Golden Anniversary

50th anniversary celebration at Pompton Plains parish concludes with visit from bishop

POMPTON PLAINS   Donna Grieco felt it immediately, after walking into Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC) Church here for the first time almost 30 years ago. This longtime parishioner and staff member experienced then what the dynamic Morris County faith community has embodied for all of its 50-year history — a strong sense of faith, family, warmth and welcome — which it continues to hone today in efforts to be “aggressively friendly,” while expanding its evangelization efforts.

That’s how Father Paul O’Donnell Duggan, the current pastor, described OLGC’s half-century legacy of worship, hospitality and outreach — as well as its bright future — that Bishop Serratelli helped commemorate as the main celebrant and homilist of the noon Mass on Sunday, April 26. The bishop’s pastoral visit and Mass concluded OLGC’s 50th anniversary observances. The special Mass included the reading of a blessing from Pope Francis that marked OLGC’s golden anniversary.

During the Mass, sunlight shone through the stained-glass windows of the church, which was filled to capacity with current and former clergy; religious; staff, including Grieco, OLGC’s office manager; and parishioners. Among the concelebrants of the liturgy were Father Duggan and Father Julio Barrios, parochial vicar, as well as Msgr. Patrick Scott, former pastor; Father Edward Lambro, former temporary administrator, now development and public relations director for diocesan Catholic Charities; Father Fred Conoscenti, former weekend assistant, who lives in Florida; Father Thomas Rainforth, retired priest; and Father Tom Mangieri, administrator of Holy Spirit Parish, Pequannock and St. Joseph Parish, Lincoln Park.

“The parishioners of Good Counsel are genuine — ‘without guile,’ as Jesus describes Nathaniel in the Gospels. Here, the people, especially the young people, are open to God, teaching and the Word. I predict that there will be an explosion of vocations at this parish,” said Father Duggan, who noted that anniversary was guided by the theme that OLGC parishioners — like all Catholics — “have pride in belonging to a faith community,” a universal sentiment that Pope Francis had echoed. “This anniversary also has impacted the evangelization efforts at the parish.”

OLGC’s anniversary celebrations began on First Sunday of Advent of 2013, when parishioners received a Bible in recognition of the words of Pope Benedict XVI: “Only the Word of God can profoundly change our hearts.” Events that took place during the anniversary included hosting a one-woman show, “Faustina: Messenger of Divine Mercy,” about St. Faustina Kowalska, who promoted the devotion to Divine Mercy, and Father Duggan’s dedication of a new rosary walk, created Walter Mielarczyk for his Eagle Scout service project. OLGC also mailed to its 1,700 families a packet of spiritual materials, encouraging them to pray for an increase in vocations and for specific priests. The anniversary officially will close tomorrow, May 1, with a gala at the Brownstone, Paterson, which will feature an awards ceremony to recognize parishioners, who have made “significant contributions” to the faith community, said Father Duggan, OLGC’s pastor over the past five years.

A few days before OLGC’s anniversary came to a close, Grieco remembered back to the October 1985, when she and her husband, Thomas, first walked into the parish church.

“We met Msgr. Scott, who told us, ‘You are newly married. Don’t search any further. Welcome to Good Counsel,’” said Grieco, who also coordinates the parish’s funeral ministry and Confirmation instruction. “That day, I felt loved and welcomed. Today, I still feel that way. I’ve always felt part of the congregation.”

The 50th anniversary has inspired OLGC’s evangelization efforts, which will expand further this fall. Members of the parish plan to start what will become an ongoing campaign to fan out across Pompton Plains and go door-to-door. They will give families packets that contain information about the parish, welcome them to OLGC and invite them to pray. The parish publishes a quarterly newsletter with information about the parish, inspirational material and a note of encouragement from Father Duggan. Also, staff put much thought into what welcoming tone to the unchurched that it hoped to strike in the Christmas bulletin, the pastor said.

“We are trying to think ‘outside the box’ [to reach the unchurched who visit the parish for Christmas and Easter],” said Father Duggan, who stated the purpose of OLGC’s upcoming door-to-door visits. “We want to have a one-to-one encounter with people in this age of high tech.”

The history of OLGC started on Sept. 20, 1962, when Bishop James McNulty established it as a mission for Catholics of Riverdale and Pompton Plains. Father Daniel Vecchiollo, its first pastor, celebrated its first Mass on Nov. 18, 1962 in the cafeteria of the local high school, OLGC’s history states.

During the next year, OLGC bought 18 acres of land on West End Avenue that included a 125-year-old farmhouse, barn and other buildings. The parish converted the farmhouse into a rectory and the barn into a chapel. On Oct. 8, 1963, OLGC was elevated to parish status. In September 1964, the school opened, which was staffed by the Religious Teachers Filippini and became the parish’s first permanent church.

In 1986, the church underwent a complete renovation, redecoration and modernization, including new windows. In the late 1980s, the area experienced an explosion in population, which caused significant growth in the parish population. So, in the late 1990s, Msgr. Scott embarked on a campaign to build a new church, which dedicated on June 24, 2000, according to the parish history.

“My dream has become the people’s dream and it has come true,” Msgr. Scott told parishioners before the dedication.

The big dreams of Father Duggan, Msgr. Scott and the rest of OLGC’s pastors in the past continue to be realized today by parishioners, who are eager to participate in the parish’s full complement of outreaches, said Grieco, whose husband, Thomas, serves as an usher. They have two children, Kelly, 28, and Thomas Jr., 24.

“The involvement of parishioners in our ministries continues. They always want to help. They don’t stop!” Grieco said.