New pastor at Randolph parish

RANDOLPH  St. Matthew the Apostle Parish here had the occasion this month to look backwards — celebrating its 30-year history of faith, fellowship and social justice outreach with a picnic on Oct. 14 — while also looking forward to a new era — welcoming Father Brian Quinn, its new pastor, who was installed by Bishop Serratelli at a Mass on Oct. 28.

The dynamic faith community of St. Matthew’s formally received Father Quinn, appointed pastor here effective June 29, after Bishop Serratelli installed him at the 11 a.m. Mass on Sunday, Oct. 28. During his pastoral visit to St. Matthew’s, the Bishop served as main celebrant and homilist of the liturgy, which was concelebrated by Father Quinn and Father Kevin Corcoran, diocesan vice chancellor and the Bishop’s priest-secretary.

“This Mass marks a new beginning for our parish community, as we celebrate and welcome Father Brian as our pastor and leader,” an announcement about Father Quinn’s installation Mass proclaimed in a recent bulletin of St. Matthew Parish.

St. Matthew’s congregation is comprised of many ethnicities and encompasses a growing number of young families in addition to a strong established core. With many opportunities for spiritual growth and outreach, parishioners have established programs to reach out to God’s people on an international, national and local level, Father Quinn said.

“I love that St. Matthew’s has parishioners who are so generous with their time, talent and treasure. If you ask for anything, they will pull together and make it happen,” said Father Quinn.

On the international level, St. Matthew’s supports the Missionary of the Poor’s mission in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, and has established funding to help educate children at the mission. Nationally — in addition to helping the recovery efforts for natural disasters, the parish conducts an annual Hope Builders mission trip to Appalachia in Kentucky, where youth and adults complete desperately needed homes. Locally, the parish provides food and clothing to those in need within the area, Father Quinn said.

At home, parishioners have many other ways to stay active and connect, including women’s, men’s and teen’s faith sharing through annual retreats, faith formation classes for youngsters, Bible studies and music ministries as well as numerous liturgical and social concern ministries, according to the bulletin.

St. Matthew the Apostle Parish was established in 1988, after Bishop Emeritus Rodimer invited the members of Resur­rection Parish ­— close to 2,000 families at that time — to form another parish in Randolph Town­ship. A small group of 65 families from the Ironia area quickly developed a pilgrim community, working under the guidance of Father David McDonnell, founding pastor. The new parish of St. Mat­thew’s celebrated its first Mass in the cafeteria at Ironia School on June 24, 1988, the year of the 50th anniversary of the Paterson Diocese, according to its history.

For six years, the fledgling parish community continued to meet in the cafeteria at Ironia School, and the new parish was affectionately referred to as “Our Lady of the Cafeteria.” Despite the humble beginnings, “early members of St. Matthew’s bonded, as they attended Mass, enjoyed pancake breakfasts, dances, Christmas caroling, and of course the annual parish picnic,” the parish history states.

Plans to construct the church began in 1990. By March 1992, committees were formed to oversee the first phase of the building. Phase I included constructing the worship space, one meeting room, office space, a vesting sacristy and the pastor’s office. Having grown to 260 families, parishioners gathered at the property on Dover-Chester Road on Nov. 21, 1993, to bless and break ground for the building. On Oct. 9, 1994, Bishop Emeritus Rodimer dedicated St. Matthew’s Church in a sacred and joy-filled ceremony, according to its history.

By the spring of 1999, St. Matthew’s had outgrown the church building, so planning for phase two began. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 28, 2001 and initiated the construction of 17 meeting rooms, a teen room, administrative offices and Heritage Hall, where the church family would celebrate events as a faith community. On Nov. 23, 2002, Bishop Emeritus Rodimer joined St. Matthew’s parishioners once again to dedicate the building, its history states.

St. Matthew’s Church is architecturally modeled on the design of St. Kateri Tekak­witha Church, Sparta. Its Southwes­tern style, open floor plan, earthy beiges and spectacular wood-paneled vaulted ceiling create a calm and uncluttered backdrop for the warm and welcoming attitude of the parishioners, according to the history.

A St. Matthew’s founding parishioner, Gertrude Dancsecs, remembers sitting at Mass in Resurrection Church, where she previously worshipped, listening to a request for parishioners to sign up for a new parish, St. Matthew’s. So she did. Early on, Dancsecs attended “non-Mass activities” in St. Matthew’s rectory, such as praying the Stations of the Cross, and then went to Masses in Ironia School.

Over the years, Dancsecs has been involved in planting and watering plants at St. Matthew’s with other parishioners, teaching religious education, helping to collect food for the poor for various local agencies and at Thanksgiving. She also opens the church daily at 7 a.m. so she can lead congregants in 7:30 a.m. rosary and get the church ready for 8 a.m. Mass. In addition to many other activities, she serves as a lector and an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion at weekend Masses.

“The biggest joy in my life is waving to people in church and hugging them to make them feel welcomed and bring some sunshine into their lives,” said Dancsecs, who also remarked on the ways that St. Matthew’s brings sunshine into the lives of people through its many ministries and outreaches. “I love that St. Matthew’s is a very active parish. People here are so involved,” she said.