My dear parishioners,

I hope all of you had a restful and peaceful summer. I was able to enjoy two weeks off with my family on Long Island and now I am very happy to be back and re-charged. Some news I would like to share with you: the two entrance ramps from New Street were re-paved and make entering and exiting the parking lot easier. The one large pot hole is gone and now both entrances are neat looking. This repair was made possible through your generosity to our parish. The oil tank that was buried in front of the school has been removed and paved over. Many thanks are given to Sister Marie, AIM Tank Services, and Joe Royce. This tank was a financial strain on the parish and thankfully this ordeal is now over. We had a wonderful breakfast at Applebee’s and raised over $800 for the new air-conditioning system. So far the good people of Holy Spirit have donated $15,000.00 to this costly, but much needed new system. As I have stated before, the present system was over 30 years old and owed us no money. I plan to have the new air-conditioning system installed in April 2018. If you have already made a donation to this worthy cause: thank you! If you have not, please consider making a donation to our fund. I firmly believe that we will make our goal of $40,000. The Bishop’s Annual Appeal will begin shortly in October and whatever money we receive in the rebate program will go toward the air-conditioning system. Last year our parish was up 25% in the appeal. This is a wonderful achievement for our parish. God bless you and your generosity. Lastly, as many of you know Fr. Przemyslaw Nowak (Fr. Shemic) moved into the rectory. Fr. Shemic will be studying at Catholic University in Washington D.C. during the school year and will reside in the rectory when he is home on break. He is a classmate of mine and a wonderful priest and friend. I know he will be welcomed here as I have been. Be assured of my prayers. Thank you again for all that you do for Holy Spirit Church and for me. Fr. David

Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church

318 Newark-Pompton Turnpike

Pequannock, NJ 07440

Fr. David Monteleone

Pastor

“In the Spirit” Volume 2, No. 5

September/October, 2017

A Blast From the Past...

2

The Holy Spirit Choir, circa 1999.

We Remember…..

Fr. Tom Mangieri pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish, Lincoln Park and Fr. David Monteleone pastor of Holy Spirit Parish, Pequannock, provided the opening and closing prayers at the 16

th

community memorial service coordinated by Pequannock UNICO on September 11, 2017. Fr. Tom offered his opening prayer that “our heavenly Father, strong yet merciful” will “defend from evil all those who cry to you so that we who trust in your protection may not continue to live in fear and anger, however righteous, but rather in love of You and of our neighbor.” The memorial service was led by UNICO member and Holy Spirit parishioner, Perry Russo, Jr. Speakers included Mayor Melissa Florence-Lynch, and Pastor Kathleen Edwards-Chase of the First Reformed Church of Pompton Plains. In her recollection of the events of 9/11, Pastor Kathleen noted the large representation of scouts participating in the memorial service, most of whom were born years after the 9/11 terror attacks, and have no personal recollection of that pivotal time in our lives. “We have an obligation to tell them what that day was like. We have an obligation to tell them about the character of our nation and our belief in the fundamental values that form the foundation of what we know in this nation: all people are created equal. Ethnicity, skin color and religion cannot change that. We need to tell them that all people should have the same opportunity to experience freedom, and we need to tell them that the tests and trials that we ex-perience in this country will not defeat us as a nation,” Pastor Kathleen said.

In his closing prayer, Fr. David Monteleone asked “the God of grace and the God of peace” to “heal our nation, grant peace to those who have lost loved ones, and to bless our firefighters, our police officers, and our first responders.”

We Remember…….(continued)

3

Below, Fr. David Monteleone, Fr. Tom Mangieri, and Holy Spirit Parishioner Perry Russo are shown at the 16th Annual Community Memorial Service held at Pequannock Town Hall on September 11, 2017.

Applebee’s Breakfast “Thank you”

Sincere “thank you” to all who supported our first church fundraiser in many years!

Whether you sold tickets, purchased tickets, or worked the morning of the breakfast, your support was so important, and very much appreciated! Our fundraising efforts earned a total of $928, including the 50/50 winnings, which a parishioner donated back to the church.

We look forward to making the Applebees breakfast one of our annual parish events. See you there next year!

After the summer break...The Parish Council Is Back At Work!

The Parish Council welcomes our newest member, Skyler Herman. Skyler is a junior in high school, and has been active in our parish as part of the religious formation program, as an altar server, and currently servers at a lector at either the 9AM or 7PM Sunday Masses.

The Parish Council serves as an advisory board to Fr. David. Each member represents one or more of the ministries of our parish (church and school).

“But seek first his kingdom and his

righteousness, and all these things will

be given to you as well .”

Matthew 6:33

What’s Been Happening On Our Property ?

Left is shown the

removal of the

underground oil

tank from the front

of the school.

Left, the entrance ramps from New Street into the back parking lot have both been repaved! No more giant pot hole to watch out for! Below shows the repaired “dusk to dawn” security light illuminating the side of our church.

“….How

awesome is

this place?

This is none

other than the

house of God,

and this is the

gate of

heaven."

Genesis 28:17

Thanks to Mary Hargraves for the photo !

The Air Conditioning estimates are in and the cost is approximately $45,000 to replace both systems, which includes the main body of the church and the wing. We are off to a good start with donations totaling $15,000, but additional contributions are needed before a contract can be signed.

Thank you to all who have already

donated. If you have not had an opportunity to contribute, please prayerfully consider making a donation to help with this necessary expense. Please label your donation “air conditioning” and place it in the collection, mail it to the parish office, or drop it in the mail slot at the parish office. All donations will be a great help to the parish, and will be greatly appreciated!

We (Still) Need Air !!! (Update)

Hospitality Sundays to Begin Again On October 1

Register to Receive Parish Emails

Receive notification of Mass cancellations, funerals, and information

regarding parish activities through our parish emails. If you have not signed

up to receive parish emails, please email Kim Rizzo at

kimrizzo@holyspiritparishnj.org, and request to be added to our parish

email database. Thank you!

Please join us for

“Hospitality Sunday” after

the 11AM Mass on Sunday,

October 1, outdoors in front

of the church (weather

permitting).

Spend some time with

coffee and in conversation

with your fellow Holy

Spirit parishioners and

friends. In case of

inclement weather,

“hospitality” will be

moved indoors to the

downstairs meeting room.

“Yours are the Hands; Yours are the Feet”

In recent years, Holy Spirit Church has organized “special collections” for various purposes and programs—in addition to our annual coat collection, our angel trees, the baby items collections, and the ShopRite gift cards. In 2013, we collected school supplies for “Strengthen Our Sisters”. Our parishioners donated 27 backpacks, and enough school supplies to fill a room at the shelter, providing all shelter children with the supplies they needed for the entire school year.

In 2014, we collected hotel-sized soaps, shampoo, conditioner, combs, new socks, t-shirts, and gently-used clothing for Midnight Run. Again Holy Spirit parishioners demonstrated their overwhelming generosity by donating carloads of supplies—enough items for an entire year of “Midnight Runs” into NYC done by the students of DePaul Catholic. In 2016, we again collected for Midnight Run—this time gently-used warm clothing for Midnight Run service trips into NYC by Caldwell University students. This year, we would like to introduce “Operation Christmas Child” as our special project. Operation Christmas Child is program in which individuals, families, churches, schools, and other groups collect shoeboxes and fill them with school supplies, hygiene items, fun toys, and notes of love and encouragement. The shoeboxes are delivered to one of 4500 drop off locations in all 50 States and Puerto Rico. The organization “Samaritan’s Purse” will collect the gift–filled shoeboxes, and deliver them to children in need around the world to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way. Watch for additional information before the beginning of our parish collection period (October 14-31). If you want to get a head-start on shopping, THINK SMALL. All gift items must fit in a shoebox. If 400 parishioners gave even one item, many of which could cost $1-2, we would have enough small gifts to fill 25 shoe boxes!

Parish website: holyspiritparishnj.org

Also find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/

HolySpiritParishPequannock

Fr. Charles Waller’s Retirement Reception

A Look Ahead...

October 1 Outdoor “Hospitality” After the 11AM Mass

October 1 Holy Spirit Blood Drive, 9AM to 1PM in the church parking lot

October 1 Blessing of the Animals, in honor of the October 4 Feast Day of St. Francis 1PM on the front steps of the church October 14 Mass and Gala for Holy Spirit School’s 60th Anniversary. Saturday afternoon Mass time will be 4:30PM. There will be no 5PM Mass on October 14. October 15 Anointing of the Sick after the 11:00AM Mass October 19 Msgr. McQuaid Golf Event October 21/22 Operation Christmas Child Small Gift Collection And October 28/29

On Sunday, September 17, Holy Spirit Church hosted a retirement reception for Fr. Charles Waller, much-loved and much-respected former parochial vicar at Holy Spirit. Fr. Waller was the celebrant at the 11AM Mass for the parish. Thanks to the committee of approximately 30 parishioners and friends who coordinated the event, which was attended by more than 200 who have known and loved Fr. Waller.

Thanks to Jennifer Miguel for the photos !