I hope everyone has checked out the main church at St. Barnabas recently.  It looks absolutely amazing.  The restoration really worked, and the place looks brand new.  I think the Priests should be proud of what an amazing church they have.

It's nice to hear that the church looks good since the pastor is turning the elementary school to crap.

Whats going on?  I'm young so I don't have kids (yet).  Whats going on with the school?

Well to start, in late August parents found out that the 5th grade would lose a teacher, so instead of two classes there would be one monster class of 41 kids.  Then 4 kids were yanked by their parents so it was "just" 37 in a class.  Next year's 4th grade is in danger of the same thing.  There was an uproar.  Parents Assn held a meeting with the pastor and principal, and it was not reassuring.  The auditorium was packed, but the pastor hardly prepared for the meeting, gave a sermon followed by conflicting stories and figures.  It was obvious that Barry doesn't give a damn about the school, treats Catholic school families like freeloaders on his parish.  Parents raised important issues on the educational program, and they weren't taken seriously.  It was an awful meeting.

They blame "demographics" (i.e. Irish moved back home) for declining enrollment but they don't understand that enrollment wouldn't be quite so low if they treated families with more respect.  PS19 is full of kids who used to go to St. Barnabas.  Barnabas parents are really supportive and their kids deserve better than this.

Wow that sounds kind of crazy.  Are there any plans on hiring another teacher this year, or are they reducing it to 1 teacher for financial reasons?  Is the parish having financial difficulties at the moment?

No plans to hire a new teacher.  It's a financial thing for the school but Barry says the parish is doing fine.  He just doesn't want to send any money to the school.  The church talks a good game, but they really don't support Catholic schools any more.  They see it as a money drain.

Well I stopped by the main church last Sunday for the 11:00am mass. I was so happy to see the church was basically the same as I remembered since childhood. The same church where I was baptized, made my First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage. My mother and father had their funeral mass there. I went to St. Barnabas grammar and high school. Would love to attend a Latin Mass in the future.

Are there any plans to start saying a Latin Mass at St. Barnabas?  There was some mention in the bulletin a few weeks back about the Pope's recent allowance of the latin mass.  Does that mean that they are planning on starting one up?

I do not think that Msgr. Barry is a pastor that shows an indifferent attitude. He is quite equipped to run a parish. Even if the parish is undergoing some sort of financial hardship, it is not Msgr. Barry to blame. He is not the one that puts money in the collection baskets at mass. The parish obviously spent a lot of money renovating the Main Church. That leaves them in a deficit. I do agree with you when you say they could have spent the money better, such as hiring more teachers(or better ones) for smaller classes or renovating the school.

Well it's been a long time since I've heard anyone say something nice about Barry.

[quote="FBD"]I hope everyone has checked out the main church at St. Barnabas recently.  It looks absolutely amazing.  The restoration really worked, and the place looks brand new.  I think the Priests should be proud of what an amazing church they have.[/quote]

Such a lovely elevator

every class was between 30 and 40 kids. We had 4 classes in each grade. It was crowded, but we did fine.

Yes, the church went for about 96 years without an elevator but all of sudden we need one...yet no focus on the Elementary School.  Enrollment in the elementary school has declined DRAMATICALLY in the past 8 - 10 years.  There was over 500 families 10 years ago and now they are down to 300 families.  Hmmmm.   Is anyone paying attention?

96 years without an elevator, yet people made up those stairs.  I hear ya scat.  I paid attention to that parish.  Gave me more of an incentive to get the the hell out.  They're thieves!  It's no wonder parents are sending their kids to St. Paul's.  They run a good program there.  Ask any parent or child.  They're not spending your money on an elevator that travels 10 feet.