More parish closings and consolidations may be on the way — this time, in South Dakota:

Thirty-five eastern South Dakota Catholic parishes could lose their regular Masses by 2012 under a plan led by Bishop Paul Swain of the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls.

Whether the churches, which are mostly in smaller towns, will eventually close is unknown. But a priest must be present to celebrate every Mass, and the number of priests in the state is declining. Eliminating Mass at the churches is the best use of the diocese’s resources, according to the Pastoral Plan developed by Swain and others.

Parishes were told of the plan last week and now must decide whether to present individual alternative plans, said Roger Heidt, deacon and director of pastoral planning for the diocese.
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“It’s not an immediate thing unless something drastic happens,” he said. “Essentially, no decisions have been made. We have to listen to what the people have to say.”

It could take the diocese a couple of years to complete that process, he said.

In Marion, John Luke has attended St. Mary since he was born 70 years ago. He expects if his church closes, he will worship eight miles away in Parker.

But it will be a change from having weekly Mass at the parish where he was baptized and still attends with his children and grandchildren.

And it will be hard to drive by the building surrounded by the cemetery that holds his family, including a son, parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles, he said.

“That’ll still always be church to me, home to me,” he said.

There’s more at the link.