Signs of the Times

Even parishes are feeling the pinch of rising heating costs....

FOREST CITY, Pa. - Two Roman Catholic Churches will close for the winter and send parishioners to a third church nearby to save on heating costs as oil prices rise, the parish council and finance council agreed.

St. Agnes Catholic Church and the Church of the Sacred Heart, which use oil for heat, will close in a few weeks and send parishioners to St. Josephs Catholic Church, which can use natural gas or heating oil, said Bill Genello, a spokesman for the Diocese of Scranton.

Gerald Franceski, a parish finance council member, said that last winter it cost about $12,000 to heat the two churches that are closing, and he estimated that the cost could be up to $20,000 this winter.

Wow. Has anyone seen other instances of this? And could it be that utility costs end up spurring another round of closings and consolidations?

As any pastor can tell you, running a parish costs a lot of money.

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