The Bishop’s Church Emergency Fund (BCEF) provides financial support for church buildings in the diocese needing repairs and renovation, usually with a special focus on emergency and unforeseen needs. Through the BCEF, you can support the critical needs identified by the Bishop.
The first BCEF call of 2025 is for parking lot repaving for St. Gregory’s, Parsippany. You can donate online, or mail a check payable to Diocese of Newark with BCEF Call #1 in the memo line to: Diocese of Newark, Attn: BCEF, 31 Mulberry St., Newark, NJ 07102.
St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church is a beautiful 1968 A-frame building in suburban Parsippany, the largest municipality in Morris County with a population surpassing 50,000. On its website St. Gregory’s is described as “a caring, inclusive and affirming church…so whether you are single, have a family, are empty-nesters, starting over, whoever you are, and wherever you come from, you have a place among us.” St. Gregory’s celebrates the Eucharist each Sunday at 10 am with an average attendance of about twenty members.
For the past three years the Rev. Dr. Aaron J. Oliver, SSC, has served as Priest in Residence at St. Gregory’s. Ordained to the priesthood in 2011 following studies at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Fr. Aaron, as he is known to parishioners, also earned a Doctor of Ministry degree at New York Theological Seminary and is a member of the Society of the Holy Cross (SSC.) “Early on I was struck by the warmth and generosity of the parish,” he says. “I was also amazed to see the significant impact a parish of this size could make on the surrounding community.”
In addition to providing facilities for two 12-step programs and worship space for an Indian congregation, St. Gregory’s interior has excellent acoustics and is used for many music offerings throughout the year. The parish is also active in knitting scarves and hats for the Seamans Church Institute and undertakes a drive during Epiphany to collect urgently needed supplies for North Porch Women and Infants’ Centers.
Chief among these external ministries is St. Gregory’s Community Garden, a thriving food production initiative. Most of the gardeners who tend the parish’s 20+ individual plots are community members, not parishioners. Gardeners grow for themselves but also provide a significant portion of fresh produce to a local food pantry and senior center. “We can always use help tending, weeding and mulching,” says the Garden’s webpage, while noting that parishioners are also willing to “help other communities with information on how to start a Community Garden.”
Elena Munoz-Rodriguez and her husband have been active members of St. Gregory’s since 2018. With the assistance of the parish’s warden, Bonnie Keith, Elena has taken the lead in accomplishing what had become a most pressing need. She explained that the church’s driveway and upper and lower parking lots had deteriorated to such a degree that inquiries were being received from brokers thinking the church was closed and might be for sale. Concerns over loose asphalt and serious potholes were also being voiced by the staff and parents of the nursery school which provides the parish with much needed rental income.
There was no choice but to repair the parking lots and the work was completed several years ago. To do so however, funds had to be withdrawn from the parish’s endowment. The final budget included removal of the old asphalt and debris, laying down 2.5 inches of new asphalt, and repainting the stripes for parking. The total cost was over $20,000. Considering the important role they play in the Parsippany community, I hope you will be as generous as you can be with this BCEF Call to help St. Gregory’s reinstate their endowment as much as possible after meeting the daunting expense.
God’s peace,
+Carlye J. Hughes
The Rt. Rev. Carlye J. Hughes
Bishop of Newark
