Millerton’s St. Patrick’s to shut its doors

MILLERTON — There are no other options. So said Father Kent Wilson about the Catholic archdiocese’s decision to close St. Patrick’s Church in the village of Millerton. 

“I feel very bad about it, and I hope the people know that I do feel very bad about it,” he said. “But it’s long overdue. It should have been done 10 or 15 years ago.”

That’s because times have changed, said Wilson, who pointed to shifting demographics, smaller parishes, fewer priests and mounting costs as part of why the decision was made to close St. Patrick’s.

“It’s getting so expensive to run these places we can’t afford to run all of them,” he said. 

Come Aug. 1 St. Patrick’s will no longer operate as a functioning church, though its cemetery will remain in operation.

Parishioners are being told they can instead go to either Immaculate Conception in Amenia or St. Anthony’s in Pine Plains. Between the two churches, three Masses will be held on weekends.

“If they spaced out services [among the three churches] it could work,” said St. Patrick’s parishioner Betty Morrison. “That would make everybody happy and people would be more accepting of the change. We feel like the lost sheep of St. Patrick’s. It was kind of sprung on us so we didn’t have any time to get things organized.”

In fact, Wilson said the decision was just finalized in May. Morrison said parishioners weren’t told the church would be closing until June 28. The last service was just held on Sunday, July 26. Yet it’s been at least five years in the planning, Wilson said.

“In the past five years there has been parish planning in the archdiocese in New York, which we are a part of, and parish planning has gone over all the different parishes and what needs to be done and changed … to best serve the needs of the people. We had a two-year process, submitted our proposals, the diocese submitted theirs. The arch bishop decided to merge Pine Plains with Amenia.”

Wilson will be the only priest to tend to the two churches. If St. Patrick’s were to remain open, he would have been responsible for that church as well.

“I can’t run three parishes, so I had to make a decision, and my decision was to close St. Patrick’s because I have the responsibility of providing services to Pine Plains and Amenia.”

Wilson said it was clear from the get go that Amenia’s Immaculate Conception would remain open. That’s where the Catholic Church has offices and the Vine and Branches food pantry is stationed. He also said the bishop told him St. Anthony’s was to remain open. That left St. Patrick’s remaining.

“I can’t run three churches,” he said. “It’s physically, mentally and financially impossible.”

But Morrison disagrees, and wrote a letter to the cardinal stating so. She said St. Patrick’s is smaller, easier to operate and more financially sound than St. Anthony’s.

“I just don’t feel there’s a valid reason,” she said. “I’m just asking them to reconsider … If we have to keep the church up here maintained in the interim period before they decide why not have services?”

Wilson, however, confirmed the decision as final.

That doesn’t mean those at St. Patrick’s will automatically continue to attend New York alternatives, said Morrison.

“I’ll probably go to St. Mary’s in Lakeville, Conn.,” she said. “It’s just four miles away versus 10. It’s close, and it seems like if they’re trying to do the thing that’s most convenient for them, we’re going to do the thing that’s most convenient for us. That probably sounds selfish, but if [Father Wilson] is deciding to keep this closed it’s because of his own interest.”

Morrison questioned how involved the archdiocese was in the decision. Wilson said it was a guiding force in the decision. He also said the Harlem Valley churches are not alone.

“This is happening archdiocese wide, not just here,” he said. “It’s happening in Poughkeepsie, in Red Hook — all over — and in New York City, too.”

In fact, out of roughly 400 parishes in New York, Wilson said about 100 will be closing.

“I am very sad about the situation but there’s not much to do about it,” he said.