DINGMAN TOWNSHIP – Fifty years of faith and community were celebrated on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, as Saint Vincent de Paul Parish in Pike County marked its golden anniversary with a special Mass celebrated by the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton.
The 11:15 a.m. Mass, held at the parish in Dingman Township, served as the official kickoff to more than a year of anniversary activities designed to celebrate the church’s past while looking toward its future.
Parishioners have chosen the theme “This Far By Faith” for the year-long celebration, reflecting the parish’s journey since its founding in 1976.
“It actually brought me to tears,” Sue Casey, chairperson of the anniversary celebrations, said describing the Mass. “We started this about eight months ago. I met with maybe 50 parishioners to come up with ideas about how we wanted to represent this year. It turned out that everybody said that beginning with a Mass, beginning with the Bishop and the Word (of God), was the way we wanted to do it.”
Casey said the theme reflects both gratitude for the parish’s history and confidence in where God is leading it next.
“The energy is here. Over the next year, we’re going to be doing something every month and I think that is really going to build on it,” Casey explained.
The 50th Anniversary Mass brought together current and former parish leaders, deacons, parishioners and families who have helped shape Saint Vincent de Paul over the past five decades.
For Father Ed Casey, Pastor of Saint Vincent de Paul Parish, as well as Saint Ann Parish, Shohola, and Saint John Neumann Parish, Lords Valley, the Anniversary Mass offered an opportunity to celebrate something positive and meaningful.
“A lot of times, when you hear news on the radio or TV, it is usually negative,” Father Casey said. “We thought there is such a good spirit here, that we celebrate something positive, something that has lasted for 50 years, against many difficulties, but has survived and continues to preach the Gospel of Christ.”
The parish’s location along the Route 739 corridor of Pike County places it some distance from the Diocese of Scranton’s urban center. Father Casey said having Bishop Bambera present was especially meaningful for parishioners.
“What is important for the people here, because of their distance from the city, they don’t get to see who is the real pastor of the Diocese of Scranton, and that is Bishop Bambera,” he said. “So we were so glad that he was able to come and be with us today.”
For those who call Saint Vincent de Paul their “home parish,” they say its greatest strength is not in its location or facilities, but in its people.
Laurie Hanley, a member of the anniversary committee, describes the parish as a place where people feel welcomed and invited to participate.
“Everybody says, ‘all are welcome here at this parish,’ and we feel that,” she said.
That spirit of welcome extends across generations.
Jennifer Alfaro-Martinez, chairperson of the anniversary potluck committee, has been a parishioner for only a few years, but said her family was welcomed immediately.
“This church is a God-send for us,” she said. “They’re giving, they’re welcoming, and it is really a beautiful parish.”
Alfaro-Martinez was particularly impressed by the Children’s Choir which performed at the Anniversary Mass. Parishioners say the Children’s Choir has not performed in a long time.
“The Children’s Choir was adorable. My two children were in it. It was amazing,” she said.
For Cathy Davidson, who became active in the parish after moving to the area with her family, Saint Vincent de Paul quickly became a “second home.”
“It feels like I came home,” she said. “It feels like God built the parish for me and this is where I belong.”
Now, as the parish looks toward its next 50 years, its anniversary celebration will continue to bring parishioners together throughout the next year.
From a ministry fair and veterans’ tribute to a children’s birthday celebration for Jesus, special bingo, Lenten activities, service at a nursing facility, a musical celebration, family fun day and more, the parish has planned a different activity each month throughout the coming year.
For Sue Casey, these activities are not simply a way to commemorate a milestone. They are an opportunity to remember the moments – both ordinary and extraordinary – that have made Saint Vincent de Paul Parish what it is.
During the Anniversary Mass, she recalled one particularly meaningful memory: the baptism of her grandson in the parish after her son-in-law was deployed to Iraq in 2009.
“Those were times through those last 50 years which we may have forgotten,” she said. “But we came this far by faith – and it’s good to have those memories.”