Pastor's Corner

From the Pastor

Pastor's Corner

March 1, 2026

As we look forward to choosing the name of our new parish, there are several things that we need to consider, not the least of which is what the name signifies to us and to the community.

Dunmore’s first parish was created in 1856. That means that there has been a recognized Catholic presence in Dunmore for 170 years! That also reminds us of the fact that we are planning right now for the next 170 years of the Catholic faith in Dunmore.

Over the past 170 years, a total of six parishes grew in the borough. As the population increased, people from many different countries moved into the area and created their own faith communities. These parishes arose from the people’s desire to pray in their native languages and to celebrate their traditions.

Think of the excitement of our ancestors as they formed those new parishes! These were people who faced many challenges as they began a new life in a new country. But even though hey came from other countries, they did not focus so much on what they left behind, but instead looked to the future. They knew that God was the most important thing in their lives, and their faith remained firm while everything around them was changing. These are people who carried their faith with them into the future and let it mold and shape their new reality in America.

Today, the population of Dunmore has decreased and so has the number of practicing Catholics. Along with the decline in the number of diocesan priests, this has necessitated the consolidation of parishes.

Christ the King was consolidated with Immaculate Conception in the Hill section many years ago. St. Casmir’s and All Saints consolidated with Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and St Rocco’s consolidated with St. Anthony’s. And now, the two remaining parishes are being consolidated into one!

As I have said, it is an exciting time. We have a wonderful opportunity, just like our ancestors, to create an active, vibrant parish for all Catholics in Dunmore and the vicinity to pray and worship, to celebrate our faith, and to actively proclaim the Good News.

We now have the same opportunity to bring our faith forward into our own future and be the creators of our new parish.

As we choose a name for our new parish, I encourage you to look to the future. In doing so, we celebrate our past, bring forward our traditions and memories, but we also seek to create something new that speaks to our world today.

I encourage you to prayerfully consider what name you choose. I also encourage you not to be tied to something from the past. Too often you may hear people talk about “them” as opposed to “us,” almost as if there is a competition that someone has to win or lose.

Remember, we are all one in Christ! We can all be grateful for the faith that was modeled and taught to us within the parishes of our youth, because that is what has brought us to the present day. I pray that our new name will help unite us in the call to live our faith, that it will inspire us with an example of courage and faith, and that it will help us to grow in our relationship to God and to form our community as faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ who have the power to influence the world!

Faith Like a Child

If you Google Search recommendations on how to raise generous children, almost every list of ideas begins with — or at least contains — the directive for adults to be good models of generosity themselves. Our children learn from our actions much more than from our words. Of course, when I think back over the years while my children were growing up, I think I may have learned as much from them as they learned from me. There is a time between early childhood and middle school where a child seems to be freer to give and share than at any other time in life. It is around the age of First Communion when the cries of “mine” turn to laughter and smiles, and the urge to be a part of something bigger than oneself leads to sharing. Before you know it, the child hits the pre-teen years, and once again, he or she becomes the center of the universe. I believe that the previous paragraph is all true, however, the stages described seem to repeat themselves throughout adulthood. Don’t you agree? Sometimes we fall into seeing ourselves as the center of the universe, or we become consumed by our state in life or with what we have acquired. Also, we at times are generous and loving people. It is sin that draws us back into ourselves and away from any meaningful life of stewardship and generosity. In order to be freed for love, we need role models to help us see what really matters. We need to reflect on the example of many of our brothers and sisters in Christ. And, yes, we need to look to children who may be at the point in their lives where sharing is fun, and love is something in abundance.

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