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PARISH PROFILE
 St. Jerome, Newport News:‘the people kept us here’
By Barbara Hughes
Special to The Catholic Virginian
“When we moved to the area and began looking for a church, it was the kneelers that appealed to us,” laughed David Underwood as he recalled his first visit to St. Jerome Church in the Denbigh area of Newport News.
“But it was the people who kept us here,” Mr. Underwood added.
“There are so many open-arms people who truly are the light of Christ. There are the ‘war horses’ that have been around forever and still keep coming, but there’s also an incredible energy and interest in the youth.
“As a forty-something, this is where I want my children to grow their faith,” said the father of two children, ages five and eight.
David Underwood chairs the fellowship committee at St. Jerome and considers his ministry among the least important in the church.
“We sponsor the fun things, dances, coffee after Mass, ice cream socials, Thanksgiving dinner and potluck supper,” he explained. “As a first year chair, I’m just building on what my predecessor Jan Durso began.”
An eagerness to give credit to others seems to be a recurring theme at St. Jerome.
Blanca O’Brien, a parishioner since 1969, said, “It’s people living their faith that makes me want to be a part of this parish. We have a full line of ministers working on numerous tasks.”
She pointed to Jeanie Hart, assistant to Father Joseph Majewski, pastor, who has been at the parish for 28 years, calling her “the Mother Teresa of St. Jerome’s.”
 Over the years Jeanie has served as a catechist and has been a member of the Justice & Peace Committee for 27 years. She worked with immigration and refugee resettlement, worked with the homeless and served on the liturgy committee. She also sits on the board of Refugee and Immigration Services and the board of Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia, and the Salvation Army Home Shelter Board.
When asked about her involvement, Jeanie responded, “St. Jerome Parish has given me the opportunity to use any talents God may have given to me and I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had.
“The world is definitely filled with amazing people.”
Parishioners are quick to agree that their pastor, Father Majewski, is one of those people.
“Father Joe is so accommodating. He never says ‘No,’” said Ms. O’Brien who works at a funeral home. She explained that when she needs someone to preside at a funeral, she knows she can always count on Father Joe.
One of the programs in which the priest is directly involved at the parish is “A Journey to Wholeness” which he created. “It takes participants through the process of human development and offers an integrated approach of mind, body and spirit,” Father Majewski explained.
 About 10 to 12 people participate each year and many continue on as a support group after the course is completed. This year he is hoping to offer it on a regional level.
Father Joe has been pastor at St. Jerome for 12 years and has seen it grow and evolve into its current population of 1,450 households.
The worshipping community, which first celebrated liturgies at R.O. Nelson Elementary School, dedicated its church and parish center in 1968. By 1986 a new worship center was dedicated to accommodate the rapidly growing parish community.
Father Joe describes the parish as a diverse mix of ethnic backgrounds and ages which explains in part the intergenerational approach to whole family catechesis.
One Sunday a month parishioners of all ages gather for CORE, Celebrating Our Religious Experiences. The evening begins with a potluck supper.
Following the meal, children and middle school students head to age appropriate sessions while a guest speaker addresses the adults and high school students.
Teens play an important role in parish life at St. Jerome. The youth choir plays and sings at the 9:30 Family Liturgy and at the monthly XLT praise and worship nights on the first Thursday of the month.
 Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament begins after the 8:00 morning Mass and culminates with the praise and worship led by the teens followed by evening Benediction.
Teenagers also gather bi-monthly for Teen Life. The format of song, Scripture, a teaching and a witness talk draws about 110 young people.
Margie Curtis, Minister of Christian Formation, started the Youth Group. As it grew, the parish decided it needed a full-time and a part-time youth minister to meet the needs of young parishioners.
Full-time youth minister Eric Palm said mission trips are another important part of teen involvement at the parish. Although the trips are youth driven, adults from the parish and even whole families participate.
The mission trips to Buckingham County run from Wednesday to Wednesday. People come and go during the week. A flexible schedule allows 60-plus people to contribute when and in whatever way they can. Some families can only participate on the weekends.
“St. Jerome supplies the manpower, materials and know-how,” Eric said. The total cost is about $10,000 and they serve 19 sites within the rural county.
The accommodations are “rustic,” explained Eric. People sleep in sleeping bags on the floor and no work is done on Sunday. That day is reserved for Mass and celebrating community at a cookout.
 The appreciation for family life is evident in that St. Jerome’s is one of the few parishes whose budget includes a stipend for a person to be in charge of the nursery. Child care is provided during Sunday liturgies and parish evening events, making attendance for people with young children possible.
In 1994 when Do Nguyen and his family emigrated from Vietnam with his mother, father and five siblings, St. Jerome’s was there for them.
“They picked us up at the airport and took us to a home that was fully furnished,” he said. “Everything from cereal in the pantry and milk in the refrigerator to shoes and clothing were there when we arrived.
“They took us to the hospital, to school and helped us with our English.”
Several years later when six-month-old Dustin Nguyen needed a liver transplant, seven parishioners volunteered to be tested. They were willing to donate a portion of their liver to save the child’s life.
It’s that type of generosity along with a commitment to Justice and Peace that keeps the parishioners involved all year round.
In addition to numerous community outreach projects that support the poor and homeless, St. Jerome’s supports a school in Juarez, Mexico and bought 37 water buffalos as a Heifer Lenten project.
 Another ministry at St. Jerome that brings people together is the parish nurse program. Mary Beth Helsel, RN, trains ushers and interested parishioners in CPR and the use of an Automatic External Defibrillator.
A parish nurse is present at every liturgy should the need for medical attention become necessary. Under the leadership of Rose Livingston and Judi Allison, the group provides blood pressure screenings, and education via the bulletin board in the commons, pamphlets and through visiting the sick in the parish.
Ms. Livingston explained that as a professional working in the hospital or nursing homes, there was never enough time to sit with patients and offer the emotional and spiritual support that was needed.
“Through home and hospital visitation, the parish nurse program affords me the freedom to sit and console and comfort those who are struggling with health issues,” she said. “We don’t do hands-on nursing care, so as nurses we can do what we couldn’t do before.”
Ivy Lee, Parish Pastoral Council chair, seems to have summed up what many parishioners at St. Jerome have discovered. Although she was talking about the liturgies at St. Jerome, the same could be said of almost anything.
“I get out of it what I put into it,” she said. “Like anything, if I am open, the experience is very fulfilling.”
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Copyright © 2008 The Catholic Virginian Press. Articles from Catholic News Services, including Fr. Dietzen’s column, may not be reproduced due to copyright considerations.
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