On, September 29, 1639 in a deed of sale, the Whitfield Company purchased the lands between Stony Creek and East River from the Sachem of the local Menunkatuck Indian tribe. On September 29, 1963, the Second Session of the Second Vatican Council began in Rome. On the same day, September 29, 1963 Saint George Roman Catholic Church on the Green in Guilford is dedicated by Henry J. O Brien Archbishop of Hartford in the presence of 22 designated priests, only one of which is alive today. Today (this weekend), September 29, 2013, we Celebrate of the 50 th Anniversary of that Dedication! The journey of these past 50 years has been an individual one for you and a community one for this Parish. Historically the world is a very different place, but the challenge of loving one another as Jesus commands and serving the poor has not yet been fully realized. So much judgment, so much intolerance, so much prejudice separates us from one another, from our sisters and brothers in Christ. Fifty years ago, in 1963, nearly all the news month after month was dominated by the action of civil rights activists and those who opposed them. A Black woman in college sitting at a lunch counter waiting to be served, riots with police dogs, fire hoses, and mass arrests; the shooting of Medgar Evers, the blocked admission of two African American students at the University of Alabama, bombed Baptist churches, George Wallace in his inauguration address promising segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever; Martin Luther King s, Letters from a Birmingham Jail, his I Have Dream speech and the March on Washington were the topics of that year. Now in 2013, the people of the United States discuss issues of violence, race, culture and religion in regards the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, the war in
Afghanistan, terrorist attacks, social issues, political unrest, the widening gap between rich and poor, issues of healthcare, religious freedom, global warming and so many others. On a lighter note, in 1963 a First class stamp was 5 Cents, gas: 29 cents a gallon, Beatlemania was sweeping the US, Diane Sawyer at age 17 was Americas Junior Miss, Lawrence of Arabia was voted Best Picture, Tab arrived as the first Diet Soda, Zip Codes were introduced, and in the realm of the Church, Pope John the XXIII died and Pope Paul VI was elected. And then in November the world was shaken by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. 50 years later we look back on those events and at some we smile and other continue to challenge us today. That Second Session of the Second Vatican Council is one of those challenges. This Parish took on the nature of the Council and put it into practice over these past fifty years. In Pope Paul s opening address on September 29, 1963 he set out 4 purposes to be accomplished: to define more fully the nature of the Church and the role of the bishop; to renew the Church; to restore unity among all Christians including seeking pardon for Catholic contributions to separation and to start a dialogue with the contemporary world. Pope Francis is trying to do this today. In his short pontificate thus far a sense of renewal is more apparent each day. The Parish of St. George has done it and done it well with a parade of priests (36 in the last fifty years), permanent and transitional deacons and so many dedicated women and men who shaped this church and this town with their lives of faith, prayer and service. On the day of dedication, Archbishop O Brien wrote to Fr. Sullivan: I pray that St. George Church will be a means of strengthening the love of God in the hearts of your parishioners and of deepening their
appreciation of the meaning of our faith. This love and faith prompted their generous spirit of cooperation in raising up this Church. May it in turn be a means of drawing them nearer to God in their daily lives. That hope remains for all of us today. Our recent renovation of the church hall, the construction of the barn and the planting of the Healing Garden are a means to that end. The generosity of 900 parish families enable the 3,700 registered families to now have a place to gather, to educate their children, to welcome other members of the local towns, to feed the hungry, to celebrate youth, to offer hospitality to those mourning the loss of a loved one and to build community. The hall is safe, secure, accessible to all, energy efficient and hopefully ready for use for the next 50 years! Thank you to all our donors. The barn will enable our food pantry to serve the needs of those who need assistance. Those who donate food and those who come to pick it up will have an appropriate and dignified place to give and to receive. Likewise, the Boy Scouts, Appalachian ministry, Haiti and other parish groups will have secure storage for their materials and supplies. The barn will also preserve our parish artifacts that are part of our long history. However, in light of the Gospel today we must as a parish reexamine continually our outreach to those in need. We are the rich. We must recognize the Lazarus at our door and in our midst. We know what the prophets taught. We heard Amos in the first reading. We do not want to find ourselves far off in torment. We can always do better and as Pope Francis recently stated: Charity that leaves the poor in the same situation as before is not adequate. Together we will work on this in the months ahead. The Healing Garden is response to the abuse and harm done here at St. George to some during periods of our 50 years history on the Green. We want to continue to publicly recognize the issues that many still struggle with today. In addition to the monthly Rosary for Healing and Protection, it is our hope that this Garden will be place where many
might find the support of Jesus Christ and of St. George Parish. I am sorry for what has taken place here in the past on many levels, yet our long history and many dedicated people now present enable us to look forward to a more welcoming church in the spirit of our Holy Father, Pope Francis who is challenging all of us to consider some issues that have divided us in the past. Recently a parishioner shared with me this quote, Some of the most comforting words in the universe are me too. That moment when you find out that your struggle is someone else s struggle, that you re not alone and that others have gone down the same road. We must increase our quantity and quality of support groups, 12 step programs, adult education, prayer groups, liturgy and music, access and economic stability for the future ahead. May we strive to welcome all to our church, which after 50 years needs another facelift, more bathrooms, room for wheelchairs, energy efficient lighting, access for all to the sanctuary and to the altar and renewed space for the choir and musicians. We must provide new technology that will enable us to see and hear the messages of our Archbishop and the Holy Father when we gather to celebrate the liturgy and the sacraments. On Friday of this week, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Francis and our Holy Father will go to Assisi to honor that day. May we allow the words of this Saint, uttered hundreds of years ago to challenge our parish as we begin another 50 years: He said: Preach the Gospel always, when necessary, use words. Francis closed the great gulf between rich and poor when he removed his fine clothing to dress in a robe of the roughest, undyed cloth. He kissed a leper, embracing the most outcast person in his culture. He went barefoot and slept in the snow, emulating the poorest ones with whom he believed that Jesus Christ had also identified. It is my hope at some point we can participate in a program called Abraham s tent, in conjunction with Columbus
House when we will welcome the homeless to live and eat and sleep in our hall for a week in the cold of winter. Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Angels are the messengers of God, sent to bring the power of God to others through strength and protection, healing and announcing the good news of Salvation. It is my hope that the people of our parish will imitate the Archangels for one another and for the people of our local communities. Whether you have been here for 10 or 20 or 50 or 80 years, God still has work for you to do. This weekend 80 High school juniors and seniors are on the peer ministry retreat a voluntary retreat this is unheard of in most parishes. Yet they recognize a calling their lives which they are trying to figure out. We must support the youth in every way possible. This will challenge us in the future to make space for them in our parish physically and spiritually. A few weeks ago Noreen Wolleben talked about the doors of our church being open in regards the RCIA. Doors and gates like that in the gospel are like the geographic borders between countries: they keep some people in and others out. Doors exist between people of different economic backgrounds by reason of their opening or closing to opportunities. Doors are laws that become welfare reform, immigration standards and health issues. Like Lazarus we are all caught inside or outside someone else s door. As we begin our next fifty years on the Green let us open the door to our hearts so that Jesus might come in. Let us open our personal doors that they might become the entry into other people s lives. Let us open the doors to our Church so that all might be welcomed. For when doors are opened we can pay attention to what is going on around us and truly be the Church that God wants us to be. We pray this day in thanksgiving for all that has been since those early settlers gathered for Mass in the 1850 s at the Henry Whitfield House then to 116 Whitfield Street in the 1860 s and then to the original St. George Church in 1878. After purchasing this property in 1957, it was ready for the groundbreaking ceremony in 1962 for this church. In the brief sermon that day, it was
said, The building of the new church is showing the world, the state and the nation that we believe in God. A church will rise to complete the full meaning of the Green for its people, taking its place with the other churches whose people believe in God. May all us by word and example be worthy of that hope. Rev. James A. Shanley September 29, 2013 Saint George Church Guilford, CT 06437