A Top-To-Bottom Spiritual Makeover

30 YEARS OF FAITH  Father Stanley Barron, pastor of St. Elizabeth’s, distributes Holy Communion during the closing Mass of the 30th anniversary of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Flanders.

FLANDERS  On Sept. 18, Bishop Serratelli helped close the 30th anniversary celebrations of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish — a dynamic, rural faith community that has been undergoing a spiritual revitalization recently and has experienced continued growth over its short history that has far exceeded expectations — from 200 families at its founding to more than 1,600 today.

On that Sunday morning, Bishop Serratelli visited St. Elizabeth’s to serve as main celebrant and homilist for the anniversary Mass in the church, filled with both current and former parishioners. Concelebrating the liturgy were Father Stanley Barron, St. Elizabeth’s pastor since 2005 and diocesan vicar for education; Father Hernan Cely, its parochial vicar and director of religious education; and Father Kevin Corcoran, the Bishop’s priest-secretary.

“The 30th anniversary celebrations and closing Mass went very well. Parishioners, who moved here later [after St. Elizabeth’s was established], experienced the roots of the parish from people who were there. They got to see how the parish was founded,” Father Barron said. “Now, St. Elizabeth’s is 31 years old. The parish has grown larger than was expected. The original church already has been expanded. St. Elizabeth’s has grown because of the number of people who have moved into the area and because people have been attracted to its spirituality,” he said.

St. Elizabeth’s has been giving its faith community a top-to-bottom spiritual makeover, having embarked on a major process of revitalization that looks inward to its own rich history and legacy so far and to ways of enriching its spiritually but also looks outward to discover new and varied ways of spreading the Gospel and welcoming new people. 
Taking the lead in formulating these ambitious plans has been Ignite, a ministry formed last year, which is charged with firing up its parishioners about deepening their faith, getting involved in the parish, evangelizing through the Gospel and inviting people to Church. It put together activities for the anniversary celebrations, which kicked off Sept. 20, 2015 with an opening Mass with Msgr. John Wehrlen, founding pastor, and other priests, said Joy Rastiello, St. Elizabeth’s communications coordinator and an Ignite team member.

After the closing anniversary Mass on Sept. 18, Bishop Serratelli joined parishioners for a parish picnic. “Many of our founding families were in attendance for this celebration and all had a wonderful time sharing stories of our memories through the years. The Bishop also spent time with our Ignite Steering Committee, which gave him an update on its progress, after the first year of this parish-built program,” said Rastiello, who noted that the 40-person Ignite Team divided the spiritual makeover into four pillars or areas of focus: prayer and worship; faith formation; service and charity; and sharing our faith with others.

Among the youngest parishes in the Diocese, St. Elizabeth’s celebrated the 30th anniversary with monthly activities. They included: a presentation on the parish’s history by Msgr. Raymond Kupke, diocesan archivist and pastor of St. Anthony Parish, Hawthorne; a party for the burning of the church’s mortgage; a pilgrimage to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Shrine in Maryland; a Habitat for Humanity construction project with youth ministry, and a family outing to a local baseball game, according to St. Elizabeth’s web site, www.stelizabethchurch.org.

“The anniversary has been a wonderful time at St. Elizabeth’s for founding families to reflect on where we came from and what they have built for us and for current members to show us, where we want to be in the future. We have a responsibility to keep growing, even as times change in the world,” said Rastiello, a longtime parishioner. She recalled when one of her children received her first Holy Communion in the cafeteria of the local elementary school before the completion of the church.

Around the time of the mortgage burning, Rastiello told The Beacon that so many families have been involved in parish life because “there’s always something going on — whether it is in our community room or the religious education programs. There is always a meeting happening.”

The history of St. Elizabeth’s started, when Catholics in the Flanders area would travel to surrounding parishes to attend Mass. In 1974, the population in the Clover Hill area grew, prompting St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish, Chester, to begin Masses and religious education classes in Mountain View School. St. Elizabeth’s was founded on June 24, 1985 with Msgr. Wehrlen as pastor. The parish acquired a house on Main Street for the pastor’s residence, administrative offices, meeting rooms, a daily chapel and a place for parish activities, according to the parish history.

As the needs grew, a seven-acre parcel of land was purchased, a capital campaign was launched and the parish house was relocated to prepare for a new church and parish facility, which was completed in 1991.

One of St. Elizabeth’s founding members, David Bishop — now president of St. Elizabeth’s Parish Advisory Board — remembers moving to the area more than 30 years ago and originally being connected to St. Lawrence Parish. Over the years, it’s been a blessing for many of the parish families to have grown up together, he said.

“St. Elizabeth’s is a family-like setting,” Bishop said. “Now, we are in the process of renewing the parish through Ignite. There is something for everyone to latch onto and be a part of. We can deepen our faith both individually and as a parish,” he said.