Parishioners of St. Mary's and St. Andrew's churches in Enfield and Calvary Church in Suffield voted for the merger at a special meeting on June 25, according to an article in the Journal Inquirer newspaper.

The North Central Episcopal Ministry or NCERM, which was formed in November 1991, consists of St. Mary's, St. Andrew's, Calvary Church, and Grace Church in the Broad Brook section of East Windsor. Grace Church, which had decided to join the new parish in December, reversed its decision and voted not to join in the merger.

St. Andrew's had voted against the merger in December, but changed its position and decided to join, the newspaper reported.

The Rev. Peter E. Bushnell, senior missioner of the NCERM, said that St. Andrew's officials had participated in the planning process for the new ministry and he believes that they changed their minds during that process.

The new parish, which has yet to be named, will temporarily be located in St. Mary's Church in Enfield while officials look for a new location, Bushnell told the newspaper.

The parish will have almost 650 parishioners from Enfield, Somers, Suffield, and Windsor Locks, Bushnell said.

"The reality is that the congregations were small, independent, and struggling," Bushnell said of the reason for the merger.

The churches were struggling in terms of finances as well as the small number of parishioners, he said.

In a letter to parishioners, Bushnell expressed his disappointment that Grace Church decided not to join the new parish.

"The joy I feel at the decision of three NCERM parishes to join together in a single new large parish is diminished by the prospect that our friends at Grace Church have declined to join us in this new venture in Christian mission," Bushnell wrote.

Bushnell told the newspaper that he did not know why Grace Church declined to join the new parish.

The new parish is in the process of applying to the diocese for acceptance as a single parish and, if granted approval, the new parish will be admitted at the diocese's convention in October.