To the Editor:

Thank you for your portrayal and understanding of the range of reactions still troubling many over the shuttering of St. William Parish and the transformation of St. Margaret into Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. For the well being and future of the community it is important that the sense of dislocation and alienation not be taken out on each other, or that our service to God and understanding of the fullness of Church be contaminated by the few careerist clerics and institutionally absorbed bureaucrats who betray both its people and purpose.

Those of us involved in the recourse to Rome will continue to hope that the injustice and misrepresentation to which our parish was subjected will be recognized and righted. Whatever the future of St. William, as people of faith we will still have the obligation and privilege of cooperating with our neighbors to work for the sharing of God's gifts of love, joy and justice with all, especially those within our immediate reach. To do so effectively we know we need God's grace, not just our own good but fallible intentions. Those in the affected parishes know that that grace comes not just individually, but communally and sacramentally. We cannot let resentment corrode its channels or grant sadly inadequate representatives the power to keep us from its Source.

For Christmas at least, let us put our anger and hurt (however justified and motivating) not only on hold, but in the service of a Spirit far stronger. With a "willing suspension of disblief" in all that has offended us, and a recovered sense of wonder at the coming of God's Word into our human family, let's decorate the neighborhood with an outpouring of love and sharing. Let's fill our churches with prayer and song. St. William may be shuttered but it long housed hopes, dreams and sacramental life. Wouldn't it be wonderful to brighten its yards and fences with lights, garlands and caroling? A tribute to the past and a collective hope for the future?

Wouldn't it be heartening to join neighbors at the several churches - especially Blessed Mother Teresa on December 19 at 6:30, if physically or psychologically possible - as an acknowledgment of the present and a pledge of future cooperation, in whatever form, for the good of the whole? Not as a concession to clueless bureaucrats or bygone manipulators, but to praise God in solidarity with our neighbors, and in determination to help chart a renewed and true church in service of Christ's mission and message.

Whatever folks decide, I hope these next two weeks can open us all to the cleansing, warming and reconciling blessings of Bethlehem. Joyous Christmas and a fruitful New Year.

-Mary Hogan, Savin Hill