Diocese keeps St. Jerome's Open!

Northeast Shores and the neighborhood were surprised and had a huge sigh of relief when this past weekend we learned that Bishop Lennon would not be closing St. Jerome's Church (as we previously believed). We are incredibly grateful to the Bishop and the Diocese for showing their faith in our community by keeping this essential church and school open.

We want to thank everyone that sent a letter or made a phone call in an effort to save St. Jerome's Church. While we do not know the exact reasons that the Diocese chose to keep St. Jerome's Church open (and maintain Our Lady of Perpetual Help as an ethnic church), we believe that the outpouring of support from parishioners and residents helped our cause.

Below is the letter of thanks that we sent to the Bishop in regards to this decision. Feel free to send your own thank you letter if you see fit.

March 19, 2009

Bishop Richard Lennon
Diocese of Cleveland
1027 Superior Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44114

Dear Bishop Lennon:

I want to thank you profusely for hearing our plea to keep St. Jerome’s Church and School open. We greatly appreciate the faith this shows in the strength of North Shores Collinwood.

Due to your vote of confidence, this neighborhood can continue to boast our wonderful Catholic Church just minutes from the shores of Lake Erie.

We understand that you were charged with an incredibly difficult task in naming congregations that must close or merge. While I am sure this process was draining, please accept our sincere thanks that you did right by our community.

Thank you for being a friend to our neighborhood and please let us know if there is anything that Northeast Shores can do to help St. Jeromes, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, or the Catholic Diocese.

Sincerely,
Brian A. Friedman
Executive Director
Northeast Shores