St. Jerome Church
St. Jerome Parish
 632 Bridge Street
North Weymouth, MA. 02191

The Beacon


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September 2003


Recruiting for the Music Ministry
St. Jerome Parish 75th Anniversary Banquet
St. Jerome Parish 75th Anniversary Mass



Recruiting for the Parish Music Ministry


by Ginny Marsh

We have a very active Music Ministry here at St. Jerome, but like every ministry, we can use some additional people. We have spots for people of all ages and abilities. We do not audition new members, all you need is a desire to sing and a few available hours a month.

These are the requirements of your time:
       Children's Choir- grades 2-8, rehearsals Monday evenings at 6PM-7PM, sing the second Sunday of the month at the 10 o'clock Family Mass.

       Adult Choir- high school age and up-rehearsals Monday evenings @7PM-8PM. Sing 10 o'clock Mass 1st, 3rd and 4th Sunday of the month.

Even if you can't make every rehearsal it is not a big deal.
        Folk Group-sings every other Saturday at 5.

        Teen Group-sings the first Sunday of the month @5. Do you know any talented teens who would like to sing with this group?

Maybe you have been thinking about joining one of these groups but weren't sure how to go about it. All you need to do is come to a rehearsal. You will be contacted if you express interest in one of the folk groups.

Please give this some thought . If you have any questions, you can call Ginny Marsh @ 781-335-0676, or you can email.

Banquet Kicks Off Weekend 75th Celebration

by Richard Ruel

Two hundred parishioners, clergy, St. Jerome School faculty, and friends attended the 75th anniversary banquet at the South Shore Country Club in Hingham. The Saturday evening of dining and dancing was the kickoff event for a weekend of celebration as our wonderful parish turned 75 years old. Pam McKay and Patty Joseph, two of the principal organizers of the event, greeted guests at the door. Ann McConkey and Maryann Ellis also served on the banquet committee with Pam and Patty. We salute and thank them for a job well done.

Phil Walsh of the Parish Council served as the master of ceremonies. He turned over the microphone to Father Wyndham who introduced and honored a most interesting guest. What followed was probably one of the more memorable events if not the highlight of the evening. It is a story in itself, and it deserves its own title. The title for this story is Claire and the Rascal. Father Wyndham spoke about the yearly tradition when the parish honors one parishioner (or occasionally two) to represent all of us. This usually occurs at the Appreciation Banquet in April as it did this past year. However, this weekend presented itself with another opportunity to single out a parishioner who represents the best of St. Jerome. Father Wyndham began his introduction of the worthy parishioner as someone who has lived her entire life in this parish, all 95 years of it. This lady used to run whist parties in her home and yard sales her own backyard to raise money for the parish. She has been a devoted and generous steward of this parish for many, many years. Father Wyndham introduced all to Claire Tufts who was overcome with speechlessness and tears. Claire eventually made it to the microphone, propelled by great applause from the audience.
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Getting back to the title of this story within a story, Claire and the Rascal, you all know by now that Claire is Claire Tufts. The Rascal (are you ready for this?) is Father Wyndham. That's what Claire called him after planting a kiss on his cheek. Father Wyndham recalled that he had introduced Claire to his mother, and they became good friends. Following the death of Father Wyndham's mom, Claire said to him "I'm your mom now". And she sure acted the part on this Saturday evening. After she composed herself well enough to talk, Claire brought down the house with her recollections of the burning of the first St. Jerome Church. Claire recalled that she was only six years old at the time, and as sad as the burning of the church was, she recalled how thrilled she was that night because that was the first night that she had ever been allowed to stay out after dark.

The food at the banquet featured a variety of appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, and freshly carved meats. The music was probably the most eclectic selection you will ever hear. How about a stretch of music that went from Sinatra and Dean Martin, to the musical Evita, Kenny Rogers and the Beegees? Given that this was an older crowd, there was a lot of Sinatra and big band sounds at the start of the evening. But as people took to the dance floor, there were more contemporary dance tunes. The evening also featured some trivia. Father Ed Doughty was one of the featured guests at the head table. He seemed happy with his new assignment as pastor of St. Bernadette in Randolph. He is due to be installed as pastor on October 12, 2003. The principal celebrant will be Archbishop Sean O'Malley no less. Another Father Ed graced us with his presence this weekend. It was former pastor Father Edward Gallagher, who concelebrated Mass at St. Jerome the following morning. (You can read more about Father Gallagher in a separate article about the 75th anniversary mass on this website.) We just want to inform you that these two Father Ed's have run into each other before. It was noted that Father Gallagher had a set of golf clubs in his van. Asked if he had ever played golf with Father Ed Doughty, another golf enthusiast, he said "yes", and "I always beat him".
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75TH ANNIVERSARY MASS
September 28, 2003

by Richard Ruel

It was a weekend of celebration at St. Jerome Parish that began with a banquet at the South Shore Country Club in Hingham on Saturday evening and culminated with an anniversary mass on Sunday morning at 10 AM. The main celebrant was the Most Reverend Richard J. Malone. His concelebrants included the Reverend Thomas F. Wyndham, our Pastor, the Reverend Msgr. Peter T. Martocchio, the Reverend Edward F. Gallagher, Jr., former pastor of St. Jerome, Reverend Arthur M. Calter, and Reverend Paul E. Miceli. The priests were assisted by current St. Jerome Deacon Joseph V. Vitello and former St. Jerome Deacon Michael Hickey.

Ginny Marsh, music director of St. Jerome, directed the choir, a combination of the parish youth, adult, and folk choirs for this occasion. Jane Cleary and Donna McNutt were the cantors for today's mass. Organist Marie Johnson provided the musical accompaniment along with guitarists Tim Maynard and Joe Maynard, drummer Andrew Maynard and flutist Katie Maynard. Al McCarthy and Barbara McCarthy served as today's lectors. The altar servers included Maura Monahan, Mary Quigg, Merrill Wilson, Mike Pollard, and James Wilson.

It should be noted that today's celebration didn't just happen. Much thought and planning went into it. Under the solid and inspiring leadership of Paula Sindoni, the Liturgy Committee devoted much of its last two monthly meetings toward the planning of this mass. One of the more memorable moments of the mass was the Offertory procession. Various gifts were presented by parishioners as symbols of our parish mission and the various ministries. Sister Barbara Joyce, C.S.J., the head of religious education, accompanied by Sarah and Casey Berman, brought up a Bible to be placed at the foot of the altar. Dr. John McGrann, Assistant to the Principal of St. Jerome School, and SJS 8th grader John Quigg, brought up to the altar a picture of St. Jerome, our patron saint, as their gift. Phil and Maureen Walsh of the Parish Pastoral Council offered a picture of St. Jerome Church as their gift. Ray and Mary Neiland, representing the parishioners, left a cross at the altar. Amanda Delorey, the Senior CYO representative, brought up a photo of all the St. Jerome pastors past and present. Bridget White, of the Junior CYO, offered a brick, nails and a hammer in honor of and in gratitude for those who built our church. Representing all of the parish families were Tim and Barbara Donovan and their children Timothy, Emily, Nora, and Catherine Donovan, who carried the bread and wine to the altar.
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Prior to Mass, those attending were greeted at the door by Betty Cole and John Peruzzi. The Junior CYO youth designed and colored individual nametags for all. In his homily, Bishop Richard Malone spoke about the importance of St. Jerome Parish in the lives of its parishioners. It is a place that we turn to for life's importance events i.e. baptism, Reconciliation, the Eucharist, marriage, burial etc. The church is a place to learn and to be challenged by Christ in his holy word. He reminded us that we are all prophets; although we may not be able to tell the future, we are prophets in the sense that we are all responsible to spread and proclaim the Good News of the gospels. He pointed to the empty pews in the church and challenged us to bring people back to church. According to Bishop Malone, only 25% of all Catholics attend Sunday Mass regularly. Put another way, a whopping 75% don't.

Father Wyndham, who singled out and honored 95-year-old Claire Tufts at the banquet the evening before, had her stand up at Mass again today for an encore. (You can read more about Mrs. Tufts in a separate article about the banquet in The Beacon section of the website). Father Wyndham also acknowledged the junior CYO youth who made the name tags and helped out with the reception after Mass. John and Lucille Peruzzi and CYO members and their parents organized the reception. Mary Quinn, as usual, was on the frontlines of the hospitality brigade, but mostly in the kitchen working hard to prepare for the reception.

Father Wyndham also acknowledged former pastor Father Gallagher for his presence and for his past contributions to our parish. He was also honored and presented with a gift on the occasion of his 50th anniversary of his ordination. Father Gallagher was ordained on September 29, 1953. How fortunate we were to have him here with us today. Father Gallagher had been traveling cross-country in a van with California plates, and somehow ended up here just in time for our parish anniversary. Twelve years later, Father Gallagher still has that bounce in his step. He looked great and seemed thrilled to be reunited with old friends.