Detroit Church Forced to Downsize as Less Parishioners Attend
Saint Leo Catholic Church in Michigan has seen a significant downturn in the number of churchgoers each week, and as a result, has been forced to downsize.
The brick church was founded in Detroit in 1889 as the city, known for shipbuilding and car making, was budding into a production powerhouse.
In Detroit, the economic downturn effects can be seen everywhere. Last week, Detroit’s Public Library system closed four branches in order to save money on utility bills and librarian salaries. Also, the city has closed schools due to declining enrollment.
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St. Leo Catholic Church is one of nine parishes set for closure in the Detroit area within the next few years, reported Reuters. In 2012, St. Leo’s congregation will be combined with larger St. Cecelia’s, three miles away.
The closings and mergers, while they are disappointing, offer the possibility of fuller parishes and more financial security as the archdiocese attempts other growth plans.
The downsizing of the Archdiocese of Detroit on 15th Street is underway, like so many other Catholic churches. Today, many churches across the U.S. are being affected by a shortage of priests and the ever-shrinking number of parishioners.
Not only is church attendance going down, but also those who do go to church go less frequently. A study by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research said that American congregations have grown less healthy in the past decade, and that people in the pews today are lessening because they are aging.
Earlier this year one church leader suggested shortening church services to last under one hour in order to boost church attendance.
Reverend Jonathan Gledhill, Bishop of Lichfield in London, said that “clergy should aim to keep the time of worship to no more than 50 minutes.”
He explained that services today are too time consuming in an offering of why church attendance is down today.
“One of the reasons for our recent decline in churchgoing is we are not making the occasional worshipper feel welcome,” Rev. Gledhill told The Christian Post. “You have to be quite tough to come to some of our services if you are not a regular attender. We’re praying for longer and we’re singing for longer.”
While the problem with shrinking church attendance persists, discussions about long church services seem to be a touchy subject for many Christians.
