BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — St. Mark is on the list of more than a dozen churches within the Buffalo vicariate that could potentially merge with other parishes — leaving parishioners with mixed feelings.
Diocese of Buffalo recommends that 15 parishes merge within the City of Buffalo as it 'reshapes'
"It's a challenging time," Father Joseph Tokasz, Parish Administrator of the Catholic Community of Buffalo North, said. "It's a challenging reality, and I'm just hoping to make the best of what we have for the future."
However, St. Mark's situation is different from other parishes. It's affiliated with St. Mark School — a private, kindergarten through eighth grade Catholic school.
If the recommendations are approved, St. Mark would merge with St. Margaret, but St. Mark School would remain open.
"There's still great good that can happen here with this school community," Tokasz said. "With that recommendation of the parish closing — it affects the school because you had a parish and you had a school in the old days, and that has changed."
Many described St. Mark School to 7 News as a "vibrant" and "booming" community. Meghann Roehl, a mother of three children currently attending the North Buffalo school, said while she is confident in the strength of the school, she is concerned about the possible separation between church and education.
"That church isn't just a church; it's part of a church community," Roehl said. "It is the head and St. Mark School is the heart. If you cut the head off, what happens?"
Roehl stressed the church as a vital piece of the St. Mark fabric.
"Many families have had their parents and grandparents attend the school and have been parishioners of the church their entire lives," she said. "Many of these younger families are coming back to the North Buffalo area and are purposefully looking for homes close to the St. Mark community so they can join that parish."
According to the school, "Under the Diocesan recommendation, the parish property will still house St. Mark School and adaptive reuse of the church and rectory for school purposes can now take place."
Father Tokasz said this provides an opportunity for much-needed school expansion for its almost 400 students.
"We won't have your normal Sunday masses, per se, but we can use it for school masses," he said. "The school...is already bursting at the seams, and so we have the potential of using the rectory for more spaces — offices, classrooms. We're looking at it potentially to be used for library space."
However, Roehl said she believes this idea is counterintuitive.
"I question the thought process there because if you're going to invest in the utilities to maintain the church to keep it as a chapel for the school, then why shut it down," Roehl asked.
The parish has until July 15th to accept these recommendations or submit a counter-proposal.
At the end of May, the diocese announced it would close/merge parishes and worship spaces as it looks to "rightsize and reshape." You can watch more in the video below.
