Lack of pastors shifting high workload to who remains

Director of communications for the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Tony DeGol, says it’s no secret that there are not enough priests. He says in 1983, the diocese had 165 active ministry diocesan priests. Today, DeGol says there are only 37.

“That is not a lot of priests when you compare it to what we were dealing with 30 or 40 years ago. That's the bad news. The good news is the priests we have have really stepped up to the plate.”

Some pastors are serving up to 4 parishes in the diocese. DeGol says years ago, those numbers would be reversed. Pastor, Sarah Adkins, says she handles both bethel united Methodist church in Hollsopple, as well as centennial United Methodist church, in Johnstown. “Most people are serving multi-point charges. Some people have up to five point charges. So, there’s a lot less pastors to go around than there are churches.” says Adkins.

DeGol says the bishop for catholic churches, of the Altoona-Johnstown diocese, is now reaching out to others around the world, for help. Some priests say they’re choosing to come to our area to serve. Managers say having conversations with people you trust can help you determine if you want to become a pastor. the vocational time being 8 years. People old and young say this is why there is hope for the future.

DeGol and others say they are grateful for the pastors that are serving, taking on the additional workload. They also say people from the community are stepping up and offering help too.

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