75 Years of Faith

SLUG  Bishop Serratelli during the Consecration at the 75th anniversary Mass for St. Thomas the Apostle Church Aug. 28. Pictured with the Bishop are (from left) Deacon Wayne von Doehren; Father Kevin Corcoran, bishop’s priest-secretary; Father Wayne Varga, pastor; Msgr. John Boland, retired priest; and altar servers Bridget and Nora O’Keefe.

SANDYSTON  Bishop Serratelli traveled northern Sussex County Aug. 28 to celebrate 75 years of faith at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish here — a small, tight-knit rural “frontier” faith community at the furthest reaches of the Diocese that nevertheless has remained close to the heart of Jesus through worship, service and fellowship.

St. Thomas Church was filled during the 9:30 a.m. Mass for the parish’s 75th anniversary, where the Bishop served as main celebrant and homilist. Concelebrating were Father Wayne Varga pastor of both St. Thomas and St. James the Greater Parish, Montague; Father Kevin Corcoran, priest-secretary to the Bishop; and Father John Boland, a retired diocesan priest and former pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish in the McAfee section of Vernon. Assis­ting was Deacon Wayne von Doehren.

“The people of St. Thomas and St. James are so prayerful and so involved in outreach here,” said Father Varga, pastor of both parishes for the past nine years. “The people are wonderful. They are so helpful. They make both parishes run,” he said.

In addition to regular liturgies, St. Thomas and St. James — which cover one-sixth of the entire territory of the diocese — have cultivated a spiritual atmosphere with Children’s Liturgy of the Word from September to April as part of the 9:30 a.m. Mass on Sun­days and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Fridays. The parishes also have groups, such as Rosaries for Peace, Rosary & Altar Society and the Legion of Mary. In 2013, some parishioners of both parishes consecrated their lives through a process called an “Act of Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary.” They participated in a 33-day spiritual process, created by St. Louis de Montfort, during which they experienced a process of self-examination, read Scripture passages daily and prayed.

St. Thomas, which has 250 families, and St. James, which has 150 families, also have been involved in outreach to the parishes and to those in need. The Knights of Columbus has re-painted St. Thomas’ church hall, while the Columbiettes conducted a school supplies drive for needy kids. The Legion of Mary visits the sick, while the Prayer Shawl Ministry is nearing the completion of its 1,000th prayer shawl. Also, the parishes have been encouraging their faithful to visit their neighbors and hand them a welcome packet that contains a bulletins, Mass schedules and a letter from Father Varga.

“It could be an opportunity for parishioners to introduce themselves to their neighbors. There is hope that this will give former or lapsed Catholics or people who are considering the Catholic faith an extra push. It’s a form of evangelization,” Father Varga said.

In addition to the Aug. 28 Mass with the Bishop, St. Thomas has celebrated its 75th anniversary with a July 6 Mass to mark the date of the parish’s founding and first Mass. Also, parishioners have been encouraged to take a notebook, located on the table in the gathering space of the church, and record their good deeds during the day. Older parishioners have been urged to share their memories with members of the parish.

St. Thomas’ legacy of love started with the establishment of the Paterson Diocese in 1937, when Bishop Thomas McLaughlin took an interest in what became the “frontier” of Sussex County. The Sandyston Township Board of Education sold the former Hainesville school building in 1941 for $500 to John and Ruth Gilston, who transferred it to the diocese for $1. It was dedicated as St. Thomas the Apostle Mission Church, which St. Joseph Parish, Newton, administered. The first Mass at St. Thomas was held July 6, 1941, with Bishop McLaughlin presiding. Other local faith communities were added, including St. James in Montague in 1943, according St. Thomas’ history.

Father Francis Warlikowski oversaw construction of a church for St. Thomas. St. James was elevated to parish status in 1945 and administered missions in Hainesville and Wal­pack, which have since closed. Father Sylvius Mancini supervised the construction of the rectory at St. James. By 1971, Father Ted Michota expanded the small building that served for three decades as a mission church in Hainesville with the altar, pews and Stations of the Cross of the former mission churches in Walpack incorporated into the enlarged St. Thomas Mission Church, states St. Thomas’ history.

Fast-forward to Dec. 9, 1987, during the Diocese’s Jubilee Year, when Bishop Rodimer elevated St. Thomas to full parish status. In 1999, St. Thomas broke ground for a new church, which was completed and dedicated by Bishop Rodimer during the next year. Through the bequeath of Joan Spoolstra, the parish acquired and converted the former Sandyston Township Firehouse into its educational center. On Jan. 1, 2007, a youth and religious education center, named after the late pastor, Msgr. James Gacquin, was dedicated, according to St. Thomas’ history.

One of the longtime St. Thomas parishioner, Marc Cunico, serves as a trustee and coordinates the maintenance of the buildings on a volunteer basis. This married father of three — a professional in building construction — was baptized at St. James, attended Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Branchville, as a young person and joined St. Thomas in 1980.

“St. Thomas has a family atmosphere. It’s friendly and cozy. Everybody knows everybody. We see each other at Sunday Mass and all week long [around the area],” Cunico said. “Because we are a small community, we are called to be more active. Everybody gets involved and works together to make it work,” he said.<