Holy Family Parish

from East Hanover April 2022

Florham Park Radio Host

BY ALEXANDER RIVERO STAFF WRITER

FLORHAM PARK - “The spirit of prayer,” says Holy Family Parish pastor Father Thomas Rekiel, “is very much alive here. We have families coming in with children. People happy to see one another. People volunteering all the time, happy to lend a hand with whatever it is that is needed. Very much alive indeed.”

Fr. Rekiel still begins every day in more or less the same manner—taking the stroll from his offi ce in the rectory to the Holy Family Church itself, which he has pastored now for six years. For anyone that leaves his home country in search for a home elsewhere, as Fr. Rekiel did when he left Italy for the United States, it is a blessing to not only fi nd one, but to fi nd himself busy with the work of making it a better place for others.

“It’s a very joyful parish. No matter what the activity— whether it’s Mass or Bible study or something else entirely—you feel the spirit of family abounding throughout. People come and volunteer of their own time all of the time.”

The parish was not spared its share of diffi culties during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged the country, but it never wavered, with his leadership and the help of ranks of dedicated parishioners and volunteers, in doing everything it could to remain an active part of people’s lives through the past two years.

“People have been so generous in their time and money and effort over these past two years. Never once did I ever have to mention a thing. ‘Do this, do that.’ I could have closed my eyes and opened them later to see whatever had to be done not only done, but done well.”

Despite being a Florham Park parish now for seventy years, Holy Family receives many of its food pantry contributions from neighboring towns, like Livingston and others. The stocked pantry is a parish bulwark, a key ministry, running out of the basement of the parish grounds and replenished constantly by contributions both small and large. The pantry is run by the Ministry to the Hungry, and the food itself is collected from donation baskets placed at three separate entrances to the church. The parish then sends the food out to feed the needy within proximity to the general area.

One of the more impressive waves of generosity he has ever seen, says Fr. Rekiel, has been in the private donations the parish often receives from anonymous parishioners.

“We stopped collecting donations with baskets during Mass and instead placed the collection bins in the back of the pews, and since then, the amount of donations coming in has increased by a wide margin,” he beams. Rekiel recounts how on one particular occasion, during the installing of a sanitizing air-conditioning system to purify the air after the COVID pandemic hit the world, parishioners noticed the ongoing installation processes and fi lled the church’s coffers with donations in no time, not only paying for the entire air conditioning unit plus the process of installing it, but having enough money left over for other things as well.

One thing Rekiel misses enormously, which he had to halt because of the virus, have been the dinners and coffee gatherings the parish organized every month, exclusively volunteer-run. “Parishioners, many of them anyway, are still very afraid to go out with the virus still around,” he laments. “There is so much stress on our seniors because they’re afraid of getting sick if they come into close contact with someone who may be carrying the virus, and so they stay home as a result.”

The pastor tries his best to visit these parishioners in their homes, but is often disappointed to fi nd that their fears of catching COVID prevents them from agreeing to visits. This worries Rekiel, as he knows the importance that the parish has on so many of these very seniors, and the loss of community and face-to-face interaction over time may have damaging consequences to not only the health of the parishioners, but to the health of the church’s sense of community heading forward.

“We need the individual members of our community,” he says, “and while we understand the need to remain safe from this deadly virus, we acknowledge that this is a very stressful time for everyone involved, including us here at the church, and we know better days are ahead.”

Heading into its 70th year, Holy Family’s list of activities—outside of its daily Mass schedule—is an enthusiastic bid to restore hope in the community after the previous two years of restricted access due to the virus. There is a men’s group that meets for retreats once a month, back and operational on an in-person basis. There are more Zoom meetings of all varieties—whether support meetings for parishioners that miss the weekly and in some cases daily human contact they received prior to COVID, or Bible study meetings—that meet now on at regular intervals.

Aside from these activities, there is of course Rekiel’s prolife ministry, the Knights of Columbus that help tremendously with fundraisings, picnics, scholarships, and with Christmas and Easter decorations of the church grounds. There are also various prayer and meditation groups, as well as family-based Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) meetings, which many families come and go through together. For additional information about Holy Family Parish, a full list of its ministries, as well as a Mass schedule, please visit the parish’s website at www. holyfamilyfp.org. The church itself is on 1 Lloyd Avenue in Florham Park, and to reach the church by phone, call 973-3776350.

Morris County Chamber of Commerce Welcomes Spring with Signature Events

FLORHAM PARK - Spring brings more than April fl owers and May Day, as the Morris County Chamber of Commerce is welcoming in the warmer weather with two signature events open to both members and the general public.

The chamber will host the 16th Annual Not for Profi t Conference on Thursday, April 28, at the Hilton Parsippany, 8-11:30 a.m. The event, this year titled “Reconnecting and Rebuilding: Lessons Learned,” will feature keynote speaker Jonathan R. Pearson, director of corporate social responsibility and executive director of The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey. There also will be a panel discussion with local nonprofi t leaders and the 2022 Not For Profi t Excellence Awards presentation.

Then the chamber’s Annual Golf Classic will be held on Monday, June 6, at Spring Brook Country Club in Morristown, 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. The day of networking and golf includes lunch, golf, a cocktail reception, a dinner buffet, the Business and Community Service Award ceremony and a silent auction. Non-golfers are welcome to join just the evening festivities.

Also planned are the Legislative Luncheon on April 26 and a Women in Business luncheon on May 18. To learn more about these events and/or to register, please visit the chamber’s website at www.morischanber.org and go to Events.

“These signature events of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce are excellent opportunities for both members and guests to gather, network and learn,” said Meghan Hunscher, chamber president. “They also give guests a wonderful feel for what the chamber has to offer businesses and nonprofi ts of all sizes. Please join us.”

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