Parish mergers in many parts of the country are a fact of life. Every July there is a new announcement that a priest is covering two parishes, or two parishes are becoming one. In other parts of the country, entire dioceses have merged all of their parishes at once, as in Pittsburgh. In these dioceses, the people seem hopeless. They feel like there’s nothing that laypeople can do to stop it.

But in August, in the Diocese of Buffalo, a group of laypeople successfully stopped two mergers in their diocese by appealing to the Vatican. And this little act of lay action proves that there are things that laypeople can do to save their parishes.

For the six months since my book Save Your Parish launched, I’ve had conversations with laypeople about how the average parishioner can fix their parish. Many of those conversations have been very fruitful and hopeful, but some people have grown cynical about the state of the Church. They are convinced there’s nothing we can do to fix the situation that we’re in, because our leaders can’t or don’t want to. Some even go so far as to say our bishops and priests hate us.

It’s important to take an honest look at the bishops’ situation. They have a bird’s-eye view of their diocese and our parishes, and they see the numbers. They see the cash reserves shrinking in the budgets of every parish. They see the diocesan appeal getting harder and harder to hit every year. They see the number of priests who retire every year, versus the number of men they have in formation at seminary. They know that something bad is coming, and they are in a position where they feel like they don’t know what to do to stop it.

And so they make decisions. They give priests multiple parishes because they have to. They even merge parishes together because one is financially insolvent and the other isn’t. So we have to be fair. It’s best to assume that these things are being done out of a perceived necessity and often a real necessity.

Still, the Church as a whole – both clergy and laity – has forgotten the power of the laity. Many bishops believe merging parishes is a foregone conclusion and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. But laypeople can stop it. Not just through appeals to the Vatican but through dedicated action.

It would be better if the bishops didn’t make these decisions unilaterally, and if – in keeping with their stated value of synodality – bishops would talk to their people. One wonders what would have happened in Buffalo if the bishop earnestly spoke to a congregation, came to a Mass and gave people the honest situation: “In three years this parish may have to merge unless something changes. We need your help.”

There’s a difference between a clericalist parish and an apostolic parish. A clericalist parish is one that believes the mission of the Church belongs exclusively to ordained priests and lay staff. An apostolic parish is one where every person is bought in on the mission to make disciples. And the thing about an apostle is you can’t become an apostle until you are called. And who better to call the laypeople to account than the bishops themselves?

There is a wide swathe of laypeople who would jump at the chance, if called personally by their bishop or pastor, to invest in their parish both with time and money. They simply have not been invited yet.

Laypeople have already been called by virtue of their Baptism, and many have heeded that call. But to the stragglers, those who are still left in the town square waiting to be called into the Lord’s vineyard – our bishops and our pastors need to be the voice of Christ and call them in. Why are you still standing around? The harvest is plenty and the labourers are few.

So, to any bishops reading this, and any pastors reading this, I ask you to be the voice of Christ to your people. To tell them of the situation and tell them how they can help. Because, as Buffalo shows, it is not inevitable – at least the Vatican doesn’t think so. Parish mergers are not the proactive solution. They are the last resort. A parish losing its identity is a sad thing that does not need to happen.

You may be surprised how many will answer the call.