JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — It was morning Mass on Wednesday at St. John's Catholic Church in Jamestown, where parishioners like Gregory Worrell have been going for 40 years.

"It means community to me," said Worrell. "You make a lot of connections with people who share the same faith."

What You Need To Know

  •  The Diocese of Buffalo has accelerated part of the Road to Renewal plan for parishioners

  •  The diocese looked at a number of criteria as the basis for deciding which churches to close and consolidate

  • Further plans will be announced late summer, early fall

That faith is being tested after a slight detour in the Diocese of Buffalo's Road to Renewal, where leaders announced Tuesday they're going to resize and reshape a number of parishes, meaning some will merge and others will close.

"It'll be sad for a lot of people," said Worrell.

People like Valerie Scarpino, married at St. John's, her children baptized there and her daughter walking down the aisle in October.

While the list of impacted parishes hasn't been released, she says the process may eventually strengthen the church, yet it's still tough to see.

"Each church is very important to those who attend it. They have heritage, they have sacraments. It'd be very difficult for those people to watch a church close," said Scarpino.

Like Mary Dominick, who's been going to church for more than 70 years, went to Catholic school and her mom a Catholic school teacher.

She, like others, are trying to understand what the diocese is going through, but remains sad.

"That some churches have to close. They're so meaningful to so many people. People think of this church or that church as where I was baptized, where I made my first communion, where I was married," said Dominick.

"They're identity is not the building, but it is the people. It's going to be a hard adjustment," said Fr. Todd Remick, Vicar Forane, Diocese of Buffalo.

Church leaders like Remick cite financial strains from filing Chapter 11, a priest shortage and declining mass attendance as some of the reasons why further changes are needed, on top of the recently formed family of parishes that already share resources.

"We have to stick together as a community and recognize that we are more than just the buildings, we are the people of God," said Remick.

Like Worrell, who has faith in members of his community.

"They'll adapt. And they'll also just go to the next available parish. They'll make it through," said Worrell.

Leaders with the diocese say final determinations will be announced between Aug. 15 and Sept. 1.