Our Mother of Mercy is still standing on Bolivar Peninsula but when parishioners held their first Mass in nine months, they held it six blocks away from their church home.
Parishioner Talisa Comeaux said, "Right now we don't have anywhere to give funerals, weddings, baptisms."
Parishioners attended Mass at a Methodist Church down the street led by the protestant preacher. Our Mother of Mercy's priest Father Joseph was told not to come to the Mass by the archdiocese. They say he was not given permission because he did not follow the proper channels.
"We've lost our homes, businesses, and now they are taking our church," said parishioner Rhea Senseney-Hemmings.
While the church survived the storm, the archdiocese of Galveston-Houston was ready to demolish it. Some parish members say they couldn't bear to watch.
"I didn't see it," explained parishioner Shirley Senseney. "I didn't want to come see it. (It hurts that bad.)"
The archdiocese proposes building a new sanctuary and community center on Crystal Ceach, but parishioners believe they should have a say in that."It's the people's church, the people are the church," said Rhea Senseney-Hemmings. "They built that church. My mother is 77 and she is one of the ones who helped work for it"
Members of the parish have filed a restraining order in court which prevents any demolition for 14 days.
Parishioner W.O. Greb said, "I got the first daughter who was baptized in the church and the last granddaughter that was married in the church. It means a whole lot to us."
While Our Mother of Cercy may need repairs, they still want it to be their church home. The archdiocese and parishioners are expected to be back in court this week. Until a decision is made, a sheriff's deputy has been hired by the archdiocese to keep an eye on the church grounds.
QUICK HEADLINES | MORE LOCAL | GET NEWS ALERTS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC13 SOCIAL NETWORKING
Find us on Facebook® | Follow us on Twitter | More social networking
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORE FROM ABC13
ABC13 widget | Most popular stories |
Street-level weather
ABC13 wireless |
Slideshow archive |
Help solve crimes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
