Holy Family - Auburn NY
Father’s Day / June 16, 2024
https://youtu.be/WeeplcM3RYk?si=ZKlHyKGuk_OE4r2_ (Stained Glass Windows)
Holy Family Church is closing; today was the final mass celebrated in the “Mother Church” of Auburn. The pews were filled, the faces of the parishioners were as stunning to me as the stained-glass windows. Yes, due to “structural” damage the church is deemed unsafe. Oh …
I would agree that there have been “structural” challenges with Holy Family Church, the Rochester Diocese and the Catholic Church for a while now, but it really has nothing to do with a building. There were lots of tears today, the little red-haired altar boy could not stop crying - yes, there were angels present today.
A number of years ago I began my “goodbye” with Holy Family. I needed to resurrect my faith in a way that would lift me up, help me to be a better person. But today was a day to say a final goodby and thank you to Holy Family, because like my 124 Owasco Street home and my parents and siblings - Holy Family raised me.
Seeds of faith were nurtured through Sunday mass and a parochial school education. Good manner in the pews were an expectation just as the good manners at the dinner table. Traditional hymns crawled into my heart and were just as significant as the Beatles music coming from Nancy’s room or Jack introducing me to Neil Young. We journey through our sacraments, embraced religious holy and holidays, and we said goodbye to Dad at Holy Family - with a sad and tearful celebration of his life and his love.
Those seeds turned into faith, and faith does not live in a building but with our memories and in our hearts, I am grateful - forever grateful for faith. I hold all those in my heart that are broken by the loss of Holy Family Church. I pray that the Holy Spirit wraps them in love because there is so much more than THIS moment in time!
The final song: “Let There Be Peace On Earth”
-TRH
APRIL 2024
Holy Family Church and School have been central to the Ringwood family … Sacraments, Sunday Mass, Graduations and more. While it is part of our memory, our story - it also shaped our identities. 2024 - so much has changed, quite reflective of the times. Holy Family School has been sold (separate from the church) and the plan/hope is to create a homeless shelter. At some point I would like to research the history of the school, in the meantime, enjoy these videos.
