Our History (continued)

The Third Decade: Transition

The Neighborhood

The baby boom balloon lost air as we moved into our third decade! The children who filled the schools in the first decade had graduated, were employed, and were planning marriage as the third decade began. The birth rate decreased and school closings began. Memorial Junior High School and a number of South Huntington (District 13) elementary schools were closed due to low enrollment. Pidgeon Hill Elementary school (on the grounds of Memorial Jr. High) had been closed since the early 70's.

In 1984, Bishop McGann made the difficult decision to close two diocesan high schools because of declining enrollment. Our neighbor, Holy Family Diocesan High School became Saint Anthony High School as the Franciscan brothers moved from their Smithtown campus to our parish and for the first time in their history, became a coed school in the process. Significantly, St Pius X Preparatory Seminary in Uniondale, consisting originally of a four year high school and the first two years of college for young men interested in the parish priesthood, was also closed.

Leadership

At St. Elizabeth, in the late seventies and early eighties, the first generation of parish leaders, Sisters of St. Joseph, began to move on to other ministries in the diocese. New women religious succeeded them along with a smaller percentage of full and part time lay leaders. By 1984, the bulletin had changed its listing of staff from 'religious' staff to 'parish' staff due to the ongoing impact of lay formation. Each year, from the late sixties onward, parishioners receive adult religious education and were given awards from the bishop for their progress. More and more, the laity were empowered through knowledge and faith formation, and given numerous opportunities to minister in the parish.

On June 12, 1985, at the age of seventy-five, having served for twenty-three years as pastor, Father, now Monsignor, Kane, reluctantly retired, with residence in the rectory.  Father John Fitzgerald, assigned as our second pastor, transferring from a pastorate at St. Luke Church in Brentwood. In the spring of 1990, Father Fitzgerald announced that he was going to take another parish assignment. Father Bruce Powers was appointed our new pastor on June 20th , 1990.

Leadership Style

In 1990, Father Powers inaugurated a different leadership style, called a Pastoral Team to indicate a collegial style of leadership. Decisions would be made on a consensus basis. Whenever possible, the Team tried to involve parishioners in addressing the concerns of the parish. This collaborative leadership, rather than a top down style, has been revisited and revised through the years by the team members and remains a work in progress. In 1990 it was the Pastoral Team that addressed the two critical problems: the Church renovation project, and the dire financial picture of both the overdue renovation project and overall parish finances.

Renovation

Upon becoming pastor in 1985, Father Fitzgerald was apprised of the need to renovate the church. A church Renovation Committee was eventually established in 1987 with oversight responsibility for the project. An architect was hired, plans were formed, and by 1990 bids had been taken on the building contract. The renovation plans, however, created a crisis in our parish community, first with the closeness of the vote, 52% to 48% in favor, and second, with numerous delays once the plans had been made. The original architect left unexpectedly, complications arose from state regulations on the removal of the asbestos tile floor and the in ground oil tanks, and the design work on the stained glass windows was rejected by the Renovation Committee. The unanticipated delays led to parishioner anger, frustration, and loss of morale. Couples planning their weddings were told that they would have to marry in a neighboring parish because of an impending renovation, only to find as their special day approached, that they could have been married at St. Elizabeth. Disgruntled parishioners decreased their parish financial support and the weekly collection fell significantly.

Under Father Powers, the renovation of the church would go forward as planned by the Renovation Committee. Money had been raised and $200,000 already spent on architect fees. The contract with a construction company was soon signed, and demolition of the church interior was in process by mid-August. With the advice of the parish staff, Father Powers called what was to be the first of a series of parish wide meetings to address the crisis. Drenching rain did not deter 425 people from meeting the new pastor and hearing the strategy devised for financial triage, morale building and a decision to move forward with the renovation.

Finances 

In June, 1990, an auditing of the books revealed that the reserves had been totally depleted. While the weekly collection of neighboring parishes had increased some 25% in the 1980's, St. Elizabeth weekly collection had decreased 6%. At the same time, expenses increased 20%. By July, 1990, $760,000 had been pledged by 824 out of 3200 registered families and $590,000 had been collected. Total renovation cost would be at least $1.6 million. A new Renovation Fund drive closed that gap but not enough and a loan was taken for one million dollars, payable over ten years. An ad hoc Finance Committee was formed to address the financial crisis. An annual financial report was published and the reconstituted Finance Committee proved invaluable.

Sacrificial giving began in March 1992 with witness talks on two weekends in Lent. Response was favorable, and the following weekends showed an immediate and significant climb in donations. The generous response to the spirituality of sacrificial giving helped our parish make great progress financially. We were on target to repay the diocese $100,000 per year with interest if expenses and revenue remained fairly stable in the coming years. In 2001, ten years from its inception, the diocesan loan was repaid with interest.

Parish

Despite the decline in morale in the late 80s, a successful "Festival of People" was held each fall on the parish east lawn. It was a community building event for all ages. A large tent provided shelter for dining and games were held on the parish grounds. The festival would continue through the early 90s.

With the change in leadership style in 1990, the decision was made to hold "Town Hall" style meetings to elicit the parishioners' hopes and dreams. The first meeting addressed the concerns of the renovation and finances. At the second parish "Town Hall" meeting, held in May 1991, about 300 parishioners brainstormed in small groups on the import of the Vision and Mission statement prepared by the Pastoral Team. Three goals were set. Youth ministry, evangelization and parish spiritual renewal, were researched and acted on from June to September 1991. A Youth Minister was hired on a part-time basis and shared with a neighboring parish. In addition, the job description of one of the parish Directors of Religious Education changed from sacrament preparation to Home Visitation ministry. RENEW training of the core coordinating committee for the three year program began in February 1992, and the first semester of six started in October 1992. Two hundred fifty people participated in home based faith sharing groups through Lent 1995.

Feeling the dissatisfaction that many religious educators have about drop-off programs that does not reach parents of children, St. Elizabeth parish started a pilot religious education program in September 1989 that involved children and parents together. The model used is family-centered and lectionary-based. This pilot was expanded in September 1991 and made the primary thrust of religious education.

Since 1992, we have been members of a regional school (Trinity). The six parishes in this area are part of the region with the main campus on the grounds of St. Anthony parish in East Northport . The financial support porvided by the parish would range between 11 - 14% of collections over the next 10 years.

The Fourth Decade: Renovation

Go Back to read about the First Decade

Go Back to read about the Second Decade