Is it natural for people to talk this way about a big church movement?

Question

Okay, in about 2004, our parish had to make a big decision on closing churches within our parish. We had to close 3 churches out of 4; (keeping 1). St. Stanislaus, Holy Trinity, and Christ the King Catholic churches were closed. We had to keep 1 church, St. Veronica. Saint Veronica was relatively a small worship site, but it also had held important events such as our Parish Festival, and our Cafeteria where our dinners were held for our profits. Saint Veronica Catholic Church was small, but big in building the community. The church is big inside, and has a lot of space, however, it was first to be a gym for the Catholic School, but then they decided to make it a church, so, it's not as big as a regular church, however, big enough to hold around 1,000-2,000 people. So, after the church renovated, and brought things from all churches, it was a new worship space. Now, people, when it was renovated, and a while after we began using it, people were saying "It's too small", and "Not a nice church", etc. Are they saying this because they are upset that their church closed?

Answer 1

yes, people don't like leaving their comfort zone.

Answer 2

No! They are just losers who use the 3cs ( complaining,critisizing and condemming). That's what you would expect from Catholics. I grew up as a Catholic and I went to a Catholic school. I never learnt anything but sin and guilt drummed down my throught.

Answer 3

Normal humans they resist change which is how your religion has survived for 2,000 years . Nice to know that there went 3 more though as I am sure they went atheist/agnostic/deist . More rational people everyday .

Answer 4

To know, you would need to see if their statement held any validity.

IS it too small? What makes it NOT nice?

Familiarity lends comfort, and this people want.

If it is merely a "missing of the old," it will show.

Answer 5

it should be about relationships, not buildings...  if the relationships exist and are in good shape, the building won't matter much, except for the initial resistance to change; however if the relationships are superficial, it's all over...  

Answer 6

People are resistant to change, and unfortunately church people sometimes become so attached to their buildings and the furnishings within them that they forget why the churches existed in the first place.  They become emotionally and usually sentimentally entrenched in the color of the carpet, the paraments someone made in 1977, the hymnal that is now outdated, etc.

So yes, I think it is safe to say that they are upset about "their" church closing, and they want everyone else to suffer for it.

The priest is going to have to work hard to stop this poison by working counteractive to it -- working with intentionality to change peoples' hearts on the matter.