Good Reason for Hope
-
October 16, 2026Throughout October, we have been reflecting on the changing seasons, both in the weather and in the life of St. Michael Parish. We have considered the challenges of maintaining our buildings and preparing responsibly for the future. But beneath these practical concerns is a more fundamental question: What does it mean to be a faithful and fruitful parish in the season we are living in today?
Our churches were built during a different period in central Maine's history. Generations of Catholic immigrants came here to work in the mills, raise families, and build communities. They built churches, schools, and institutions to serve a growing Catholic population. We have inherited a remarkable legacy of faith and sacrifice. But circumstances have changed. The mills have largely disappeared. Families have moved away. Fewer people practice the faith, and the population itself is changing.
Recent demographic studies illustrate this. Since 1990, Augusta's population has declined approximately 13%. Across the five towns served by our parish, the population over age 65 has increased by more than a third since 2010, while the number of children and working-age adults has declined. These changes are reflected in our parish.
Over the past several months, we have been counting attendance at all nine weekend Masses across our six churches. On average, approximately 1,200 people attend Mass each weekend. Our largest congregation is at St. Mary’s 9:00 a.m. Mass, averaging 245 people, while Sacred Heart in Hallowell and St. Denis in Whitefield each average around 70. About 58% of parishioners attend Mass in Augusta, 20% in Winthrop, and the remaining 22% in Gardiner, Hallowell, and Whitefield.
Our parish has approximately 3,200 registered families, representing 6,200 individuals. That means roughly one in five registered parishioners attends Mass on a typical weekend. This is not unique to St. Michael Parish. National studies suggest that only about one-quarter of American Catholics attend Mass weekly. Our demographic study last year also found that the average age of Mass attendees was 56. At St. Augustine’s Saturday 4:00 p.m. Mass, the median age was 74. These numbers deserve our attention. They help us understand the parish we are today, rather than continuing to plan as though we were living fifty or a hundred years ago. But where do we go from here? I believe there is good reason for hope.
Certainly, we should continue inviting people to Mass and encouraging those who have drifted away to return. That remains essential to our mission. But we cannot build our future around the expectation that attendance will suddenly double or that our churches will return to the populations they once served.
Instead, perhaps we need to expand our vision and recognize what God has already given us.
When we view our parish through the lens of scarcity, we see what we lack: fewer parishioners, fewer priests, aging buildings, and limited resources. But that is only part of the picture.
We have 1,200 people who gather every weekend to worship God. We have parishioners who teach the faith, visit the sick, serve the poor, care for our churches, and support their neighbors. We have families raising children in the faith and volunteers whose generosity and quiet fidelity sustain our parish every day.
Our greatest resource has never been our buildings. It has always been our people. Our buildings exist to serve them and the mission Christ has entrusted to us.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks whose image appears on a Roman coin. When told it is Caesar’s, He replies, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” The coin bears Caesar’s image. But every human person bears the image of God.
That distinction is important. Buildings, budgets, and institutions have their place, and we have a responsibility to care for them. But people belong to God. Their dignity, their salvation, and their relationship with Christ must remain at the center of our mission.
In today’s second reading, St. Paul gives thanks for the Thessalonians, recalling their “work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope.” He recognizes the vitality of their community not in its buildings or numbers, but in the faith expressed through their lives. That is the measure we should keep before us.
The future of St. Michael Parish may look different from its past. But different does not necessarily mean diminished. If we remain faithful to our mission, use our resources wisely, and invest our energy in forming disciples and serving our neighbors, I am confident God will bring forth good fruit.
The season has changed. Our mission has not.
Let us give thanks for what previous generations have entrusted to us, recognize the gifts God has placed in our hands today, and have the courage to build a parish that serves the people God is calling us to reach tomorrow.