CLARKS GREEN – The Church of Saint Gregory, 330 N. Abington Road, has embarked on a 10-week program “Together is Better” to encourage people to return to church.
During the 10 weeks, different events are held and open to parishioners and their families and neighbors.
“COVID did a number on parish life around the world. As we reopened after the shutdown, our attendance was expectedly sparse,” said Danny Marx, director of Mission and Worship at Saint Gregory’s. “As a pastoral team, we needed a plan to help those still not returning to church to see why it was important to join us. ‘Together is Better’ is our action plan. It is a primarily reminder that while, yes, you can pray and worship alone and do it well and feel fulfilled but it is simply better when we pray and worship and praise together. Our worship of God is more enjoyable, more exciting and more spirited with others.”
Greyson Moore is in eighth grade at the Abington Heights Middle School and a confirmation candidate at Saint Gregory’s. He helped with the church’s waffle fest.
“I cooked waffles. I got to see people I don’t usually see in church. I liked to watch them smile and enjoy it,” he said.
Lily Lengyel is also an eighth-grade student at Abington Heights Middle School and a confirmation candidate. She helped deliver the food and coffee to parishioners, talked to them and helped clean up.
Parishioners from Saint Gregory’s and Our Lady of Snows met for a day of service. The morning started with a prayer service at Our Lady of Snows. The day ended with a concert at Saint Gregory’s by Catholic composer John Angotti.
There were several volunteer opportunities people could choose from. Among them, planting flower bulbs at South Abington Park, helping with the baby pantry at Saint Joseph’s and gathering at Saint Gregory’s to assemble refugee welcome boxes. The Ignatian Volunteer Corps office requested that parishioners purchase the contents of a box that ranged from kitchen boxes to a bedroom box. Volunteers gathered at Saint Gregory’s to sort the donations into boxes and prepare them for delivery to local refugee families.
Faith Ingalls is a 10th-grade student at Lackawanna Trail and a member of Saint Gregory’s.
She helped at the Countryside Conservatory Trail making the trail cleaner and nicer for those who use it.
“I picked up garbage, and I liked being with other people,” she said.
Parishioners also cooked or baked a dish to be served as part of the “We Care Meals” program organized by the Center for Service and Social Justice at the University of Scranton. Volunteers picked up the food at Saint Gregory’s and brought it to the University of Scranton Arrupe House where it was packaged into go-to meals and delivered to the Community Intervention Service.
Bob and Mary Sheils and their children – Bobby 13, Claire 10, Joseph 6 and James 4 – helped at Marywood Heights. They painted pumpkins with the senior residents, planted mums and cleaned up the patio, grotto and other areas on the grounds.
“Our family decided to help with the Day of Service because we believe in doing service for others and the community,” said Mary Sheils. “We feel the best way to instill the characteristics of volunteering in our children is to lead by example. We chose to work with Marywood Heights because our family has a long history of working with the Little Sisters of the Poor who used to run Holy Family residence. Sister Kieran Williams, IHM, is responsible for bettering the life of spiritual needs of the senior citizens. Our family wanted to continue the mission of Little Sisters of the Poor with the help of Sister Kieran to provide a more welcoming environment and fun day for the residents.”
“The last few years have been hard on everyone especially senior citizens,” said Bob Sheils. “It was very rewarding for our family to spend a little time together with the residents of Marywood Heights and help to make things a little nicer at this wonderful place.”
The church had an Oktoberfest in which event-goers enjoyed German food, local brews and a Schutzengiggles Oompah band. There was also a pet blessing for the feast of Saint Francis in which pets were blessed and pet food and supplies were collected for animal shelters and a pumpkin carving for families after mass. Halloween was celebrated with a Trunk or Treat in which families decorated their trunks of their cars.
Future events include Mass of Remembrance, the church will have a Souper Saturday in which a variety of homemade soups will be made to donate to food pantries that they can then freeze and offer to their clients. The church hopes to collect 500 cans of soup also that day to give to food pantries and a Blue Mass will be celebrated honoring police officers, firefighters, EMTs and other first responders.
“The Church of Saint Gregory has engaged in a special season of exciting new opportunities in a sincere desire to express Catholicism at its best,” said Father John Lapera, pastor Church of Saint Gregory. “Each week our campus comes alive with a variety of worship experiences, social gatherings, service projects and group studies. I have been delighted to watch our community come together after COVID with open arms and loving hearts. I am convinced we are better for all the wonder progress made this fall.”
