Today we celebrated mass marking the Third Anniversary of the Dedication of our church. The readings emphasized both the sacred character of the building and the people of God who worship in it. Deo gratias!
While two of them save a parking space, the rest head off to their clinic appointments.
I visited Staten Island yesterday for the funeral of an old friend and colleague and since I had arrived quite early, decided to drive by Staten Island University Hospital and see what new construction was underway. I was astonished to meet this posse of wild turkeys weaving in and out of the traffic into the parking lot and couldn't resist a picture or two. For those who have no real image of Staten Island, it's quite urbanized and not like "the countryside" of the fifties!
This is the anniversary in 2012 of the death of Bishop John C. Reiss of the Trenton diocese, often called "a native son" because of his family roots in the diocese.
The funeral rites for the funeral rites were presided over by both the diocesan bishop John Smith and coadjutor bishop David O'Connell. Even Bishop Reiss' death came at a time of transition for our diocese.
Bishop Reiss' biography is on the diocese's webpage. There are also many interesting pictures of the bishop through the years which can be found with a Google image search.
I was the last priest to be ordained by Bishop Reiss, who had been the bishop during my years in seminary. On the morning of my ordination, I happened to encounter Bishop Reiss on his way into the cathedral in Trenton. I greeted him with a laugh and told him how glad I was to see him; he returned the greeting with a laugh saying he was glad to see me too.
Bishop Reiss' episcopal motto was "Let us Love One Another."
Amen.
We've ordered vinyl banners 8 feet high and two feet wide of each of our 7 Irish saints in the new stained glass windows at Holy Cross for bearers to carry in the St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 8th in Rumson. There will also be a long rectangular banner carried in front of our seven saints to help identify our contingent and the icons.
We need some Irish spirit to help carry them and to form a group to march with Holy Cross.
Please call the parish offices to volunteer for the parade.
Our window saints are: St. Patrick, St. Brigid, St. Columcille, St. Kieran, St. Ita, St. Laurence O'Toole, St. Laserian
The parts we have pictured are C - The Standards on which the B - Yoke and R - Bearing were supported. This original support mechanism rusted and fell through many years ago, leaving the bell resting on the G -frame suspended high in the church steeple. The F - toller, had been replaced by an electric striker which no longer hit the bell.
The bell has been rehung in the steeple and the electric striker is being reconditioned. It should soon be heard calling worshippers to Holy Cross Church once again as it has done for over 125 years! (Remember that the bell is many decades older than the church itself; we have not been successful in locating its original home!)
Here is an article published in the late 1800's about the necessity for a church bell:
We tolled our orginal bell for the Church's 125th Anniversary and can't wait to toll it again for our dedication!
Clip about Meneely Bells from NatGeoTV channel:
Abandoned, Episode: A Conneticut Ghost Town
What a pleasant surprise to be contacted by a grand niece of Msgr. Clune, former pastor of Holy Cross church. We were able to trade photos and provide some additional information on Msgr. Clune's tenure at Holy Cross and the Trenton diocese.
It is interesting to recall the many changes to our church property over the years. Here is a unique 1891 photo of the Bernon S. Prentice home, which stood on the corner of Ward Avenue and Rumson Road until 1963.
The photo was published in the Rumson Borough Bulletin in the Summer of 1996.
You can see Holy Cross Church in the background on the left along with the Carriage House and its windmill.
Don't know how many of you saw this from our parish history. There's no newspaper clipping we can find reporting on the actual dedication of Holy Cross Church.
The damage from the strike sounds significant and its repair surely was a significant percentage of the total construction costs.
Here's a little information I could dig up on the bottler of buried beer bottle:
The workmen have exposed a portion of the original siding of Holy Cross Church. It looks to be in remarkable condition. I believe they will take the entire remaining building down to the same siding.
You may be familiar with the look of the "old" church from the ceramic tile image of the church in the gymatorium lobby. This image was taken from a color picture post card printed in the early 1900's. It shows the church in the more subdued earth colors of the original siding before the whitewashed shingles were installed much later.