By Lois Rogers | Features Editor

With its cross-topped clock tower and richly hued stained glass windows, Bay Head’s Sacred Heart Church has stood as a witness to the faith and a beacon of hope to the Catholic community of Ocean County’s northern barrier island for nearly 100 years.

Survivor of many storms throughout the century, the church, swamped by water and badly battered on the inside, escaped the fate of many structures when Superstorm Sandy struck this fragile landscape with a vengeance Oct. 29, tossing even major buildings like match sticks into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay.

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Those whose homes and businesses were extensively damaged, even lost to the waves and wind, took heart from the fact that efforts to restore the picturesque Route 35 landmark after it suffered some $600,000 in damages got underway quickly, said parish trustee, Richard Jennings.

The ongoing project by a determined body of communicants, clergy and local contractors seemed to be a symbol that there could and would be life after Sandy, Jennings said.

When, on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 13, Sacred Heart, which marks its centennial anniversary this year, opened its doors to communicants for the start of Lent, it was a signal of the life returning to the barrier island. Then, four days later, on Feb. 17 at 11 a.m., as parishioners, who had been worshipping in the parish hall since the storm, attended their first Sunday Mass of the Lenten season at the church, it was a cause for real joy.

Lent Begins in Beloved Church

To his flock on that first Sunday of Lent, Father Michael O’Connor, the pastor, spoke briefly in his homily of how, through the decades, Sacred Heart had been a “sign of hope” on Ocean County’s northern barrier island, “a hope that comes from God.”

That hope seemed realized in the repaired interior of the church which, in the morning light, seemed to literally sparkle through the vibrant blue, red and gold of the stained glass windows.

A new floor, new heating and cooling system suspended high on the walls of the church, rugs and restored walls and pews caught the eyes of the parishioners as they entered the church and settled in.

Many parishioners, including Nancy Endacott, expressed their joy in returning to their spiritual home in time for the holy season. “It’s so exciting to be back in church,” said Endacott, parish coordinator of religious education. “There was a real effort to get (back) in as quickly as possible. We need to be together as community,” she said. “Everyone worked hard to accomplish that.”

Ann Kelly, co-chair of the parish centennial committee, said the parish is “still struggling to get back together and to get the word out that we are open.” Like fellow parishioners at the Feb. 17 Mass, she expressed concern about those who have yet to reappear.

“Many of our parishioners are from Mantoloking which was hit so hard and so many of those folks (aren’t here). It’s bad,” said Kelly. She noted that while the church was being repaired and restored, Masses were held in the parish hall where the absence of those who had lost so much was keenly felt.

“I can’t even count the times I’ve cried (for them) during Mass,” said Kelly, who said she can’t bring herself to set foot on the beachfront or other badly damaged areas of Bay Head and neighboring Mantoloking.

“My house is in Bay Head and took a lot of damage,” she said. “I can’t live there now but hopefully, in about three weeks, I might be back.”

The damage throughout the town ranged from utter destruction along the beach front one and a half blocks from the church, to the kind done to Sacred Heart, she said.

No Ordinary Time

Jennings, who had similar damage in his lagoon-front home in neighboring Brick, spoke of how floodwaters submerged the crawl space under the church, ruining the heating and cooling systems and the ductwork. The murky waters also poured into the church, saturating the wooden floors and about four feet of the paneling on the walls as they lapped around the pews and the altar.

All 52 pews in the nave had to be moved in sections in order to replace the floor. The pews, which were salvageable, had to be scrubbed free of debris and re-stained. “The church was completely engulfed,” he said.

Jennings said the damage was so severe that after the remediation, four weeks were spent drying the structure out before the new floor could be put in. The work, much of it done by local contractors, was painstaking and intense, said Jennings.

Soon after the storm, concern about parishioners who had to relocate or could not navigate around damaged roads, structures and bridges, prompted Father O’Connor to post a “Reconnect with members of Sacred Heart via our new Facebook page,” notice in the church bulletin. “The name of our page is ‘Church of the Sacred Heart, Bay Head, NJ,’” the notice read. “Since so many of our members are displaced, use this page as a means to reconnect. Post a short message if you are looking for someone.”

That sentiment was clearly heard during the social.

Kathleen Moynihan and her mother, Joan, parishioners since 1971, aren’t themselves displaced, but they continue to worry about those who are as do Pat and Jeff Thompson, also long time members.

“We have a great parish, full of wonderful people, just wonderful,” said Joan Moynihan who is beset by the fact that she still doesn’t know whether new flood plain laws will force the family to elevate their bi-level home above the flood plain.

The Thompsons talked about how church workers did their level best to make Masses in the hall as comforting and church-like as possible. “One of the first things the crew did,” he said, “was to bring our beautiful Stations of the Cross from the church to the hall and hang them on the walls.”

As comforting as it was to have the hall to gather in, coming back to church, where the family had received their Sacraments was the best thing, they said.

And that’s the message they hope everyone will hear, said Kelly.

“The centennial committee is hoping the Mass and the reception is a way to get the word out that the church is open and raring to go,” said Kelly.

Events scheduled for the centennial include a celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart on June 7 with Mass at 5:15 p.m. followed by a pasta supper in the church hall. On Nov. 24, there will be an ecumenical service at 4 p.m. followed by light refreshments in the church hall.

The culminating celebration will be a Centennial Mass Dec. 13 at which Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., will be the celebrant, followed by the 100th anniversary gala dinner.