Rev. Brian Barr, the man of three parishes

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If you don't catch the Rev. Brian Barr's sermon at St. Ignatius Martyr Church, you might at St. Mary of the Isle R.C. And if not there, then maybe at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.

Barr is now pastor at all three parishes and has coined the phrase “Beach Catholic,” to describe all three parishes under one umbrella.

Barr became pastor at St. Ignatius Martyr Church on June 26. He had already been pastor of the other two churches.

Rosemary Sheridan, who has been attending St. Ignatius for close to 40 years, said she was very excited about the move.

“With one pastor, I think it brings the catholic community together,” Sheridan said. “I’ve attended his masses and he’s very forthcoming, innovative and easy to listen to.”

Sheridan, who is active at the church, embraces the change and said she thought uniting the parishes was something that should’ve happened a long time ago. She added that Barr’s focus on the younger generation would help replenish the parish’s population.

Barr, 55, was appointed to take over St. Ignatius, 721 W. Broadway, after the retirement of Msgr. Donald Beckmann. The move has been in the works since last May, when Barr officially took over the Miraculous Medal. Barr said the shortage of priests forced the parishes to consolidate.

"I think we have a shortage of faith in our culture," Barr said. "We got less and less people going to church." As church attendance goes down, Barr said, it has a correlating effect on people wanting to become a priest. However, Barr said he hopes to change that and bring people back to church.

One of the most significant effects of consolidating parishes was weekly masses. With just one pastor, Barr said the church officials had to rework mass schedules to find the most effective times for each parish to have masses.

"The most important day of the week for us is Sunday," Barr said. "We try to provide the best service we can, but the fact is, we're not able to do it as often."

Barr said he took geography and parish size into account when making the choices to where masses would be held during the week. St. Marys, which is located at the center of the three parishes, would be a more accessible place for people on the barrier island, while St. Ignatius was larger and therefore could hold more people.

Even with three parishes, Barr said, he will try to keep the identity of each intact. However, he said he wants to bring social events like a St. Patrick's dance or a Las Vegas night to all three parishes, where it would allow people to meet and raise funds for the churches.

Barr is not alone. Groups have been formed among the congregants of Miraculous Medal, 75 Parkside Rd. Dr., Point Lookout, and St. Mary's, 315 E. Walnut St., and St. Ignatius. They are known as Parish Councils. Each council, consisting of community leaders, has held meetings to discuss the future of the parishes.

"They are very important," Barr said. "They represent the people."

Dr. Dennis Ryan, who is also a Long Beach school board trustee, is among the council members at St. Mary's. He believes Barr is ready for the challenge and said his leadership has helped bring many people back to church.

"He's a wonderful speaker," Ryan said. "He's a worker. He's certainly a wonderful priest and we're lucky to have him."

Ryan said that the council is tasked with helping Barr bring people back to the church and support the church's mission, whether it's feeding the hungry or educating the youth. He also praised Barr's use of the parish council, who help with things like fundraising, maintenance and other aspects of the parish.

"I think he recognizes his limitations and uses the parish council to supplement those areas that he needs help with," Ryan said. "He's the boss. He's the pastor and everyone respects him in that role, but he's smart enough to reach out for help in those areas that he's not as experienced with as he is in church matters."

Barr became the pastor of St. Mary's in 2012, just a week before Superstorm Sandy crashed into the city. Prior to that, he was at St.Thomas in West Hempstead, a high school chapel at St. Anthony's, a college chapel at Hofstra and Adelphi and worked as a vocation director.

While speaking on his goals for the parishes, Barr recalled his youth in Brooklyn, when people were identified by their parish rather than their neighborhood. He said his goal was to one day have the barrier island reflect that memory and have more people attend the parishes.

"In those days your parish was a big part of your identity," Barr said. "I think the goal is for that to be the case on the barrier island. For the catholic church to be a big part of people's lives. At the end of the day, it's all about god."