Florida Catholic | Sacred Heart Parish

50 years of warmth

Sacred Heart Parish known for hospitality, fall festival

JAMIE PILARCZYK | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 10.05.07

Bishop Robert N. Lynch celebrates Mass at Sacred Heart Parish in Pinellas Park in honor the parish's 50th annivarsary.

Bishop Robert N. Lynch presides at the recent jubilee Mass at Sacred Heart Parish. Current pastor, Father John Gerth is at the far right. The bishop compared the Pinellas Park parish to a “lighthouse shining in the darkness of the world around us, a powerhouse of faith.”
JAMIE PILARCZYK | FC

PINELLAS PARK | Parish secretary Terry Marano has seen hundreds of families become parishioners at Sacred Heart Parish here over the past 19 years. When she asks their reasons for joining, she said the response is almost always the same.

The response is also her own.

"It’s the warmth we have," Marano said, reflecting on the parish’s 50-year anniversary, which the community celebrated with a Mass Sept. 22. "We truly have a wonderful community here."

Deron Morris joined the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults at Sacred Heart in 2000. It was a difficult time in Catholic history as sexual abuse scandals swept across the nation, though it didn’t alter Morris’ conviction or change his decision to become a Sacred Heart parishioner.

"It was a dark time with a lot of confusion," Morris said. "It was a horrible thing that happened, but I saw it as the Holy Spirit active in the church, getting rid of things that shouldn’t be there."

He originally chose the parish because of the four-block proximity to his Pinellas Park home, but quickly was taken by the warmth and hospitality Marano felt as well.

He started serving as lector and extraordinary minister of holy Communion and enrolled his two children in the elementary school, now known as Sacred Heart Interparochial School.

"People go out of their way to compliment each other. There is a lot of love," Morris said. "It really is a great parish."

He hopes to continue to see the parish grow. As a Lay Pastoral Ministry Institute student, his chosen project was to create a pastoral council, to support the pastor and dream of the church’s potential. It is enthusiasm like Morris’ that is pervasive at Sacred Heart, pastor Father John Gerth said, as is the air of revitalization.

"The parish is in a place where it is growing," Gerth said. "The spirit in the parish is getting better every day. The best thing is the fact that it constantly desires to come together."

The school is almost at capacity with about 200 students. There are 18 active ministries, from outreach to the homeless to ministries to the widowed and divorcees. The youth ministry reaches out to all students, as well as young adults, and the annual fall festival, held this year from Oct. 10 to 14, is one of the biggest in the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

"For 50 years of its existence, Sacred Heart here in Pinellas Park has been a lighthouse shining in the darkness of the world around us, a powerhouse of faith," Bishop Robert N. Lynch told parishioners at the recent jubilee Mass, calling it a model for parishes in the diocese.

The connectivity and history give the parish stability, Gerth said.

"They will try anything," Father Gerth said. "There is a safety in that they have survived so many others before me, they will survive me (and my initiatives) too."

The 1,600-member parish has a large number of retirees. However, as houses become available in the area, they are being bought up by young families. Father Gerth predicts the demographics will shift in the next decade. What won’t change will be the parish’s openness and sense of welcome in the community.

"We will strive to make liturgies effective in their lives," Father Gerth said, "and we will not be standing still."

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50 years of warmth

Sacred Heart Parish known for hospitality, fall festival

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