Clustering and Closing - How To Respond

Parish Council and the External Communications Committe requests that all members of our parish, their family, friends and other supporters of our church IMMEDIATELY write Bishop Richard Lennon, Bishop of Cleveland, and Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio.

We urge you to write to BOTH men protesting the closing of our parish.

It is important that these letters be highly personal. Please be sure to include an anecdote or story that tells why St. Peter is so important to your spiritual life and in our community.

Make sure that your letters are hardcopy, handwritten or typed. Including your words and signature on paper present a strong story and picture for the readers.

When writing your letter, request a response from the Bishop and Archbishop and keep a copy of any response you receive.

Keep up the effort. 'Storming the gates' with letters only helps our case. The letters can/should be written weekly while in our appeal process. As your friends, family and supporters of St. Peters to do the same. Our goal is to dramatically illustrate support for our parish through the sheer volume of our letters.

"DO NOT QUENCH THE SPIRIT." - 1 Thesselonians 5:19

Here are some ideas to emphasize in your letters:

• St. Peters is a collaborative parish and works with organizations in the neighborhood to minister to those who are disadvantaged in our city;
  
• We are people of faith, who have felt welcomed into the Catholic Church by the community of St. Peter;
• We are a diverse community;
• Many of our members, including our pastor, have ties to Cleveland State University and would welcome the opportunity to rebuild an outreach program to the school;
• We have a strong relationship with the students, parents, faculty and staff at Marion Sterling School that we want to continue; as a parish community, we have a strong call to this ministry;
• Our evangelization efforts are outstanding; through our arts and education programs and RCIA, we have helped bring knowledge of our faith to thousands of people throughout northeast Ohio;
• We are a symbol of continuity, rebirth and growth to a city sorely in need of good news;
• We are not perfect, but we strive to be an open, inclusive and just community;
• Our members have recruited friends and family to the church;
• We have the financial stability and resources to ensure that our parish will last a long time;
• Our parish has drawn many young families in recent years and our ministry to children has grown, a critical step in a parish's ability to grow and sustain itself;

P.S. Each person does not have to mention all of these things in each letter. Only those things that resonate with you are important to include in YOUR letter. Try to personalize your letter with an anecdote or with a thought about your own feelings or experiences at St. Peter's.

Your letter does not have to be long, but it helps if it makes sense and especially if it comes from the heart.

Thank you for all your efforts and hard work it can and will make a difference in the future of St. Peter Church.