This article is from page 4 of the 2013-11-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
REGULAR mass will be celebrated outside of the main chapel in Crusheen for the first time ever this morning as a new trial scheme to save money and protect elderly mass goes from the cold begins.
Today’s early morning mass, No vember 19, will be celebrated in a small meeting room at the back of the church building and not in the main chapel.
Parish priest Father Ger Nash con- firmed yesterday that weekday masses will be moved out of the main chapel for the next few months in an effort to save money on heating. All weekend masses will continue to take place on the main chapel, as will the Friday morning service which is attended by local school children.
The new system will be operated on a trail basis until March or April of 2014, and could become an annual move for the parish if mass goers are in favour. According to Fr Nash, the cost of heating the main chapel for mass is putting a significant strain on the parish coffers.
“At the moment we get between a dozen or two dozen people attending mass during the week so we decided, for economic reasons, to move these masses to a cozy meeting room to wards the back of the church,” he said. “It can take around two hours of heat before the main chapel is warmed up, but this room is nice and cozy in about 15 minutes. We are starting this on a trial basis for Tuesday and Thursday masses and we will see how it goes from there. We have never tried anything like this before.
“The majority of people attending these masses are elderly so the cold is a worry. With the price of oil at the moment this could make a difference. Even just for two days [each week] the cost savings by the end of the year could be substantial.”
According to the latest accounts published by the Diocese of Killaloe, the diocese recorded a surplus of more than € 200,000 in 2011. The diocese also reported cash reserves of € 813,778 and “investments” in excess of € 2 million.