Father Jim Holland allowed to stay at Sacred Heart church
On Sunday morning, Rev. Jim Holland will stand before his congregation in Edmonton's Sacred Heart of the First Peoples church, the same spot he has stood for the past two decades.
Holland, affectionately known as Father Jim, was worried it might be one of his last. In his 20 years at the inner-city church, the 73-year-old has juggled giving sermons with providing support for the vulnerable among his flock: those struggling with addiction, homelessness and the cruel legacy of residential schools.
His days at the church appeared to be numbered, after the word came down from on high: the Oblates of Lacombe told Holland that he would have to leave the parish for another. That is, until his congregation banded together, convincing the church to keep the pastor in Edmonton.
"I'm very proud. I don't think I'm anything special. But I think they are," Holland told CBC's Edmonton AM.
In the world of the Catholic Church, moving pastors among different churches is not unusual. But Holland said it usually comes with some consultation and negotiation with both the priest and the congregations, neither of which happened when he was told in April that he was moving.
Holland said he was not pleased with the decision, but was ready to make the move. However, Sacred Heart was not ready to let him go. While the pastor was on vacation in the U.S., word of the orders moved through the church. Someone started a petition to keep him in the inner-city, and it soon grew in size.
"I was in North Carolina and got word. 'You need to look on the Internet,'" he said.
A reversal and an apology
On Friday, Holland received a surprising phone call. He would be allowed to stay, and the district's supervising priest would read a letter at the Sunday service, announcing the reversal and apologizing for not consulting the congregation.
"I think they realized that there was almost more at Sacred Heart than they expected," he said.
"[The church-goers] said 'no, we like what we have. We have no complaints and we don't want to change.'"
Holland said he is relieved to be staying. Not only does he feel connected to his flock, but he said Sacred Heart is a different kind of assignment. The church combines Roman Catholicism with spiritual practices of the Edmonton's First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities, he said. It also maintains a "very unique relationship" with the inner-city residents, making it difficult to install a brand-new priest.
He said he's most pleased with how his congregation was able to change the church's mind, given how many of them traditionally have little voice in society.
"They spoke eloquently, they spoke from the heart and they spoke with passion."
