by Fr. John Jasica
ST. AGNES PARISH UPDATES
(1) TRANSFER OF PARISH REGISTRATIONS
Thank you to all former St. Agnes parishioners who have contacted the office and transferred their parish registration to one of the other churches in our family. If you have not done so yet, please let us know—it helps us stay connected and keeps our records up to date. Contact us by phone or email and our office staff will take care of the rest!
(2) SALE OF ST. AGNES CHURCH
St. Agnes Church was officially sold on Friday August 29, 2025. It was purchased by an organization that is hoping to maintain and renovate the church building for outreach and supporting those in need in the Chatham area. I want to thank Pastoral Council, Finance Committee and our Senior Leadership Team for their support, wisdom and guidance.
I also want to thank the Chatham Catholic staff and a number of volunteers who helped transfer offices from St. Agnes to St. Ursula last fall and for the clean up and purging needed in preparation for the sale. It has been a challenging process for everyone but we are seeing many graces and blessings despite the difficult decision for closure.
(3) PROCEEDS FROM THE ST. AGNES SALE
The St. Agnes Church and property were sold for $1.45 million dollars. From this total we first need to pay any real estate and legal fees for the sale and any debts incurred to the diocese to maintain the St. Agnes facility and funds used to support the transition of St. Agnes ministries to other locations. Please note that the diocese does not receive any funds from the sale of St. Agnes or any church.
What happens to the remaining funds after the real estate fees, legal fees and debt are paid?
The Chatham Catholic Senior Leadership Team, Pastoral Council and Finance Committee are prayerfully discerning the allocation of these funds for the needs of the entire family of parishes and our Ignite the Mission Pastoral Plan. We want to maximize this one time gift most effectively for the mission and pastoral care of our family of parishes both now and in the future.
(4) OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE FUTURE
Over the last four years we have prayed, shared, discerned and implemented a pastoral plan that seeks to proclaim the Gospel in new ways so that our society today can encounter the Risen Lord through our family of parishes.
This has involved many changes in what we do and how we do things so that our youth, families, those who drifted from the faith and those who have never seen Jesus can experience Christ’s love that transforms their lives. This is not an add-on to our faith but is the heart of why we exist as Church. This is why we seek to form disciples who reach out to all. Each of us is called to share the Good News within and beyond our family of parishes.
The sacrifices made by the St. Agnes parishioners has brought about various powerful blessings of unity, community, and “mission over maintenance” with a renewed hope to live and share the Good News. I have described it as miraculous—because it is!! I am thankful to everyone in our family of parishes for making the adjustments and sacrifices so that we can disrupt and change our world with the love of Jesus.
Each member of our family of parishes, each ministry/program/outreach, the constant financial support of parishioners and the proceeds of the St. Agnes sale helps us follow Christ’s call to service. May we embrace the future journey of ministry and outreach together with courage seeing the many graces and opportunities before us.
