Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Town Meeting will vote tonight whether to make the purchase of 900 Worcester St. from the Archdiocese of Boston.
The meeting that will decide whether Wellesley can officially move forward with the purchase of the St. James The Great church property is tonight. Town Meeting will convene at 7:30 p.m. at the Wellesley High School auditorium. The town tentatively agreed to buy the property at 900 Worcester St. from the Archdiocese of Boston for $3.8 million in March. The Special Town Meeting warrant contains five articles. Two deal with St. James, two deal with pond management (one specific to Morses Pond) and one is administrative. The church has been closed since 2006, but parishioners have held a vigil there since the church shut its doors. This group has appealed the Vatican's decision to uphold the Archdiocese's decision to keep the church closed.
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St. James The Great Church
900 Worcester St, Wellesley, MA
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256863
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Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Examples of area church closings and how other communities handled them.
As Wellesley heads toward a town meeting that will determine the fate of St. James The Great Church officially, the church’s parishioners are still involved in keeping the church active. The church was closed in 2004, and the Archdiocese have since agreed to sell the property to Wellesley for $3.8 million. The town plans to build a state-of-the-art sports complex on the property. The parishioners, however, have filed another appeal to the Vatican to keep the church open, the final appeal available to them. Regardless of how the town decides at the June 13 special town meeting, Wellesley can’t take any action until the parishioners leave – or are removed – from the property. They won’t go until their final appeal is heard. The situation is …
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St. James The Great Church
900 Worcester St, Wellesley, MA
/articles/how-should-town-handle-the-st-james-situation
256863
/locations/7158313
Friday, June 1, 2012
The group has endeavored to keep the church open since 2004.
The St. James The Great parishioners are attempting one last stand against the Archdiocese of Boston. The parishioners, who have held vigil at the church since it closed in 2004, had their final appeal to the Vatican delivered Wednesday, according to Boston.com. The appeal asks the Vatican to reverse the decision to make the building available for profane – or secular – use. The town seeks to purchase the property at 900 Worcester St. for $3.8 million and turn it into a recreation center. The sale is contingent upon passage at Town Meeting June 13. All prior appeals by the parishioner group have been denied.
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St. James The Great Church
900 Worcester St, Wellesley, MA
/articles/st-james-parishioners-file-last-appeal-available
256863
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Thursday, May 31, 2012
The Archdiocese dropped the restrictive policies in the initial contract.
The town may now purchase the land at 900 Worcester St. without restriction. Boston.com is reporting that the Archdiocese dropped the restrictions on the St. James The Great property, which disallowed the town from using the property as a stem cell research facility, an abortion clinic or a facility where suicides are assisted. The terms of the original contract restricted these uses for 90 years, and now, if the town ultimately purchases the land, it may be used for “municipal purposes” for the next 40 years, according to Boston.com. The town must vote to purchase the property at Town Meeting June 13. The original sale agreement says the town would purchase the land for $3.8 million.
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St. James The Great Church
900 Worcester St, Wellesley, MA
/articles/st-james-land-use-no-longer-restricted-to-town
256863
/locations/7124265
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Suzanne Hurley, spokeswoman for the St. James The Great parishioners group, told Boston.com they won’t give up.
Though the Vatican has denied an appeal of Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley’s decision to relegate several closed area churches for non-religious use, St. James The Great parishioners are not ready to give up the fight. Suzanne Hurley, spokeswoman for vigilers at St. James The Great, told Boston.com yesterday that the St. James parishioner group intends to file another appeal. “The vigil is ongoing, and we are planning to pursue an appeal,” she said to Boston.com. St. James' parishioner group will be one of five area church vigil groups seeking fruther appeal, according to the story. The town struck a tentative deal with the Archdiocese of Boston to buy the property, located at 900 Worcester St., for about $3.8 million April 2. The sale, however…
42.304938
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St. James The Great Church
900 Worcester St, Wellesley, MA
/articles/st-james-parishioners-plan-to-pursue-another-appeal
256863
/locations/7079863
Friday, May 4, 2012
The newest member of the Board of Selectmen told a crowd of about 40 Wednesday that while the board anticipates an amicable end to the situation at St. James, the town could at some point be forced to evict the parishioners.
At a Wednesday night meeting to discuss the St. James The Great Church land property transaction, one member of the Board of Selectmen said that parishioners, intent on hanging on to the closed church, could be removed eventually by force. Donald McCauley said that once the parishioners – who have been holding a vigil at the church since it closed in 2004 – have exhausted their appeals in court, the town can ask them to leave, according to Boston.com. “If they don’t have the right as a matter of civil law to be in the church – at that point, the town will have to ask them to leave,” he said in the story. McCauley is hopeful, however, that push does not come to shove and, according to Boston.com, the parishioners would sooner leave the …
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St. James The Great Church
900 Worcester St, Wellesley, MA
/articles/mccauley-eviction-of-parishioners-could-involve-police
256863
/locations/6936220
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Boston.com reports the Archdiocese of Boston has restricted the use of the land to some degree.
Though the town of Wellesley has made an agreement to purchase St. James the Church land, the Archdiocese of Boston has made some restrictions on how that land can be used. Boston.com reported yesterday that according to the sale agreement, the Archdiocese of Boston would not allow the land to be made used for a stem cell research laboratory, a clinic which provides abortive services or a facility which assists suicide. The lease agreement would hold for 90 years, according to the story. Last year, the Archdiocese relegated the church for profane use, which means the church property could be used for anything other than liturgical purposes.
42.304938
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St. James The Great Church
900 Worcester St, Wellesley, MA
/articles/questions-raised-in-wellesley-s-pending-st-james-purchase
256863
/locations/6786251
Monday, April 9, 2012
The town made the major announcement of a St. James purchase last week.
The town of Wellesley has posted a page on its website listing several resources regarding the potential acquisition of the eight-acre parcel of land on which St. James The Great church sits. The page contains multiple links to relevant documents, included requests for proposals, zoning of the area at 900 Washington St. and notes from past public forums. Documents on the page date as far back as 2010. Last week, the town of Wellesley struck a tentative deal with the Archdiocese of Boston to purchase the long-sought property. St. James parishioners have been holding a vigil at the church since it was closed in 2004.
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St. James The Great Church
900 Worcester St, Wellesley, MA
/articles/town-provides-informational-resource-for-potential-st-james-acquisition
256863
/locations/6763321
Sunday, April 8, 2012
The Archdiocese inked a deal with the town of Wellesley for the long-sought property this week.
As Town Meeting winded down earlier this week, the heat was turned up on a potential deal between the Archdiocese of Boston and the Town of Wellesley. The town signed a deal with the Archdiocese Monday to buy the eight-acre plot of land on which St. James the Great church sits at 900 Worcester St. The town had been researching this deal for nearly 10 years, waiting with bated breath for the Archdiocese to move on with the sale. Holding up the process has been a group of parishioners who have held a vigil to save the church since it was closed in 2004. The parishioners will hold Easter services there today. Also this week, Wellesley completed its Town Meeting business and now waits for a special June 13 Town Meeting to approve the sale. …
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St. James The Great Church
900 Worcester St, Wellesley, MA
/articles/deal-for-st-james-reached-monday
256863
/locations/6751664
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The town met last night to discuss the acquisitions possibilities.
With the ink nearly dried on the purchase agreement between the town of Wellesley and the Archdiocese of Boston, Wellesley unleashed grand plans to the public last night for the property at 900 Worcester St., where St. James The Great church currently sits. The property could one day have a full ice skating rink, fitness center, eight-lane swimming pool and athletic fields with lights, according to Boston.com. The story addresses next year’s $5 million budget deficit in saying that there will be negligible effect, according to Hans Larsen, executive director of general government services. At the final night of Town Meeting Monday, Board of Selectmen Chair Barbara Searle said the project would be financed through a combination of Community…
42.304938
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St. James The Great Church
900 Worcester St, Wellesley, MA
/articles/st-james-to-potentially-include-full-sized-ice-rink-eight-lane-pool
256863
/locations/6733015
Vineyard Worker
10:43 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
First GROW the church and all else will follow ABUNDANTLY. It is the faithful that needs to grow the church, which means the whole community of Wellesley needs to put God first, blessings WILL follow. If Wellesley makes the righteous choice, a clear message will be sent to the RCAB, yes, but more importantly to God and ABUNDANT Blessings will follow. Trust. In line with Roger Babsons' beliefs, I … more ›