After several years of talks, studies and careful planning, the Catholic Campus Ministry at the university has been incorporated as a part of St. Bridget's Parish, Glassboro.
The church has been part of the borough for over a century now, and not only serves local residents, but is also designated the "personal parish" of Latino Catholics in the county and elsewhere. Now, they've also become the personal parish for Catholic students, faculty and staff at Rowan.
There is no formal relationship between the school and the church, of course. The Newman House where CCM has its headquarters is considered, to use the words of Fr. Matthew Weber, pastor of the church, a bridge between Rowan's Catholic population and that of the greater community. CCM is a club chartered by the Student Government Association, but our worship and other financial resources are overseen by the Diocese of Camden. (I hope that makes sense!)
One of the changes to come from this partnership is the addition of a Sunday evening Mass at St. Bridget's that is open to anyone, but set aside to minister to the college population in particular. Everything is done under the leadership of Rowan's Catholic chaplain, Fr. Phillip Johnson, and all of the leadership roles during Mass are held by students.
The Sunday evening Mass was held originally in the basement chapel at Newman, but we've now been blessed with a beautiful church home. Daily Masses will still be held at 12:30 p.m. at Newman.
As for my part, I've been serving as the pianist for Sunday Masses since March. Someone from the church has graciously volunteered her time to play for the student Mass, however, and that has freed me up for my original role as a singer. I'm thrilled to be doing what I love again. (Not to mention relieved of the stress involved with playing piano in public!)
Tonight was beautiful. and I can't wait to see what the future brings for this partnership. :)
Hello Melissa and welcome to the St. Bridget family. Fr. Matt is a very caring paster taking care of his herd. Like you I too was away from my birth religion for many years and meeting him at least made me want to give a visit to St. Bridget's again. I'm glad I did.
ReplyDeleteFr Matt is also very wonderful about building community.
There are some new things going on at St. Bridget's now that aren't really church related. There is a wonderful watercolor class being held weekly. Marie Natale, a Rowan graduate, runs that and I just heard that there will be conversational Spanish starting next week. These are pretty exciting because it also makes the church location a place for anyone. You don't just have to be Catholic.
Good luck with your project. I found your blog through Google alerts for Glassboro,