MOUNTAIN TOP – Parishioners filled Saint Jude Church for three nights in late October as the Mountain Top community celebrated its annual parish mission in honor of its patron, Saint Jude, the patron saint of hope and impossible causes.
The three-night mission, held Oct. 26-28, centered on the theme “Hope in the Body of Christ” – echoing both the Church’s ongoing Jubilee Year of Hope and the recent National Eucharistic Revival. Each evening focused on a unique aspect of that theme: “It is the Body of Christ,” “You are the Body of Christ,” and “We are the Body of Christ.”
The opening Mass was celebrated by Father Tom Dzwonczyk, a newly ordained priest for the Diocese of Scranton who once served Saint Jude Parish as a seminarian and deacon. The second evening featured a Holy Hour with Adoration, music, confessions, and a talk by Father Stephen Robbins, Associate Vocation Director for the Diocese of Camden, N.J. The mission concluded on the Feast of Saint Jude, with Mass celebrated by Father Joe Evanko, pastor, followed by a parish potluck dinner.
“The mission continues the spirit of the Eucharistic Revival and reminds us that not only do we get to receive the Body of Christ – but we too get to participate in the Body of Christ as a community,” Sean Savage, Director of Faith Formation, said. “Particularly coming out of COVID, we’ve noticed that people come to Mass, but we lost that communal element of being together.”
Attendees said the mission offered the opportunity for both spiritual renewal and community fellowship.
Mary Ann Wallace, a new parishioner of Saint Jude Parish, found the Monday night Adoration to be very moving with its music.
“It’s just wonderful to see everybody turn out,” Wallace stated. “We have three Masses at this church. We know everybody that goes to the 4 p.m. Mass on Saturday, but we don’t know the people that come on Sunday, so it was a nice opportunity to meet other people.”
Thomas Lavan, a parishioner of Our Lady Help of Christians Parish (Saint Mary’s), agreed.
“I think it is a good way to get people together and that is what church is all about, community,” Lavan said.
As Saint Jude Parish prepares for Advent, they are hoping that parishioners remain engaged.
“We want people to not just run out of church. We want them to be able to stay in our beautiful narthex, to be able to gather and commune together,” Savage said. “That is the aim of this (mission), to remind people of ‘who’ they are receiving, ‘who’ they are becoming, and how ‘we’ should interact together as the Body of Christ.”