So I like to surf the net and look for various sites that have something to do with being Catholic. This can be blogs, Catholic News sites and even churches. When I first started back on to this long and winding road in my faith I started attending mass at the local parish. I quickly started to wonder as the weeks went by as to really how much the church had changed and what disrespect there was with the way people were dressed for mass and overall general behaviour and general overall lack of respect for what was happening at mass. Summertime it got worse as the flip flop crowd" started to attend mass, decked out in their Sunday finest, flip flops shorts on the guys half way down their rear ends with the matching tank top and the ladies with their short shorts and halter tops, oh don't forget the ball caps sideways on their heads! People texting during mass and some even getting up during mass as their cell phones were ringing and answering as they were walking out. This to me was unacceptable and really disturbing.
Well in surfing around I looked at the weekly bulletin and saw that finally the Parish Priest has a strong few lines written in about what not to wear to church. I wonder if it works. Certainly the current Hungarian Parish we attend is different as people generally wear their Sunday best! No cell phones either! I guess it is a form of respect that has carried through for the church. I remeber my mother always making sure that when ever we did attend we were dressed properly.
Talking about Hungarian Parishes as many of you know who do stop by my blog that we have no parish priest and truthfully I do not expect one. Call it a gut feeling but that is what I think. Anyways in Cleveland there has been a strong fight from the local Hungarian community to keep their parish from closing, including a sit in. Not quite sure why the diocese decided to close the parish down but it certainly has raise the ire of the Hungarian community. Also in fairness I do not know how strong the Hungarian community is at that particular parish.
Here is a link to St. Emeric in Cleveland and they have kept it updated through this whole mess.
I certainly wonder how long certain ethnic parishes heve to survive. I know the Hungarian parishes here in the Toronto area are starting to dwindle in number of parishoners as the parish basically ages and dies out. There are no huge immigration waves, Hungary is non communist now and although economically weak at the moment their are no refugees coming from there anymore coming over.
Also a lot of parishioners like myself who are first generation slipped away as we moved farther away and really had to be intregated into North American society, and it would be a hassle for the parents to drive in to the church, etc. Also what I have found or better word seen at least at the parish we attend that not many kids attend mass. For us too luckily our daughter has started to attend with us and even came to a parish function and enjoyed herself and she enjoys the Hungarian mass over the English mass she saw at her/our school/local parish. But as I started to say not many young people at the Hungarian mass also it seems that even though there are Hungarian groups at the parish involving the younger people, Scouts etc. they do not seem to attend mass. It seems that the community is the center of the parish and not the church and it seems that any spiritual learning or enrichment is not required nor even asked for, making the church almost obsolete in the Hungarian community. To me the church should be the focal point and all groups should evolve from there and be tied back to the church. I am not sure and can't comment on the Cleveland situation other than I have not seen too many young people involved.
I think as the numbers dwindle in the ethnic communities the "leaders" should be looking at trying to build strength through the community church thus making a strong parish which can thrive and survive and help pass down the heritage of a culture to future generations because if not ST. Emeric and many more ethnic churches will continue to close. Also the culture will crumble and be lost!
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