FORESTVILLE — The new year destroyed family traditions, decimated the choir and emptied pews at St. Anthony Church.

Some of the church's attendees say a new Mass schedule for the churches of St. Peter Parish that started Jan. 4 is to blame for the disruptions.

They say the loss of their 9 a.m. Sunday service has also driven some to attend other churches outside the parish which contains Slippery Rock, Forestville and Harrisville.

Some say the loss of a Sunday Mass at St. Anthony was retaliation for opposition to a planned new church for the parish.

The parish is made up of St. Anthony Church, 232 Boyers Road, Forestville; St. Peter Church, 670 S. Main St., Slippery Rock; and the Parish Center at 342 Normal Ave., that serves Slippery Rock University students.

Beginning Jan. 4, Mass schedules at the three locations changed. St. Anthony has a 5:30 p.m. Saturday Mass but lost its 9 a.m. Sunday Mass.

The Rev. Kevin G. Poecking, pastor of St. Peter Parish, said increased attendance mandated the change.

In statement released by the parish, Poecking said, “For many years the St. Peter parish community has grappled with a dilemma that many other parishes wish they had: None of our three buildings is large enough to accommodate the entire parish community for Sunday Mass. We are blessed with faithful longtime members, students from Slippery Rock University and summer visitors from nearby campgrounds.

“Discussions about how to resolve this challenge took place among parish leadership groups for at least four years and parishioners at large for almost two years. The information we considered has all been public, posted on our parish website.”

Poecking continued, “We considered multiple options, including buying a larger church in a central location, enlarging existing buildings or buying a facility that could be renovated for Catholic worship. None of those options is currently feasible.

“Our solution was to change Sunday Mass times to make the most effective use of our largest church building.”

“Changing a Mass schedule is always difficult because the people are accustomed to a certain time, place and community of friends who gather then and there,” Poecking said. “We surveyed the parishioners and sought consensus among the leaders, but we knew it would not be possible to please everyone.”

Upset parishioners include Linda Laslavic of Boyers, who said she has been attending St. Anthony for 40 years.

“We don't go to Mass. We quit going because of this,” said Laslavic.

She scoffed at Poecking's claims the Mass changes were necessitated by space issues.

“He retaliated against us because we spoke that we didn't need a new church,” Laslavic said of one plan for constructing a new building.

“St. Anthony's is like a family, a lot of us go to breakfast together,” said Laslavic. “We were a whole family, and he disrupted it. We were choir members and we're not in choir anymore.”

“Some of the choir members are going to the 5:30 Mass in hopes that he won't close the church,” said Carolyn Sack of Slippery Rock Township. “That was another concern.

The choir has been devastated by the change, with all the male members quitting once the change went into effect, said Sack, herself a 30-year-member of the choir.

The Mass change has also affected Deb Vincent of Forestville, whose house is across the road from the church.

Since the change, Vincent said, “This is the first time since 1964 that my family didn't get together after church on Sunday at my house for rolls and coffee.”

“I don't want to go Saturday night,” said Hank Marino, a farmer in Cherry Township who has been attending St. Anthony since 1970. He said he has been going to Sunday Mass at Epiphany Church in Boyers and he won't be returning to St. Anthony “not unless they go back to 9 a.m. Sunday Mass.”

Which has caused a split in the Marino family because his wife, Joanne, has been attending St. Anthony's Saturday Mass.

“I'm really upset over this,” said Joanne Marino. “I continue to go to St. Anthony on Saturday so it doesn't close.”

Like Slack, she is afraid that might happen if Saturday attendance drops significantly.

“I want the Sunday Mass back because when you go to church on Saturday night it is just not the same as getting up in the morning and going to Mass,” Slack said.

“We just feel that it was an inappropriate choice that didn't have to be made,” said Sack. “People who attend St. Anthony are very close-knit people and have been for many years.”

“In the end, it didn't make much difference what the people wanted,” said Sack.

“We've written to the diocese and haven't gotten any results,” said Laslavic. “They said he's the priest and he's in charge and he decides what the Masses are.”

Laslavic said many of the parishioners have called and talked with the vicar, the Rev. Philip Farrell in Butler, about their concerns.

Farrell, who is responsible for representing Bishop David Zubik in the northern part of the Pittsburgh Diocese, said, “I've been talking to Father Kevin and a number of people voicing their objections, but also to people that are supporting what he is doing.”

Farrell said the Mass schedule change in St. Peter Parish was made in good faith.

“The change really isn't in retaliation, it's been part of the parish conversation for a while,” Farrell said.

“The hope is that this will give him a greater flexibility to take care of various things in the parish on Saturday and Sunday and hopefully this will address the needs as best as possible,” said Farrell.

“It would take the wisdom of Solomon to figure out something like this,” Farrell said. “Let's see how this plays out, before we go any further, before we get too upset over it.”