Saying Goodbye To St. Patricks.

There are times in a persons life where the words seem meaningless. It's not like my childhood church is disappearing, in fact it isn't going anywhere. I am saying goodbye to it because I no longer live within her boundaries! With the growth of the city I live in, my childhood parish is overcrowded. There are so many people going to this church that they have to build a new church in the small city I live in. Markham used to be a town, and with growth comes change. The reason why this comes as shock is because my family's home is a 5 minute drive to the church, and even easier to get there on the bus. So why would "we" be out of their district? There has been huge growth in the area where I live and within the new boundaries for the new catholic church. The question was asked, "why did they do it that way?" It makes sense geographically. I know this because of my short time at Trent University as a part time student studying environmental science. Mapping the city of Markham, formerly a town, would be a great exercise for those who have no sense of the population growth.

Just recently, a friend took me up on a rooftop where I could see the city of Markham from a very high perspective. It looked wonderful! Despite all the growth that has been happening there are so many trees in Markham, that everywhere I looked, north, south, east, and west, there were trees covering the city of Markham. What a blessing. It can be a very hard task to set boundaries for something like a church, but that is what mapping does. It gives you a perspective of where things like schools are, and you would think that setting boundaries would be done by looking at your church roll, but that could only help you in a way that is akin to accounting. It takes someone trained in geography to set boundaries, but there is a human element you need to consider because of the nature of the building.

Being a part of a church affects all areas of your life. If you have no transportation to your place of worship (which in modern times is next to impossible) it can affect your mental health. There are people who may not be on board with a new church but from my experience with religion I know that when you really want something you go and get it. It might be an inconvenience for some but for others it is an opportunity. Where your treasure lies, there your heart lies. People go to church for different reasons, some go for the social aspect and a sense of security and others go just to meet with God. I believe the latter will do better being a part of a new church.

I am very excited for the parish in Markham establishing a new church.

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