In December 2017, Father Mel Ayala, then the pastor of St. Nicholas Parish in Laurel, Maryland, celebrated the 50th anniversary of the parish community, noting the vibrancy of the people and telling the Catholic Standard he was confident the parish would be “good going forward.” On June 12, 2021, Father Ayala – now the pastor of St. Andrew Apostle in Silver Spring – joined the current pastor of St. Nicholas Parish, Father Timothy Baer, and Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory to celebrate a Mass honoring the golden anniversary of the church building during a joyous gathering as COVID-19 restrictions lessened and parishioners returned to worship together in the place they call home.
In his opening remarks, Father Baer, St. Nicholas’ pastor since last July, said he “was so glad to have something to come together to celebrate,” since taking over the parish in the midst of the global pandemic. He welcomed Cardinal Gregory back to the parish who recalled his last visit included blessing a new parish hall for St. Nicholas. “Soon thereafter we shut down for a year and a half,” Cardinal Gregory said. “I do hope I can improve on my record.”
The liturgy marked 50 years to the day when then Cardinal Patrick O’Boyle, then the archbishop of Washington, dedicated the brick church building on top of the hill on June 12, 1971. Prior to the dedication, the parishioners of St. Nicholas met in the community room of a nearby apartment building and later at the Laurel Cinema.
“Everyone who is here has a reason to rejoice,” Cardinal Gregory said. “Fifty years ago today, St. Nicholas dedicated its church as a sign of the love and generosity of this vibrant community.”
Cardinal Gregory acknowledged the happy day for the members of the parish, including some who were present at the original dedication. Former St. Nicholas pastors joining him to concelebrate the Mass included Msgr. Joseph Ranieri, pastor from 1976-1982 who is the Archdiocese of Washington’s longtime coordinator of pastoral care for priests; Father Robert Buchmeier, pastor from 1998-2005 who is now the pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Garrett Park; and the three most recent pastors, Father Jack Kennealy, now the pastor of St. Matthias the Apostle Parish in Lanham, Father Ayala and Father Baer. Also concelebrating the Mass was the weekend assistant at St. Nicholas, Father W. Paul Hill, a retired priest who was the longtime pastor of St. Pius X Parish in Bowie.
Deacon Eric Simontis, the chief financial officer for the Archdiocese of Washington who serves as a deacon at St. Nicholas, assisted at the Mass while longtime parishioner and retired Deacon Perry Iannaconi participated in the liturgy with the congregation.
In his homily, Cardinal Gregory said throughout time humans have built exclusive and ornate places to worship even while debating over whether such fancy places are needed for spiritual spaces. Ultimately however, buildings can only evoke the people who are the Church, he added.
“Churches are visible reminders of people of faith,” Cardinal Gregory said. “They are living symbols to the human heart as a reminder that we are duty-bound to give thanks and praise to the God who fashioned us.”
Cardinal Gregory said people build worship spaces to show others “the dignity they enjoy as a people who God has called His own.” St. Nicholas stands as a sacramental reminder of “who you are as God’s own temple,” the prelate added.
The cardinal noted that 50 years ago the building was erected as a labor of love representing the founders of the parish. “Cardinal O’Boyle came to dedicate the brick and mortar but also praise the people whose faith and generosity built it,” he said.
“Happy birthday to the church building but more importantly happy birthday to the people who make this building holy,” Cardinal Gregory said.
According to Father Baer, the people of St. Nicholas are more and more diverse as parishioners include original founders and new immigrants, especially from Africa, as well as residents from surrounding neighborhoods featuring mansions, as well as typical suburban homes and urban apartments.
“This is a very diverse area here,” Father Baer said who added he was thrilled that the parishioners are coming back to church as the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Although the parishioners kept in touch with one another during the pandemic by telephone, he noted the greatest challenge will be to focus on immediate outreach now that it is safe to come together. Father Baer said he might go door-to-door to check on the older parishioners and use other creative ways such as technology to reach out to younger parishioners.
“St. Nicholas offers the stability of being here for 50 years as well as the growing diversity of the past two decades,” said Father Baer. The priest also described the parish as a “magnet for the worship of God” as well as somewhere to provide the corporal works of mercy. Parishioners are active in food distribution, helping the homeless shelter and in the pro-life pregnancy center in Laurel. Many of the parishioners have been responding to additional needs due to COVID-19 and many were frustrated when visits to nursing homes were cancelled. “We are looking forward to starting that up again,” Father Baer said.
The parish’s anniversary celebration for its church resulted in both “a sigh of relief and exultation of joy,” said Father Baer, who added that he was left with the “feeling that we can move on to the future – thinking more about spreading the Gospel and being the place where people can come find the Lord in the Eucharist.”
Zacharia Fang joined St. Nicholas in 2008 and used to come for daily Mass until his eyes failed and he could no longer drive. Now he calls a ride share to drive him to his parish.
For Ginny Novak, one of the original parishioners at St. Nicholas, the anniversary Mass evoked emotions similar to those from memories of the original dedication in 1971. “It was a very exciting day – we worked hard to get a church.” According to Novak, the parish’s founding pastor, Msgr. Thomas Kane, had everybody working – even a group to install the pews that were tracked down from another parish. “It was a fun time, too,” Novak said, “Msgr. Kane gathered us together.” She said coming back from the pandemic to celebrate once again was just as joyous. “Today was really exciting – a new thing again,” Novak said. “It was a thrill to see everyone here – this is my parish forever.”
Usher Karl Schmidt and his wife Patricia have been parishioners for 35 years. “The people make a difference – the family and the community,” said Schmidt, who always tries to greet anyone who comes through the door. His wife serves on the altar society, the flower society and is a Eucharistic minister.
Longtime parishioner Martha Borger said she appreciates the smaller size of the parish because “you don’t feel insignificant – everybody’s so friendly.” Theresa Corbett agreed, noting the closeness of the people. Corbett joined the parish in 1984 after her dad was a parishioner.
Simon Baidoo joined the parish in 2005 and returns to St. Nicholas even though he has moved away from Laurel. “I still come here – it’s a very diverse community, more a family,” he said.
Georgianne McNery-Rewalt, a parishioner since the 1970s, had all seven children baptized at St. Nicholas. “It’s peace when I come here,” she said.
