rectory at Sacred Heart and spoke to the Pastor. He assured me that there was room for my children in his CCD program and invited my family to the Mass he was celebrating the following weekend. After Mass he invited us to a coffee on the porch and gave me all the paperwork I needed.

Since that time we have been parishioners at Sacred Heart. The one thing that we have always liked about this parish is that it is small and welcoming. All three of my children have received their religious training there. Once the oldest two were confirmed, they voluntarily taught a Sunday morning CCD class. They have obviously learned the importance of giving back to a community.

Teenagers are certainly aware that the Catholic Church has been on the front page of the news for the past few years. I felt fortunate that I was always able to point out to them that Sacred Heart was part of the solution, not part of the problem.

In the short term, my oldest will be the least affected by the closure as she is leaving for college in the fall. However, she will not have a familiar community to come back to. My youngest is now a ninth grader and will have to go elsewhere to finish his training for Confirmation. My middle child, Sarah will be the most affected. Under Maureen McKeon’s direction, she and a group of other young adults have worked long and hard to form a youth group. Incidentally, you met them when they performed a skit at the Youth Rally. They take pride in their work and have involved middle schoolers who are now enthusiastic to join them.

I believe that the future of the Catholic Church is in our youth. If they think that their efforts were wasted, they will hesitate before becoming involved again.

The Lexington cluster only had two Churches while most clusters had three. Obviously, the smaller Church could not accommodate the larger Church. The smaller communities that many of us joined because we found them warm and welcoming will no longer exist.

I hope that you will reconsider your decision to close Sacred Heart.

Lexington, MA 02420