\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSt. Colman Church held its final Mass Wednesday night, marking the end of more than a century of worship.\u201cIt\u2019s tough,\u201d Jerry Meyer said. \u201cI was business manager here for 20 years and ran… up until the end. A lot of good memories.\u201dThe church is the last of seven in St. Joseph the Worker Parish to close because of declining attendance and financial strain. All services will be held at St. Maurice in Forest Hills.The congregation at St. Colman was established in 1882. The current church building opened in 1978, and many parishioners who attended Wednesday\u2019s final Mass have been part of the community for decades.\u201cI moved here when I married my husband, and he was born, baptized, all his sacraments,\u201d Betsy Kryjowski said. \u201cOur five children went to school here. Three of them have been married here. We taught religion. I ran the religion program, worked in the preschool program. It was perfect. It was wonderful, and we\u2019ll miss it.\u201dBeyond the building and the memories inside it, many parishioners said they realized this was the last time their community would gather as its own congregation.\u201cIt\u2019s the kindness, and the love and the peace of the people,\u201d Mary Fisher said. \u201cI\u2019m really going to miss the people. I love this church. It\u2019s sad that it\u2019s ending, but God is with us.\u201dLeaders at St. Joseph the Worker Parish are encouraging parishioners from the closing churches to come together at St. Maurice.\u201cIt\u2019s always difficult changing patterns, changing routines,\u201d the Rev. Michael Stumpf said. \u201cAnd yet, we\u2019ve also emphasized for the folks who are typically from Saint Maurice, this is a change for them, too. As a matter of fact, even the church interior is going to look different when people walk into it this coming weekend.\u201dSome parishioners said that while the building is closing, their faith will continue wherever they gather.\u201cI would go anywhere because Jesus is anywhere,\u201d Mary Rushe said. \u201cAs long as he\u2019s in that tabernacle, I don\u2019t care what building I\u2019m in. It\u2019s just a shell.\u201dThe new Mass schedule for parishioners begins Saturday with a 4 p.m. vigil service at St. Maurice.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tTURTLE CREEK, Pa. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
St. Colman Church held its final Mass Wednesday night, marking the end of more than a century of worship.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tough,\u201d Jerry Meyer said. \u201cI was business manager here for 20 years and ran… up until the end. A lot of good memories.\u201d<\/p>\n