OLD

NEW

This community began as a mission of St. Monica's Parish in Sussex to serve the growing population of Vernon in 1963. The three room building, which was formerly the McAfee school was purchased and renovated to become the St. Francis de Sales Chapel. The chapel was blessed and the first Mass was celebrated by Msgr. Haag on May 9, 1963.       Two years later when Our Lady of Fatima community in Highland Lakes became a parish, St. Francis de Sales mission became part of that parish. It was Our Lady of Fatima's pastor, Father Aloysius Busch, who, anticipating the future needs, directed the purchase in 1966 of the 20 acres of land on which the present church sits.       On June 23, 1979, Bishop Frank Rodimer established St. Francis de Sales as a full-fledged parish and installed a new pastor, Father John Boland, to shepherd it. Four days later, at the first parish meeting, plans were laid for the future. Within a short period of time, a second Sunday Mass was added to the schedule as the community continued to grow. The church, which could hold 225 people comfortably, was filling up fast.       While 76 parishioners attended that first meeting in 1979, nearly 600 attended an important meeting only three years later - a meeting called to decide whether to build a new church on the 20 acres purchased by Father Busch for the future. Had the future arrived? Overwelmingly, the parishioners supported the huge undertaking. A building steering committee was established in 1981. The hard work began.       Several meetings were held to solicit ideas and priorities from parishioners. With that, the new church was designed. On August 24, 1986, after 19 months of construction, the first Mass was held here.       Since then, with the grace of God, the parish has not only grown in size, but in ministry activity as well. Hundreds of parishioners volunteer their time and spirits in areas such as Parish Outreach, Family Enrichment and Religious Education. Specific ministries for young mothers and re-singled adults, bible studies and "Bagel Sundays" have answered the needs of many more.

We invite our parish community and our visitors to set aside special time to renew and reflect at the beauty within our walls and outside on our grounds. Steel and concrete, glass and wood shape and form our church but within the heart of the church there is much more. Our beautiful church was built with the visionary dreams, efforts and hard work of many and most importantly a blessing from God. From outside the church       Did you know...

In the landscaped garden area of the entrance driveway, there are three large stones which remind us that God is Trinity. God exists in three persons. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a mystery which is the basis of our faith.
		As you drive through the parking lot, take notice of the statue of the Blessed Mother on the lawn by the rectory. The statue is from the old church and stood outside it for years.
The granite monument which greets parishioners near the entrance is shaped to represent the top of a Celtic Cross. Kay Conroy, a friend of the parish created the illustration engraved on the stone which was donated by Ferguson Funeral Home. The image of a typical Vernon family meeting the Holy Family encourages us all to identify with Jesus, Mary and Joseph and to pray with them often as a family. The words "Ora Pro Nobis" are Latin for "Pray for us".
		Planted to the left of the monument is a large shrub called the burning bush. It is to remind us of Moses and his struggles. One day when Moses was looking after his sheep on a hillside, God sent him a sign. A bush in front of him burst into flames but the flames did not burn the bush. A voice called to Moses. It came from the middle of the bush, "Moses, take off your shoes and come near. This is holy ground." It was the voice of God. Moses knelt before the burning bush, God told him to lead his people out of Egypt to a new land. They would be free after more than four hundred years of slavery.
To the left of the main doors a brass cornerstone welcomes you to St. Francis de Sales Church. Our first Mass was celebrated here on August 24, 1986.
		In the Grotto are statues representing Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette. When Bernadette was a young girl "a beautiful lady dressed in white, girdled with a blue sash" appeared to her in a niche in a rock grotto high above the ground. The beautiful lady appeared to Bernadette eighteen times between February 11, 1858 and July 16, 1958. On her last visit she revealed her name when she said "I am the Immaculate Conception". From that time on, Lourdes became a place of prayer and special devotion to Our Lady and her Divine Son. More inormation on Our Lady of Lourdes
A bell inscribed with the words "McAfee school 1899" hangs from the top of our bell tower. This bell once called children to school. After purchasing the old school building from the Vernon Township school system, it was removed from the belfry of the roof and placed in a newly built church bell tower. The bell called the congregation to worship for the first Mass at the new St. Francis de Sales chapel on May 5, 1963. After our new church was constructed, it was carefully moved and installed in a new bell tower and now calls the faithful to worship before every Mass.

Most of the text for the Parish History pages was taken from the Renew pamphlet created by Anne Marie Coffey

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