To the Parishioners of Dover and Barrington,

Dear Friends in Christ,

As our new year begins, I wish you Christ's peace for 2009.  I pray that you may enjoy with renewed hope the grace of the newborn Lord in all you do this coming year.

The purpose of my letter is to update you on what is being done to implement the recommendation I accepted from the Dover cluster task force.  

Following a number of personal discussions with Father Cerullo, I have decided to accept his resignation as pastor of Saint Mary Parish, effective February 23, 2009.  Father Fritz has served the people of Saint Mary Parish generously and faithful during these last eight and a half years.  He is a good shepherd who has infused the parish with his care, his kindness, his humor and a deep commitment to helping everyone appreciate God's love for them.  I am grateful for his being an exemplary priest and a faithful friar of Saint Augustine.

I intend to appoint Father Marc R. Gagne as pastor of Saint Mary Parish and Father Damien Ledoux as associate pastor on the same date.  Their assignments are in addition to the responsibilities they have as pastor and associate pastor of Saint Charles Borromeo Parish and Saint Joseph Parish along with the Chapel of the Nativity in Barrington.  In my ongoing conversation with Father Marc, he has told me how much he looks forward to becoming pastor of Saint Mary Parish.  Father Marc has the best interests of the total Catholic Community in Dover at heart as he undertakes the significant goal of uniting the present four faith communities.  He will depend upon your good will and support in bringing this about in a fruitful way.

The members of the Dover Advisory Task Force will continue to assist Father Marc in developing a plan that identifies the specific steps to be taken in implementing the merger.  When the parishes are merged, my intention is to appoint Father Marc to be the pastor of the newly merged parish.

For two thousand and nine years, the Church Christ founded has been ever changing and ever constant.  We know that our Church today does not look like the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, while at the same time the truths of Christ and His body and blood remain the center of our lives.  Our local church is different today than it was in 1884 or even 1984.  Yet we are ever renewed in the same way because we rejoice in the one Lord, one Church, one faith, and one baptism that they worshipped in.  The parishes in Dover, and the mission in Barrington, embody traditions of fidelity to the Lord and the service of others.  I am confident that the newly merged parish of Dover, with its mission in Barrington, will incorporate these traditions in new and fruitful ways.

The year 2009 will be one in which  you, the Catholic faithful of Dover and Barrington, will have the opportunity to strengthen your bonds with each other while building up the new parish to be a vibrant and embracing one.  I pray that you will welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you and me.  May we always find joy in the realization that we are one in Christ - He, the Head, and we, the members.  With this renewed hope, I remain grateful to you and the priests who you serve.

Sincerely in our Lord,

+ John

Bishop of Manchester

This is a reprint of a letter mail to registered Catholic parishioners of Dover and Barrington.