A Place for All at the Table
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
By Lois Rogers | Features Editor
On July 29, exactly 40 years to the day St. Martha Church was dedicated, a Mass of Thanksgiving and the festive social that followed drew a standing-room only gathering to the Point Pleasant church and an overflow crowd to the social hall.
The high attendance on this feast of St. Martha was only natural, said many who attended both the Mass and the luau. They saw it as a testament to the way the parish, over the decades, has embraced and come to characterize the loving, hospitable and welcoming nature of their biblical patroness.
History of Hospitality
In his homily at the anniversary Mass, Father Roman Nilo S. Apura, who became pastor July 1, spoke of the founding of the parish and asked all present to remember the priests who forged ahead to make it such a “loving community.”
Such an outcome was likely what Bishop George W. Ahr hoped for when he established the parish with an eye toward demographics that projected a growing Catholic population in the area.
Parish records show that before the establishment of St. Martha Parish, any Catholic in the Point Pleasant area would have found themselves – over the course of decades and even centuries – belonging to various parishes that were divided over and over again as the population grew.
For instance, Mary Ann Collett, pastoral associate, pointed out that Point Pleasant was part of St. Mary of the Lake Parish, Lakewood, when that parish was established in 1899.
The borough of Point Pleasant was later considered part of the parish territory of St. Peter, Point Pleasant Beach. That would change in 1962 when the area became part of the newly created St. Dominic Parish, Brick.
Finally, ten years later, as the massive building boom of Ocean County exploded, St. Dominic Parish was divided and the parish of St. Martha was created.
Father Henry A. Murphy was appointed the first pastor and until a suitable place for worship was built, parishioners attended Mass in the nearby Nellie Bennett School. Masses were held in that school and the Kings Grant Inn (now Crystal Point) grew increasingly crowded.
Father Murphy moved ahead with his plans for a new church and parish center as well as a rectory and office. He located a two-and-a-half acre plot on Newark Avenue and before long, with the help of enthusiastic parishioners, there was a rectory and a chapel.
It wasn’t long before the building of a new church and parish center was underway. The complex was designed to encompass a complete facility not only for worship, but for education and recreation as well.
Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on Dec. 15, 1974, presided over by Father George Everitt, vicar for Ocean County.
As the parish expanded, additional rooms were added and the main room was slowly transformed into the parish church. What is now the permanent worship space of St. Martha Church was once a multi-purpose room with a stage, wooden gym floors, locker rooms for CYO, retractable basketball hoops and a bingo board.
The sanctuary was a chapel separated by folding doors for daily Mass. Old timers recall that on Sundays, the hoops would be retracted and hundreds of metal folding chairs put out for Mass. When the larger, attached hall and religious education center in the basement were added, the multi-purpose room was renovated to the worship space parishioners filled on Sunday, Collette said.
Father Michael Sullivan, who had been pastor of the parish for 11 years – a “quarter of the life of the parish” as he put it – said that the careful evolution of the campus helped to ensure a welcoming environment.
“The parish is aptly named,” said Father Sullivan, who became pastor of St. Mary of the Lake Parish in nearby Lakewood, on July 1. “The space is warm and the vision of the (members) so clear that we never even needed a formal greeting ministry,” he said. “Everyone felt welcome.”
“Everyone also felt proud of all we accomplished,” said Father Sullivan.
Vibrant Parish Life
In the last eight years alone, Collett noted, 30 new ministries were added and parishioners responded with alacrity, volunteering and participating in large numbers. “We trained 450 volunteers,” she said.
To name but a few, ministries include support groups such as the one for the divorced and separated, Rainbows and Prism for children experiencing the loss of loved ones, an active consolation ministry, annulment advocates who journey with those seeking a Church annulment are up and running.
There are spiritual societies including the Intercessory Prayer Group, which gathers on the first Monday of the month to pray over the petitions written in the parish intercession book. The Beehive Senior Day Center is thriving.
Active respect life, St. Vincent de Paul and prison ministries are there to help the public as is the employment assistance ministry.
“The method here is the same one preached by Jesus: drop your nets and follow me,” Collett said. “All you have to do is ask and people respond.”
Among those responding are Robert and Kathleen Boyle. Members of the parish for 35 years, they spoke of the warmth that they’ve found in St. Martha Parish over the decades.
The Boyles chose the conclusion of the anniversary Mass as a perfect time to renew their wedding vows. Attended by their daughter Erin and their other children, they did so to the delight of everyone in attendance who rewarded them with a round of applause.
Later, as the family gathered outside the church, the couple said it was hard to put into words “all that we have shared with this parish.
“It has been a great blessing,” said Robert Boyle. “It means a lot to us.”
His wife chimed in: “We grew up as a family here. It has been a wonderful experience. (Our daughter) has special needs and this place has been phenomenal for her, warm and accepting.”
Steve Corso called it a “thriving parish. The people here are on fire for the Lord. The community turns out for all the Masses.”
Corso, who teaches religious education and mentors religious education teachers, said he and his wife, Sue, especially appreciate the variety of ministries, 43 in fact, that offer a wide range of educational, spiritual and social opportunities for parishioners of all ages.
The Corsos and the Boyles see the parish as a unified community with a place at the table for everyone.
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By Lois Rogers | Features Editor
On July 29, exactly 40 years to the day St. Martha Church was dedicated, a Mass of Thanksgiving and the festive social that followed drew a standing-room only gathering to the Point Pleasant church and an overflow crowd to the social hall.
The high attendance on this feast of St. Martha was only natural, said many who attended both the Mass and the luau. They saw it as a testament to the way the parish, over the decades, has embraced and come to characterize the loving, hospitable and welcoming nature of their biblical patroness.
History of Hospitality
In his homily at the anniversary Mass, Father Roman Nilo S. Apura, who became pastor July 1, spoke of the founding of the parish and asked all present to remember the priests who forged ahead to make it such a “loving community.”
Such an outcome was likely what Bishop George W. Ahr hoped for when he established the parish with an eye toward demographics that projected a growing Catholic population in the area.
Parish records show that before the establishment of St. Martha Parish, any Catholic in the Point Pleasant area would have found themselves – over the course of decades and even centuries – belonging to various parishes that were divided over and over again as the population grew.
For instance, Mary Ann Collett, pastoral associate, pointed out that Point Pleasant was part of St. Mary of the Lake Parish, Lakewood, when that parish was established in 1899.
The borough of Point Pleasant was later considered part of the parish territory of St. Peter, Point Pleasant Beach. That would change in 1962 when the area became part of the newly created St. Dominic Parish, Brick.
Finally, ten years later, as the massive building boom of Ocean County exploded, St. Dominic Parish was divided and the parish of St. Martha was created.
Father Henry A. Murphy was appointed the first pastor and until a suitable place for worship was built, parishioners attended Mass in the nearby Nellie Bennett School. Masses were held in that school and the Kings Grant Inn (now Crystal Point) grew increasingly crowded.
Father Murphy moved ahead with his plans for a new church and parish center as well as a rectory and office. He located a two-and-a-half acre plot on Newark Avenue and before long, with the help of enthusiastic parishioners, there was a rectory and a chapel.
It wasn’t long before the building of a new church and parish center was underway. The complex was designed to encompass a complete facility not only for worship, but for education and recreation as well.
Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on Dec. 15, 1974, presided over by Father George Everitt, vicar for Ocean County.
As the parish expanded, additional rooms were added and the main room was slowly transformed into the parish church. What is now the permanent worship space of St. Martha Church was once a multi-purpose room with a stage, wooden gym floors, locker rooms for CYO, retractable basketball hoops and a bingo board.
The sanctuary was a chapel separated by folding doors for daily Mass. Old timers recall that on Sundays, the hoops would be retracted and hundreds of metal folding chairs put out for Mass. When the larger, attached hall and religious education center in the basement were added, the multi-purpose room was renovated to the worship space parishioners filled on Sunday, Collette said.
Father Michael Sullivan, who had been pastor of the parish for 11 years – a “quarter of the life of the parish” as he put it – said that the careful evolution of the campus helped to ensure a welcoming environment.
“The parish is aptly named,” said Father Sullivan, who became pastor of St. Mary of the Lake Parish in nearby Lakewood, on July 1. “The space is warm and the vision of the (members) so clear that we never even needed a formal greeting ministry,” he said. “Everyone felt welcome.”
“Everyone also felt proud of all we accomplished,” said Father Sullivan.
Vibrant Parish Life
In the last eight years alone, Collett noted, 30 new ministries were added and parishioners responded with alacrity, volunteering and participating in large numbers. “We trained 450 volunteers,” she said.
To name but a few, ministries include support groups such as the one for the divorced and separated, Rainbows and Prism for children experiencing the loss of loved ones, an active consolation ministry, annulment advocates who journey with those seeking a Church annulment are up and running.
There are spiritual societies including the Intercessory Prayer Group, which gathers on the first Monday of the month to pray over the petitions written in the parish intercession book. The Beehive Senior Day Center is thriving.
Active respect life, St. Vincent de Paul and prison ministries are there to help the public as is the employment assistance ministry.
“The method here is the same one preached by Jesus: drop your nets and follow me,” Collett said. “All you have to do is ask and people respond.”
Among those responding are Robert and Kathleen Boyle. Members of the parish for 35 years, they spoke of the warmth that they’ve found in St. Martha Parish over the decades.
The Boyles chose the conclusion of the anniversary Mass as a perfect time to renew their wedding vows. Attended by their daughter Erin and their other children, they did so to the delight of everyone in attendance who rewarded them with a round of applause.
Later, as the family gathered outside the church, the couple said it was hard to put into words “all that we have shared with this parish.
“It has been a great blessing,” said Robert Boyle. “It means a lot to us.”
His wife chimed in: “We grew up as a family here. It has been a wonderful experience. (Our daughter) has special needs and this place has been phenomenal for her, warm and accepting.”
Steve Corso called it a “thriving parish. The people here are on fire for the Lord. The community turns out for all the Masses.”
Corso, who teaches religious education and mentors religious education teachers, said he and his wife, Sue, especially appreciate the variety of ministries, 43 in fact, that offer a wide range of educational, spiritual and social opportunities for parishioners of all ages.
The Corsos and the Boyles see the parish as a unified community with a place at the table for everyone.
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