Parishioners Saddened by Pittsfield Church Closings

By Larry KratkaPrint Story | Email Story
PITTSFIELD - As you may expect, reaction to the announced closing of six Catholic churches in Pittsfield over the weekend was one of shock and sadness.

For most parishioners at Mount Carmel for Mass, they were looking around at a parish that most of them had spent their entire lives in. By the time Sunday morning Mass started, just about everyone knew about the closing but it was a different story at the 4 p.m. Mass on Saturday when parishioners were read a letter from Bishop Timothy McDonnell.

The churches are All Souls' Mission, Holy Family, Mount Carmel, St. Francis', St. Mary's and St. Teresa's at 290 South St. There closure will leave only four Catholic churches in Pittsfield. The diocese's Mullin Report, a strategic planning guide released last year, had recommended closing two churches.

One woman attending Mass said she was baptized at Mount Carmel 70-something years ago, married at Mount Carmel and held the funeral for her husband at Mount Carmel. Her children and grandchildren were all baptized and confirmed at Mount Carmel. The church was her life.

The closing of Mount Carmel and other churches has a trickle-down effect - it also means that bingo will end at Mount Carmel at the end of June, CYC students will have to sign up at new parishes in the fall and even Boy Scout Troop 8 at Mount Carmel will have to find a new home. Some parishioners had attended a planning conference in the fall at which time they were told Mount Carmel would probably stay open for another year but that didn't happen.

The closings of the six Catholic churches in Pittsfield also means that the remaining churches will be on the receiving end of hundreds of catholic families looking for a new home. 

Diocese officials were planning a press conference at St. Joseph's Church this morning.

Provided by the Berkshire News Network (WUPE/WNAW).
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ServiceNet Warming Center Hosted 126 People This Winter

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

ServiceNet manages the warming shelter next to the church. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — ServiceNet's warming center has provided more than heat to unhoused individuals over the last four months and will run to the end of April.

It opened on Dec. 1 in the First United Methodist Church's dining area, next to ServiceNet's 40-bed shelter The Pearl. The agency has seen 126 individuals utilize the warming center and provided some case management to regulars.

While this winter was a success, they are already considering next winter.

"I've been on this committee many years now. There's probably only a few months out of the year that I don't talk about winter, so I'm always trying to plan for next winter," Erin Forbush, ServiceNet's director of shelter and housing, told the Homelessness Advisory Committee on Wednesday.

"We are in this winter and I'm already thinking what's going to happen next winter because I want to be really clear, winter shelter is never a given. We don't have this built into the state budget. It's not built into our budget, so there is always trying to figure out where we get money, and then where do we go with winter shelter."

She pointed out that warming centers are "very different" from shelters, which have a bed. The warming center is set up like a dining room, open from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., and folks are welcome to stay for breakfast.

"We are asking people to come in, get warm, be out of the elements," Forbush explained.

The warming center will close on April 30.

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