"Alive. Vibrant. Visionary." These three words appear in the minutes of the first parish meeting held the summer of 1979 - over 30 years ago. Those 76 parishioners, the first for St. Francis de Sales, moved the parish forward with enthusiastic service. One of the first official activities was to paint the new church, a simple clapboard building that had served as Vernon's first schoolhouse.
This community began as a mission of St. Monica's Parish in Sussex to serve the growing population of Vernon in 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 aniticpating the future needs, directed the purchase in 1966 of the 20 acres of land on which the present chuch 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 sheperd 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 future use. Had the future arrived? Overwhelmingly, the parishioners supported this 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 there.
Since then, with the grace of God, the parish has not only grown in size, but in minstry 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 teenagers and young adults, bible studies and "Bagel Sundays" have answered the needs of many more.
Our website offers a snapshot of our parish ministries and activities. Every kindness we do for another, every service we provide for those who need us, gives glory to God. This is at the heart of all our ministries.