50th anniversary

BUDD LAKE  It seems natural that St. Jude Parish here — which prides itself on its spirit of welcome and friendliness — celebrated its 50th anniversary on Sept. 9 as a community out of doors with a picnic — complete with food, games and activities for children and adults, live music and plenty of fellowship. It also seems just as natural that this Morris County parish bookended its golden anniversary celebrations with two Masses — gatherings around the Eucharistic table before and after, as a family to receive spiritual nourishment.

“The Eucharist is everything to us; it’s the life of our parish,” said Father Jesus Antonio Gaviria, who has served as St. Jude’s pastor for the past four years, after having served as its administrator for a few months before. “Today, the picnic is a way to encounter one another, as Christ invites us to do: sharing food, drink and his life. I tell our parishioners to embrace newcomers, welcome them and make them feel good like Jesus would. The parish does that in the Eucharistic encounter of the Mass, sharing Jesus’ love with each other,” he said.

Having turned 50 years old in June, St. Jude’s celebrated its milestone — a half-century since its elevation from a mission to a parish in 1967 — on Sept. 9, starting with 9:30 a.m. Mass in the church, followed by a breakfast. Soon after the picnic began outdoors where children played in a bouncy house and got their faces painted; older people played Bingo; and both younger and older alike played cornhole and enjoyed trying to dunk Deacon Tony Siino in a dunk tank. Soon, the duo of Warren and Rich started playing music for the picnickers. The celebration ended with 5:30 p.m. Mass in the church. The rural parish invited past clergy, staff and parishioners to the picnic, said Mike Sabella, St. Jude’s evangelization coordinator, who organized the event.

Over the years, the 880-family St. Jude’s has welcomed a growing and diverse population from the surrounding rural area, including Hispanics, Indians, Polish and Filipinos. It anticipates an increase in the future, due to construction of more housing developments nearby. During Father Gaviria’s pastorate, St. Jude’s has improved the grounds of the property; established a Garden Club and a Building and Grounds Committee; and started Cornerstone Retreats for men and women, the priest said.

“St. Jude’s is a generous community, which is a result of our sense of welcome,” said Father Gaviria, who made it clear that this dynamic parish been building on the fruitful efforts and ministries of the past. “We listen to each other’s ideas and work together.”

On the morning of Sept. 9, Sabella took time out from organizing the picnic cooking crew, which included Knights of Columbus, to speak about his involvement in St. Jude’s, since arriving here in 1989. In addition to his role at evangelization coordinator, he has taught Confirmation classes and has served on the Liturgy Committee and as an usher. St. Jude’s has become a family affair for this father of three grown children — his two daughters met their future husbands here; his grandchildren have been baptized here; and one daughter teaches Confirmation with him.

“When I first got to St. Jude’s, it was electric. The connection that the parish felt as a community really got to me — young and old people and people of different ethnicities coming together. Then I really understood the idea of love thy neighbor,” Sabella said. “This 50th anniversary is the birthday of the parish. It’s been together for a long time. We come together for one reason: our faith in God,” he said.

St. Jude’s long legacy of ministering to the people of Budd Lake started in the early part of the 20th century, when it had been established as a mission church of St. Michael Parish, Netcong. The faith community was founded to serve the summer residents of the Budd Lake section of Mount Olive Township, a popular resort town, in western Morris County, which attracted the likes of entertainer Jackie Gleeson. Back then, older parishioners began moving to the area to live here permanently, many of them winterizing their summer cottages. Because few people had cars back in the 1930s, the trek to St. Michael’s on a hot summer Sunday was difficult for many, according to the parish history.

So a priest from St. Michael’s would visit Budd Lake to say Mass in Budd’s Pavilion, a local dance palace. After World War II, Msgr. Edwin Lange, St. Michael’s pastor, addressed the need for a church in Budd Lake by getting permission to form a committee to raise money for a church. Bishop Thomas McLaughlin of Paterson approved plans on Feb. 19, 1946, the history states.

St. Jude’s first church, known as “The Little Church” at the edge of Mount Olive Road, was completed at the end of 1946. With seating for 50, it was Mount Olive’s first house of worship and has since been razed. Years later, Father Leo Carey was appointed St. Jude’s first resident pastor June 12, 1967. The Budd Lake mission also was raised to parish status. As St. Jude’s needs grew by the early 1970s, it erected a 16,000-square-foot parish center with classrooms, a multipurpose room, offices and conference rooms in 1972, the history states.

St. Jude’s community outgrew the “little church” for Mass, which moved to the parish center. By the time membership reached 800 families, the parish had outgrown the parish center, so a new $1.7 million church was completed in 1990.

Today, parishioners have jumped in to participate in St. Jude’s many outreaches, including Adoration and Novena, Fellowship Prayer Group, Youth Ministry, Couples for Christ, the Rosary Altar Society, religious education and Extraordinary Ministers of the Holy Communion and lector ministries, according to parish’s web site, www.stjudeparish.org.

“When I came to St. Jude’s, I felt comfortable immediately,” said Melvilyn Kaufhold, Rosary Altar Society president and a 32-year member of the parish, who also has been involved in religious education and the Cornerstone retreats. She and her husband, Gerry, grand knight, who helped in the kitchen for the Sept. 9 picnic, have four children and six grandchildren. “We made many friends through St. Jude’s. Here, we get to pray with them. It’s great to have community and spirituality together — all in one spot,” she said.

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