02/07/2007
St. John Neumann moves ahead
By Tom Range, Sr.
During the summer of 2006 weekday visitors to the Catholic church of St. John Neumann, on Beauchamp Road off Route 589, often noticed vans parked near the entrance to the building with furniture and room decorations being delivered. The administrative wing of the building, which had been occupied principally by classrooms for religious study programs, was being converted into offices, conference rooms and lounge areas with appropriate signage being affixed to the doors of the rooms. The visitors could not fail to realize that St. John's was in the midst of being transformed. In fact, the furniture had been purchased in July, the parish having been offered a "good deal" by the supplier, as Father Richard Smith, Associate Pastor, commented. Currently, the offices are not being used, although they are fully furnished and ready for occupancy.
In early November 2006, Father Thomas Protack announced at each mass that as part of his appointment as pastor of St. Luke/St. Andrew/St. John Neumann, he was tasked "to establish St. John Neumann as its own parish. I am happy to announce to you that this process which has been discussed for several years is now officially beginning." In the January 21, 2007 issue of the Parish Bulletin, Father Protack's message read in part, "I am happy to … announce that on Sunday, October 7, 2007 at 3 p.m., Bishop Saltarelli will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving on the occasion of the official establishment of St. John Neumann parish."
The parish-in-formation has more than 1,500 registered families and is the largest contributor of students to Most Blessed Sacrament elementary school operated as a regional school sponsored by seven parishes within the Diocese of Wilmington. The school building is located on property on Route 589 owned by St. John Neumann. Parishioners have already formed committees to prepare for the new parish, addressing finance, facilities, and sacramental and catechetical needs. The new parish will need a rectory to house a permanent clergy, and a gathering hall that will contain, at least initially, meetings rooms, religious education classrooms and a youth activities center. St. John Neumann will duplicate the staffing requirements necessary to run an independent parish rather than sharing personnel with St. John/St. Andrew in Ocean City, as is the present arrangement. Which priest or priests will be assigned to each of the parishes has yet to be determined.
The establishment of St. John Neumann as a separate parish follows the pattern set in the past for the proliferation of Catholic churches in the Ocean City area. St. Mary Star of the Sea church, dedicated in 1877 as a mission church of St. Francis de Sales parish in Salisbury, was the first Catholic church in Ocean City. It was established by Bishop Thomas A. Becker of the Diocese of Wilmington, who vacationed at the shore during the summer months and used the Baltimore Avenue building at the tip of the city as a retreat center. Until 1931, the church operated only during the summer.
As the population, both seasonal and permanent, expanded a mission church Holy Savior was founded in 1954 at 17th Street. In 1985, St. Luke at 100th Street and St. Andrew at 144th Street were founded as a single parish. Both facilities had been part of the St. Mary/Holy Savior parish. In 1995, in recognition of the expanding population of Ocean Pines and environs, the St. John Neumann church building was erected as the third component of the expanded three-church parish, combining with St. Luke/St. Andrew. Prior to the erection of the church, mass was celebrated in various venues in the Ocean Pines area, including the Association's Community Hall. A long-time parishioner Jack McAleer recalls arriving early to set up the chairs in the Hall, dressing a table to serve as an altar, and then restoring the room to its original appearance after services.
The Community Church at Ocean Pines, on the west side of Route 589, was gracious and forthcoming in offering its facilities to its Catholic neighbors as the church was under construction. At this time Community Church itself was still holding its morning worship services in a communal room used during the week as a daycare center, necessitating that each Sunday the room be transformed to accommodate worshipers.
The Catholics of Ocean Pines and their neighbors in surrounding municipalities will be called upon to donate their time, talents and treasure to support this independent parish. The "plus" to the equation is a resident clergy, available to the parishioners "twenty four-seven," avoiding the vagaries of traffic and weather conditions inherent in being ministered to by clergy stationed in Ocean City, over 10 miles away.
Send an Email Letter to Courier Editor - be sure to include your telephone number.
Uploaded: 2/9/2007
