One year ago, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announced a reorganization plan that consolidated individual parishes into groupings of churches that serve as the new parish.

While the reorganization, known as “On Mission for the Church Alive!,” has not yet determined final mergers, changed Mass schedules resulting from the groupings were rolled out in October.

Mary Ann Lascuola of Butler Township has always been a member of St. Michael the Archangel Church on Center Avenue. That church was grouped with St. Paul and St. Peter in Butler as well as St. Andrew in Center Township and St. Fidelis in Meridian.

Lascuola said the only weekend Mass offered at St. Michael was at 4 p.m. Saturday, which does not fit her schedule. St. Paul is not convenient for parking because she takes her elderly mother to Mass each week.

Lascuola now attends Mass at 8:30 a.m. Sunday at St. Fidelis.

“There's nothing we can do,” Lascuola said. “There is a shortage of priests, so we have to combine.”

She said the Mass schedule could be changed again and more services added or removed in the churches within a grouping. Lascuola was pleased that two Easter Masses were held at St. Michael, where the service is familiar.

“Every church does things differently, so it was nice to be back in my home church where I've gone all my life,” she said.

Lynn Patterson of Butler Township sings in the parish choir, so she must attend the 11 a.m. Mass each Sunday at St. Peter. She said many elderly parishioners she talks to are worried that their funerals will not be held in their home churches.

“A lot of old people have gone to the same parish since they were married,” Patterson said.

She said parishioners dealing with the groupings cannot rely on a familiar priest leading Mass.

“It's a bunch of different priests,” Patterson said. “You never know who you are getting for your Mass.”

She said she does not care for the methods of some priests she has seen lead her service.

“My reason for going to church is to try to get a message to get me through the week, and I don't get that now,” Patterson said. “It always seems like a drive-by Mass to me anymore.”

Patterson, who said she will not leave the Catholic faith over the situation, hopes the diocese will decide quickly which churches to close and which priests will be assigned in her parish.

“Are they going to drag it out another two years?” Patterson said. “Make a decision and be done.”

Tom Breth, a lifelong member of St. Paul, said he has been minimally affected by the groupings.

He said the overall population of Butler County has decreased since the 1970s, and churches as well as municipalities, school districts and other entities have had to adjust.

“This is another indication of how things have changed,” Breth said.

He said he has enjoyed seeing new faces at St. Paul since the groupings began in October.

“I've met a lot of new people (who) have migrated over to St. Paul,” Breth said.

The Rev. Matt McClain, who is the priest for St. Wendelin Church and School in Summit Township and Mater Dolorosa and St. Joseph in Chicora, was the St. Wendelin priest for seven years before the “Church Alive!” reorganization. St. Wendelin has the largest attendance of the three churches.

McClain explained that the priests leading each parish grouping were tasked with looking at attendance at each church and creating a Mass schedule accordingly.

A survey given in McClain's parish after the new Mass schedule began showed that 65 to 75 percent of those who responded were satisfied with the schedule among the three churches.

“But 20 to 25 percent were not, so that's one of the things we had to look at,” McClain said.

He said many in the two Chicora churches felt they were not getting a good deal.

“So, we're changing that and I think it's a really positive thing,” McClain said. “The changes go into effect on May 11.”

He said the Sunday Mass at Mater Dolorosa at 12:15 p.m. is moving to 8:15 a.m. However, changing a Saturday evening Mass to Sunday night did not work, McClain said.

“We're moving it back to Saturday evening at a different time,” he said.

He said he will keep track of attendance numbers after he rolls out the new schedule to ensure the greatest number of parishioners are satisfied.

“We are just trying to listen to everyone and make it as good as we can,” McClain said. “We want the 25 percent to really feel a part of this.”

A positive facet of the grouping, McClain said, is St. Wendelin School, which educates students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. He said the students participate in Masses and lead such special events as the Stations of the Cross during Lent.

“I think just seeing the young children is exciting (to parishioners),” McClain said. “Having the school has been a positive thing and the other two churches have been very, very open about, 'Hey, this is our school now.'”

He said the parishioners from the various churches have been getting to know one another.

“I think the people are really starting to mix well,” McClain said.

The Rev. Kevin Fazio is the priest for the Butler, Center Township, and Meridian churches plus the St. Stanislaus building in Lyndora where funerals, baptisms and weddings are held.

Fazio said positive outcomes from the church groupings in his parish include the revival of youth and young adult programs and chaplaincy ministry that cares for the sick, hospital patients, the home bound, nursing home residents and inmates at the Butler County Prison. Fazio said the programs are second to none.

He said the feedback from parishioners has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive, and no adjustments of Mass times have been made since Oct. 15.

“The clergy team, the team members who staff each parish and all who volunteer at our parishes and (Butler Catholic School) are all working hard and doing our best to spread the good news of Jesus Christ across Butler,” Fazio said.