[Cedar Grove/Verona News] Rev. Jerry Racioppi came to the Church of the Holy Spirit in Verona about a year ago after serving as the seminarian and deacon at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Montclair.
He is relatively new to the ministry, having been ordained in June of 2015. Previously, Racioppi had a full and busy career in the hotel industry, working in human resources.
“People ask me if I [changed careers] because I was unhappy, but that wasn’t it,” he says. “I really enjoyed my work.” Coming from a Roman Catholic background, Racioppi chose the Episcopal Church for his place of ministry, but received his masters of Divinity from Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, which is a Methodist seminary. He did, however, need to take one semester of classes at the General Episcopal Seminary in NYC.
After having worked in the city for 13 years, he was glad to be able to complete most of his training close to home. The commute was something he was glad to not have to carry over from his previous career. He is pleased by the openness between denominations that has developed and his own training in the ministry is illustrative of the growing ecumenical relationship between churches. He remembers that as a child growing up, being open to other denominations wasn’t something he considered. Now, there is a lot of communication and cooperation between churches.
Racioppi is a Verona native and considers it a privilege to “come back to my home town as rector.”
During his time serving at St. Luke’s, there was a regular practice of having worship services outside during the summer months. The services were called “Worship without Walls,” and were held at different locations throughout Montclair. Sometimes held at a park, or a parking lot, or the church lawn, the services provided a different type of worship experience while also increasing visibility in the community, opening more than their doors to the community, but bringing the worship to the community in an informal way.
During Racioppi’s first summer at Church of the Holy Spirit he brought the practice of outdoor worship with him, calling it “Mass on the Grass.”
