People of the Parish

Two little words, yet they contain so much more than they say. Hidden within is my gratitude, and appreciation for all the prayers, get-well-cards, Mass Offerings, flowers, fruits, and candy, that arrived during my recent hospitalization, and recuperation. To all the school children, teachers, parents, priests, Religious Ed staff and parishioners “Thank You!”

I am deeply humbled by your loving compassion and concern. It is good to be home. Be assured of my love and prayers. If to think of me is to pray, think of me often.

Sister Charlotte Maria Shinnick, C.S.J.

If you attended the 12 noon mass during the past couple of Sundays, you were in for a treat as some very talented parishioners (photo taken on May 10th, from left) Lenny Scotto, Frank Thompson, and Joe Sowa provided the music.

Parishioner John Kennedy was recently honored by the Tomorrow’s Hope Foundation C for his work in founding the Catholic Middle Schools’ Athletic Association. The CMSAA enables middle-school-aged Catholic school students to represent their school in athletic competition against other Catholic schools. Students at St. Patrick School, for example, compete in cross country, soccer, volleyball, basketball and baseball. The mission of Tomorrow’s Hope Foundation is to ensure the excellence as well as the continuance of Catholic Schools on Long Island by increasing awareness and by providing scholarship and program funding for the needs of students and schools.

Members of the Knights of Columbus who are helping support Seminarian John Ryan were invited to a liturgy and brunch at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception. John is pictured carrying the cross during the procession, with Past Grand Knight Tom Keane (bottom right), and with Grand Knight Charlie Sauer (bottom left). John is on track to be ordained in 2010.

On Saturday, April 4th, parishioner Rich Janiec came one step closer to becoming a deacon as he was installed as an acolyte at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception. At our 5 PM Mass last Sunday, Rich took his “maiden voyage” as an acolyte, assisting Fr. Patrick during Mass. Rich is one year away from his ordination as a deacon. Congratulations to Rich, his wife Mary, and children Jenn and Pete.

Members of Something for Seniors were recently entertained by the Sentimental Journey Singers who performed a one-hour show of music and comedy. Refreshments were provided and served by students in Level 7 of our Religious Formation Program.

On St. Joseph’s Day, our Sisters of St. Joseph renewed their vows and were honored by our Nursery, Pre-K, and Kindergarten classes. The young students received donations for good deeds they had done. With the proceeds, the children were able to present flowers and handmade cards to the Sisters. They also sang a beautiful song to them to show their appreciation for playing such an imporant role in the lives of so many children.

If you have been a St. Patrick’s parishioner long enough, Pat Wilson is a familiar face. An active parishioner for many years and a regular at daily Mass, Pat now resides at St. Catherine of Siena Nursing Home. On March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day, her friends from the Legion of Mary brought Pat to the 12:10 PM Mass and then treated her to lunch to celebrate a very special occasion -- her 100th birthday! From all of us at St. Patrick’s, Happy Birthday!

During the St. Patrick's Day Dance held on Friday, March 13th 2009, Sister Patricia Ann Kenney was honored for 49 years in Catholic Education.

This past week, St. Patrick’s welcomed Fr. Peter Dugandzic who will serve as associate pastor in our parish until a permanent associate is named in June. Fr. Peter grew up in St. James and is a graduate of Smithtown East High School. He attended Suffolk Community College for two years and graduated from SUNY at Cortland. After five years in the business world, Fr. Peter began studying for the priesthood. He was ordained in 1995. He served as associate pastor at St. William the Abbot in Seaford for five years and at St. Mary’s in Manhasset for three years. Fr. Peter then studied at Catholic University of America and in Rome where he received a doctorate in moral theology. From all of us at St. Patrick’s, welcome!

Since June of 2003, St. Patrick’s has been blessed with the presence of Fr. Jilson
George. This weekend our parish says good-bye to this humble priest from Kerala, India who won our hearts through his warmth, compassion, sincerity and,of course, that signature smile. After serving his last Mass at St. Patrick's 12 Noon on Sunday, February 22nd, 2009, Fr. Jilson was treated to well attended "Bon Voyage" party in Canning Hall.

Over the summer months, our parish was blessed with the presence of Fr. George Akyeampong from Ghana. Fr. George filled in as chaplain at St. Catherine’s Hospital and Nursing Home to give Fr. Fred and Fr. Anselm some time off in the summer. He also assisted with various duties in our parish. Though Fr. George is now back in Ghana, our parish has kept in touch. Our Something for Seniors group recently collected pencils, crayons and various school supplies to send to the school children of Ghana as well as holy cards, rosaries and other items for his parishioners. Fr. George replied with this picture and a letter of thanks. His letter said (in part):

I am very happy to write to you today and to say a big thanks to you for your generous offer to my school children over here and also something for my church members. They are all happy for the items and it is going to benefit everybody who has received something. My school children are already using the pencils and the crayons for their classroom exercises. It has really been so helpful and a benefit to them. I assembled them one morning to take a photograph with them whilst they held some of the pencils and I am glad to send to you a copy of the photograph for you to have a fair idea of how they look. I told them to bless you all by mentioning your society’s name and interestingly they kept saying, “Something for Seniors, God bless you. Something for Seniors, God bless you.” It was a lovely scene hearing them praying for you in this way.

St. Patrick’s Something for Seniors group meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 1 PM at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 130 Lake Avenue South in Nesconset. If you are a senior citizen looking for some fellowship, fun and worthwhile activities, Sister Rose at 265-4794.

On Monday, December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Harold Noviello, one of our parishioners who is studying for the priesthood at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, was ordained a deacon. It is part of the final step in his journey to priesthood and his first reception of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. As we congratulate him and assure him of our prayers, we look forward to his ordination to the priesthood for our diocese this coming June.

More photographs are available at the parish photo album.

Happy Anniversary! Sister Eileen Kelly, one of our Sisters of St. Joseph, is celebrating her 60th anniversary in religious life this year. Her life and work as a sister have taken her many places among many people.
If you wanted to sum up Sister Eileen Kelly’s 60 years in religious life in one word, you could use the word diverse. Sister Eileen adds another adjective “wonderfully” diverse.
Sister Eileen is one of seven Sisters of St. Joseph currently residing in the convent at St. Patrick’s. Her work within our parish has included instructing new parents in the Baptism Program, teaching in the Religious Formation
Program, and serving as a Eucharistic Minister. For the most part, however, her ministry has taken place outside of our parish.
Sister Eileen, her three brothers and one sister grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn -- the children of Michael and Bridget Kelly. She graduated from St. Joseph High School and entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1948. Her first assignment as a sister was as a Kindergarten teacher. She then moved on to teach first grade. Sister Eileen’s next move was to Puerto Rico where she worked for six years. She finished her business degree while there (not an easy task since all classes were taught in Spanish) and taught first grade. She also became fluent in Spanish and eventually received a master’s degree in Spanish. Upon returning to the United States, Sister Eileen taught Spanish at her alma mater, St. Joseph High School, and later at Holy Family in South Huntington.
At the time of the Vatican Council, realizing the needs of the time, Sister Eileen, decided to move from teaching into parish work. She lived in a small group in Bohemia and did parish work for ten years. Next Sister Eileen went into service of the Mother House in Brentwood. Her next ministry was in the Suffolk County Office for Aging where she worked for 14 years before “retiring.”
Since retiring Sister Eileen has worked as the Social Service Coordinator for a senior citizen complex in Brentwood. She also helps at a soup kitchen in Ronkonkoma one day per week.
Looking back on the past 60 years, Sister Eileen says it has been a “wonderful journey.” She says she appreciates her congregation of Sisters and how they have educated her and led her to meet so many different people and
lead such a diverse life.
“Sometimes you think you are the one giving but you are actually receiving,”Sister Eileen said. “There has been a lot of receiving.”

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving - When Abby, a first-grade student at St. Patrick School, celebrated her 7th birthday, it was also a happy occasion for several children her age she has never even met. After celebrating with friends at an ice cream party, Abby brought the gifts she received to Parish Outreach. Parish Outreach will distribute the gifts to families in need.