Our History (continued)

The Second Decade: The Evolving Catholic Church

The 1970's were a decade of awakening and maturing lay spirituality. Marriage Encounter, a weekend retreat for happily married couples who sought deeper harmony, emphasized the Council's sacramental theology. The Charismatic Renewal, begun on college campuses in the late 1960's, had a similar positive impact on the spirituality of believers. The renewal emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians. The Cursillo (little course), a weekend retreat that focused on personal witness talks on accepting the love of God, the power of the sacraments, and the Church, was a mini-course in Catholicism. The retreat, like Marriage Encounter and Charismatic Renewal, draws participants to a fuller and richer level of personal faith.

At the same time as the Catholic population swelled, churchgoing started to decline. Seventy-five percent attended in the early fifties, sixty-three percent by the end of the sixties, fifty-two percent in 1979, forty-four percent by 1987, and thirty-five percent nationally by 2000. The shortage of priests and religious began to have an impact in our second decade. In 1973, Bishop Kellenberg wrote to all parishes in the diocese apprising everyone of the decrease in numbers of applications for priesthood and religious life.

Under the influence of the Council, the permanent diaconate was re-established in the universal church. In 1980, there would be 4,725 deacons and that number would increase to over 13,000 by 2000. Although they can baptize ordinarily, officiate at wedding ceremonies, and preach when allowed, deacons cannot preside at Mass, give absolution, or anoint the sick. In 1979 and 1980, five deacon candidates who were parishioners, completed their studies at the seminary, were ordained for the church, and then assigned to St. Elizabeth. Two young men, sons of parishioners, were ordained to the priesthood for service in religious orders. It would not be until 1987 that a priest from the parish would be ordained for service in our diocese.

In Rome, Pope Paul VI made his last public appearance before his death.  John-Paul I  was elected Pope on August 26th, 1978. Three weeks later he suffered a heart attack and died. John-Paul II would become our Pope for the next 26 years, until his death in 2005. In 1979, Pope John-Paul visits the United States for the first time. Mother Theresa, serving the poor in Calcutta, India, is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1981, an assassination attempt is made on John-Paul II.

The Changing World

The 1970's were a welcome change from the disruption of the previous decade; however as with all periods in world and American history, they were filled with their share of difficulties and achievements. Direct involvement in Vietnam ended in 1973 and at the same time a global energy crisis emerged. Gas prices surged to over $2.00 per gallon. Long lines at gasoline stations were the rule and odd/even day purchases of fuel became mandatory. The World Trade Center reigned briefly as the world's tallest building, topped only by the Sears Tower a year later. In 1973, the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision allowed abortion on demand.

The Watergate scandal toppled Richard Nixon from the Presidency in 1974. Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in and granted Nixon a full pardon.

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and the United States, along with 57 other countries, boycotted the Moscow Summer Olympic Games.

Ronald Reagan was elected President in 1980, ousting the incumbent Jimmy Carter. Double digit inflation was experienced and supply-side economics applied. A massive federal budget deficit begins. Sandra Day O'Connor was selected the first woman to the Supreme Court.

The Neighborhood

During the 1970's, the sod farms that filled the land on Route 110 around the expressway were sold to real estate developers, and companies large and small bought into Melville. Corporate office buildings seemed to pop-up everywhere as the area around Route 110 north and south of the Long Island Expressway became a corridor for corporate businesses.

Tom Brokaw's greatest generation was aging. Advances in medicine lead to longer, healthier lives that resulted in an increasing senior population. Social support groups were formed by the Town of Huntington . One of these began meeting in our Center. Weekly mass was offered at a new facility for the elderly infirm, Birchwood Nursing Home.

The state run Long Island Development Center in Melville provided care for developmentally disabled youth. In the early seventies, a full time chaplain, a Franciscan priest, was hired by the state and resided in our rectory.

Parish Statistics

Our church population of registered Catholic families had stabilized with the 1973 census reporting 3646 families and a total Catholic population of 11,743 people. In 1973 St. Elizabeth was a very young parish with only 321 people 70 and over! The total number of adults was 6,344. Children under 18 was an amazing 5400. The baby boomer generation had filled the schools and our parish center. During the next ten years those numbers would drop precipitously and schools would be closed.

By the end of the second decade (the early eighties), the number of children receiving First Communion had fallen from over 400 to 100. Grades 1 to 5 now totaled 800 as compared to almost 1500 in 1975.

At the same time as the Catholic population swelled, churchgoing started to decline. Seventy-five percent attended in the early fifties, sixty-three percent by the end of the sixties and fifty-two percent by 1979.

In 1978, the first Bishop's Annual Appeal was announced by the Diocese with a diocesan goal of five million. Our first parish goal was set by the bishop's office at $61,000.

The Parish

In 1970, our Parish Center became the home for annual diocesan wide Mini-Congresses which were run by the Josephite Sisters. Attendance in the mid to late seventies ranged from five to seven hundred, with over 50 workshops on theology. These Mini-Congresses continued into the early eighties.

At the start of the second decade, there were nine weekend Masses, upstairs and down, and three daily Masses. There was an Adult choir, folk groups, a children's choir, mass with a leader of song, and a mass without music. With the decline in Mass attendance and the difficulty in getting priests from the Seminary, Father Kane reduced the weekend schedule to seven at the end of the seventies.

In 1979 and 1980, five deacon candidates who were parishioners, completed their studies at the Seminary, were ordained for the church, and then assigned to St. Elizabeth. Two young men, sons of parishioners, were ordained to the priesthood for service in religious orders.

Liturgically, there were revised rites for all the sacraments. We had anointing of the sick at weekend mass in 1975 and our first communal penance service in 1980. In 1977, the U.S. bishops asked for and received from the Vatican permission for communicants to receive in the hand or on the tongue. Holy Communion was offered at weekend Mass under both forms (Body and Blood) for the first time in 1981.

Adult lay formation, started in the first decade, was critically important for the Church's future. Lectors began in the first decade and Eucharistic ministers in 1973. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), now recommended for inquirers in the faith, rather than one-on-one instruction, was introduced to the parish in 1981, as those seeking baptism or full initiation into the Church were welcomed into a yearlong process of formation culminating in the Easter Vigil Mass.

A Parish-centered Pre-Cana (a marriage preparation program with married couples instructing the engaged) started in 1972. A more extensive baptism preparation program was implemented to complement the revised baptism ritual that affirmed parents as the primary educators of their children in the ways of faith.

The education and formation of teens took the form of RAP (Religion and People) discussion groups. Support groups for divorced and separated Catholics were formed. Alcoholics Anonymous found an inviting meeting place in our Parish Center .

There was an adult choir, folk groups, a children's choir, mass with a leader of song, and a mass without music.

Next .The Third Decade: Transition

Go back to read about the First Decade