2 historic unions at a time when all seems divided
On a day when the nation appears to be coming apart at the seams, we come instead to speak of two things that bring us together.
This week has brought word of two very significant unions in Delaware County.
At first glance the move to bring two volunteer fire companies together in Collingdale, and three Roman Catholic churches under one roof in Upper Chichester, might not seem to have that much in common.
But on further glance, they are emblematic of community, institutions that for decades have brought us together.
There are very important lessons to be learned in the merger of Collingdale Fire Co. No 1 and Collingdale Fire Co. No. 2; as well as St. John Fisher, Holy Saviour and Immaculate Conception of Lourdes in the lower end of the county.
The borough of Collingdale is less than one square mile from end to end.
According to the numbers from the 2010 census, its population stands at a few ticks under 2000.
But for more than a century, they have been served by two volunteer fire companies.
But not for much longer. On Jan. 1, 2020, the Collingdale Fire Co. No 1 and Collingdale Fire Co. No. 2 - which are located .7 miles away from each other - will merge into a single unit to be called Collingdale Fire Co. Station 33.
Collingdale Fire Co. No. 1 was chartered in 1906. No. 2 followed 11 years later.
It’s been that way for 102 years. That’s about to change. “We just started looking at it. Collingdale is 1-mile long. Why do we need two fire companies,” said Dan Harold, president of Collingdale Fire Co. No. 1 in stating the obvious. “If we combined think of how much stronger we could be.”
The two companies provide service in both Collingdale and Aldan. No change in that service is planned under the joint operating agreement.
They’re making the right call. But the merger is further proof of something else that has been readily apparent to those in emergency services and the volunteer units for some time.
Volunteer firefighters and first responders are becoming an endangered species.
People simply are not volunteering in the same numbers. Want proof? Collingdale is not the first town to see this kind of merger. Volunteer units in Marcus Hook, Essington, Morton and Aston have undergone similar overhauls. In each case there is a familiar culprit, increasing costs and dwindling membership.
Similarly, when the Archdiocese of Philadelphia made the decision to close two parishes in Lower Chichester and Marcus
Hook, the reasons sounded familiar. Attendance was down; costs were up.
That did not make the decision any easier, nor the bitter pill of your house of worship being shuttered any easier to swallow.
There was no shortage of raw emotion and bitter disagreement from the faithful of Holy Saviour Parish in Lower Chi and Immaculate Conception of Lourdes.
All of which makes what happened last Sunday that much more remarkable.
The three parishes united in the newly remodeled St. John Fisher parish. They celebrated Masses all day on what was referred to as “Rededication Sunday.”
The $1.5 million renovation of the church appropriately incorporates elements from all three parishes. St. John Fisher’s new marble altar was brought in from Holy Saviour. Statues and pews arrived from Immaculate Conception. One of the most prominent features of Holy Saviour, a
Rose Window depicting the image of a youthful Jesus Christ, now occupies a prominent position at the new St. John Fisher.
Jack Fitzgerald, a parishioner at St. Francis for 42 years and a member of the Pastoral Council, knows first-hand of the acrimony that accompanied the edict to shutter the two nearby parishes.
They are community beacons, the scene of momentous family events – baptisms, weddings, funerals.
“When our parishes first merged, I think there was a lot of animosity and hard feelings about the church closure,” Fitzgerald said. “But this project has really solidified our church community and brought us all together.
“When Father brought over the church icons from all three parishes, this helped a great deal. The project not only gave us a magnificent church, but it turned out to be the thing that we really needed to do to be brought together.”
Two crucial cogs in our notion of community – both with the same purpose, to serve and protect.
And, in this instance, heal. Volunteer firefighters are a proud bunch. They take immense pride in their units. The thought of merging at one time would have been unthinkable. Likewise, Catholics tend to be equally proud in a region where you are as likely to be known by what parish you hail from as what town you reside in.
From two separate volunteer brigades, there soon will be a single, united Collingdale fire company.
In the bitter divide of three parishes in the Chichester-Marcus Hook are, there now stands a united St. John Fisher.
At a time when all seems to be coming apart, we salute two unions that remind us what it means to be part of one community.