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Once upon a time, some Catholic families in the "mission of Holbrook" had a dream. They hoped and prayed and worked hard for their dream to come true At last, their sacrifices bore fruit and their prayers were answered, the Church of the Good Shepherd was born! This is the story of these devoted and determined people. During the early 30*s, a group of Catholics united to seek a Catholic Church near Holbrook. At that time, they requested to be assigned to the Church of Saint Joseph*s in Ronkonkoma During the tenure of the Reverend Father Francis Liller, they became a mission of that church and throughout the years, the faithful of Holbrook provided bus transportation to Ronkonkoma during the summer months.
In 1948, the Catholic Society of Holbrook was founded. A set of by-laws were adapted and the preamble of the Society was as follows: "To establish a Catholic Church of Chapel in the Hamlet of Holbrook Towns of Islip and Brookhaven, County of Suffolk, State of New York. To devise ways and means to raise the required funds to provide the hamlet of Holbrook with a Catholic House of Prayer" In the ensuing years, the Society continued to support the Transportation to Ronkonkoma. The faithful members worked hard in order to obtain funds, by means of social activities- dinners, shows, dances, cake and food sales, drawings and the usual voluntary donations. The first mission Mass was celebrated in the Civic Hall on Sunday, May 31, 1953 and continued during the summer months. Land was purchased by the Society on Grundy Avenue where two shrines were erected; one, dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, the background mural having been painted by the late Mrs. Miguel Geigel, and the other dedicated to St. Jude Thaddeus, the statue having been imported from Italy This land was deeded to the Diocese of Rockville Centre and they purchased the adjacent land north of the property, altogether close to twelve acres On June 24, 1970, the Parish of Holbrook was established and the Reverend Father Ronald J. Barry and Father John Moore, his assistant were appointed. At the first meeting of the parish held at the Cenacle on July 7,1970, considering that the work of the Catholic Society of Holbrook was accomplished, all the obligations, assets and funds of the Society were transferred to the Reverend Father Ronald Barry. A Jesus House "Buildings are inanimate things, made of brick, stone and wood..They are beautiful or ugly, useful or useless, depending on the people who are inside them," said Father Barry. "People are the important thing .communication between them, the exchange of help and love., growth together . .brothers and sisters to each other in the family of God." With these ideals foremost in his heart, Father Barry set his team of architects Biuso and Barry to work designing a Jesus Church for his Jesus people On December 5, 1971, the people of Good Shepherd thronged to their Jesus House to help celebrate the first Masses said there The Parish Center of the Good Shepherd was snug in it*s setting of tall trees; it*s serene simplicity, warmth and beauty welcomed all who entered it*s doors. The Shepherd*s Cross, the carved figures behind the Altar and the wooden Altar itself were designed and made with the same loving attention that St. Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth would have given had he made them himself. For a Jesus People Jesus of Nazareth wanted His people to experience Him, to have the intimate knowledge of His reality, presence and love which comes through personal experience. Here at Good Shepherd, we strived to establish the same type of bond that Jesus established with His early followers. With the guidance of our Priests, it was our goal to create a community of Christian atmosphere that would light the way toward Jesus and a strong feeling of Christianity. The hope was that our center would become a "nucleus of community events" giving each one of us a real sense of belonging. The Teen Club, composed of teen representatives, was able to be heard openly on their issues, thus enabling them to establish their very important place in our community.
"The tent is a symbolism of The Tabernacle of Our Lord" said Fr. Ron Barry. We had our beginnings as God*s People in a tent; and are becoming interested on God*s People! On Saturday, May 13, 1972 at 2:30 P M., the people of The Church of The Good Shepherd in Holbrook gathered together to witness and celebrate the official dedication of The Good Shepherd Parish Center In a combined ceremony, Bishop Kellenberg conferred the Sacrament of Confirmation and was the principal celebrant at the Concelebrated Mass - with Msgr. James Coffey, Std. and Rev. Ronald A.. Barry as concelebrants Mrs. Harriett Lavery and Mr. Miguel A Geigel were sponsors for those being confirmed. Bishop Kellenberg spoke of the sacrament of Confirmation (as) building through special blessings, strength and wisdom upon what was planted at Baptism; when we first received The Holy Spirit into our hearts and souls.
Father Barry expressed a grateful acknowledgment of thanks to all those who had a share in helping this day become a reality. The faith, vision and love of the Catholic Society of Holbrook, the designers of the building, those who created the sanctuary, altar and wooden statues and the many people and places which housed us before we had a "home" of our own were all given deep heart-felt thanks While the ceremonies were in progress inside the parish center, the children were entertained outside in the tent. There was a happy, festive atmosphere created by the antics of Mr. & Mrs. James Young who were Mr & Mrs. Clown. The delicious hot dogs, soda, punch and a variety of cakes were enjoyed by all. After the ceremonies, Bishop Kellenberg, Father Barry and Msgr. Coffey met with the people of the parish to speak a few words, shake hands and have pictures taken in commemoration of the joyous occasion. Jesus, The Good Shepherd was then and is now very much alive in Holbrook.
Like everything else the CCD Program started small. Because we were a mission of St. Joseph*s, and transportation was a problem, we began having our first classes in Holbrook. The first year, there were only two classes, and they were in homes. The second year, there were four classes and the program had grown enough to require the use of the Civic Hall. Like all well-nourished children, we grew fast and after a few years could no longer fit into the Civic Hall. The idea of small groups of children, most within walking distance, led to classes in the teacher*s homes. When the Good Shepherd parish was established in 1970, we branched off into PEP (Parent Educator Program) for the first and second grades. Because of limited facilities, St. Joseph*s graciously allowed us to use their church for our First Holy Communion. In May of 1972, 225 boys and girls of our parish comprised ‘our* very first Holy Communion class. While religious happenings were continuing for the high school students, the Junior High program was initiated for the 7th and 8th grade students. On May 13th, 1972, His Excellency Bishop Walter B. Kellenberg, officiated at our first Confirmation class.
Our Church: In The Image Of The Shepherd When it comes to naming a parish, rarely are the parishioners consulted. However, that was not true of this parish, founded in Holbrook in June 1970. The conviction of the founding pastor and his associate, that "the PEOPLE are the Church," set the stage for a parish-wide poll, whereby the parishioners decided that their parish would be known as the Church of the Good Shepherd.
The first masses were celebrated in the Civic Hall and under a tent. The first permanent place of worship was designed as a multi-purpose building. It was a novel concept and offered certain advantages over the more traditional church buildings. It was economically constructed, simply decorated and conveyed a "homey" atmosphere. Yet, although the building was multi-purpose, it had a serious weakness - it could not accommodate worship services and other activities simultaneously.
Photos From Our Factory Years
A deliberate attempt was made to link the present to the heritage of the past. Therefore, on the rise of the grass-covered hill which marks the site of the original building stands a bronze statue of a young shepherd carrying a sheep on his shoulders. It proclaims our identity. We belong to the flock of the Good Shepherd. He carries us on his shoulders and we can face the future with confidence. The garden surrounding the statue is dedicated to the memory of deceased parishioners, friends and relatives. The elements of construction of the Church of the Good Shepherd and its furnishings were appropriately chosen to reflect and evoke the atmosphere of the shepherd's world. So the stone, wood, iron and even the stained glass, convey a sense of strength and rugged earthliness, yet at the same time a warmth and wholesomeness in kinship with nature. |
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The History of Our Parish
A Dedication of our First Building:
Bishop Kellenberg noted that May 13, the dedication day of our "beginning" parish was the 15th anniversary of the formation of the diocese of Rockville Centre
The Birth of CCD in Holbrook
That building was destroyed by fire in September, 1981. When the time came to rebuild, the people were once again consulted in the planning of the new building. Data was gathered and processed by committee and the architects were given the information with these instructions: "Design a church complex, which will meet our many needs, and let it at the same time, be inspiring and inviting." We hope you will agree the effort succeeded.