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8 00 O 00 < o o .o V) CD C >. CO 00 Tj- o> X o CD The ^ ^ Sou hern Diocese of £ "N _ „ ^ ^ ^ Savannah ( ^fQSS Contents Headline Hopscotch ... 2 News 3 Commentary 4-5 Around the Diocese .. 6-7 Faith Alive! 8-9 Notices 10-11 Last But Not Least ... 12 Vol. 79, No. 16 Thursday, April 22, 1999 $.50 PER ISSUE Preliminary recommendations would realign four parishes in Savannah deanery Fathers David Baldwin, consultant, John A. Kenneally, dean, and Francis J. Nelson, vicar general, at a steering committee meeting. By Barbara D. King Savannah A fter a year and a half of study and consultations concerning the Savannah Deanery, a diocesan steer ing committee has come up with pre liminary recommendations that would make major changes in four parishes. Preliminary recommendations are that: • Nativity of Our Lord Parish be closed and its territory divided between St. Peter the Apostle and Blessed Sacrament parishes. • Most Pure Heart of Mary and St. Anthony of Padua parishes develop a plan to merge into one parish with one pastor. • Our Lady of Lourdes Parish relo cate from its present site on Highway 17 to another location in western Chatham County. The steering committee of the Savannah Deanery Parish Feasibility Study suggested the changes because: • Population shifts have blurred tra ditional parish boundaries. In some parishes, registrations of new families are static, while other parishes are bursting at the seams. • Programs and services to support spiritual life and parish life needs are minimal at parishes that are not grow ing. • There is a decline in the availabili ty of priests to serve the future needs of the church. The steering committee is holding a series of meetings with parish coun cils and planning committees of the affected parishes to get further input before finalizing their recommenda tions. The recommendations will go (Continued on page 1 1) John Michael Talbot performs at Sacred Heart, Savannah Catholic recording artist John Michael Talbot and Father John J. Lyons, pastor, at Sacred Heart Church, Savannah, pose for photos during the intermission at Talbot's concert April 15. Talbot's appear ance in Savannah was sponsored in part by Mercy Corps Internation al. A collection was taken up during the concert for the victims of war in Kosovo. Right: John Michael Talbot in concert in Savannah.