To the Editor:
On January 1, St. Mary, Star of the Sea and St. Andrew the Apostle will become known as Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich Parish. The Bayonne Community News has published several times that “a decision about which church of the two would close has not been announced.” The reason there has been no announcement is that neither church will close. The new parish will have one office and one staff but will retain two worship sites. Each church building will maintain the name with which it was consecrated. Managing the spiritual needs, social outreach and financial viability is very difficult to balance. We have spent the past two and a half years working hard to do just that. This process has not been easy and it has required a great deal of extra effort on the part of those who work for the parish. The benefit, however, is that we have demonstrated that we can keep the doors of both churches open.
The new parish will minister to the Hispanic Community. A weekly Mass in Spanish will be celebrated at 1:30 p.m. at St. Mary. We are meeting with parishioners from Assumption to provide for their Prayer Group, Legion of Mary, AA, etc.
We are also excited the Soup Kitchen will continue, albeit at its original home at All Saints Catholic Academy (19 W. 13th). Our Food Pantry will continue to serve those who live from 1st to 19th Streets.
Change is never easy, but we pray that as we move through this difficult period, the Church will continue to meet the community’s spiritual, social and temporal needs. We thank everyone who works hard to make Christ’s presence felt in Bayonne.
REV. PETER WEHRLE AND THE PARISH COMMUNITY