Bishop Jackels closed his homily asking the parish to focus on the future and what God might be doing now to blend the two communities and the parish, which will now be called St. Anthony-St. Rose Parish.
Fr. Andrew Heiman, pastor of the parish, said one parishioner told him that when the Mass started there was sadness like at a funeral but at the end he felt a sense of unity to move forward together as one parish.
“The procession we had from one church to the other church, and then the whole little fiesta we had that evening, really kind of brought everything together,” Fr. Heiman said.
“It was a good step toward truly becoming one parish. As nervous as I was and as stressed out as I was, it really came together well, and I thank God for that.”
He said the Mass was a tribute to those who held on to their faith. “We gave out roses to those (St. Rose) charter members who are still alive, as a way of saying thank you for your sacrifices and that your faith meant so much to you that you wanted to keep growing in your faith even though at times it wasn’t the easiest thing to do.”
Father Heiman said he is looking forward to growing as one parish. “Our hearts have changed, our minds have changed. Now we are all one, the way it was meant to be from the beginning.”
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Printed with permission from the Catholic Advance, newspaper from the Diocese of Wichita.