Mass, music, and picnic form reunion for Voorheesville parishioners

VOORHEESVILLE – Parishioners at St. Matthew’s Church hope to welcome new or returning members to their Back to Church Sunday celebration on September 21.

“Back to Church Sunday is a national event, and it’s interdenominational,” said Deacon Alfred Manzella, who is currently serving at St. Matthew’s until a new priest is appointed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. Father Thomas Chevalier was sent to pastor in Saratoga County in June, at which time Manzella was appointed to help in Voorheesville.

“The intention is to reach people who have been away from church,” Manzella said. “There’s no good way to reach those people. This is really an invitation to people. It’s like a family reunion, if you will.”

St. Matthew’s serves about 800 families, Manzella said.

“What happens in most churches is that approximately 30 percent of parishioners attend liturgies. We’re trying to reach that 70 percent. We think we have something of great value to share with them, the joy of our faith,” Manzella said.

“We’re going to have name tags that weekend,” he said. Recently registered parishioners will wear gold tags, and regular attendees will wear red tags, he said. Visitors will be given blue tags.

“The point is for others to welcome those who are visitors [in blue],” Manzella said. “The Holy Father encourages us to be people of joy, to be welcoming, and to reach out to others.

“In a spiritual sense,” he continued, “it’s like going to Sunday dinner with the family. It’s something we do frequently, and we do it to be nourished.”

The Eucharist is the body and blood of Jesus Christ, he said, and the Eucharist provides spiritual nourishment.

St. Matthew’s offers three masses with the weekly liturgy at 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. Reconciliation is offered on Saturday at 4 p.m. or by appointment.

“In a lot of churches, later masses are more well-attended,” he said. At St. Matthew’s, “The 8:30 mass has a good crowd. Both [Sunday masses] have a mixed crowd, young and old,” he said.

“One of the things that has attracted myself and others is the music ministry. They have wonderful music at St. Matthew’s,” Manzella said. In addition to the organ, the church musicians include a flautist and a drummer.

“It’s very liturgical, but it’s also very lively. You’re not going to fall asleep at mass,” he said.

Back to Church Sunday falls on a busy day in St. Matthew’s, he said. Bibles will be blessed and then handed out to members in the Family Faith Formation program, Manzella said.

Following the 10:30 mass, the parish will hold its annual picnic – with a Western theme – from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The picnic includes pony rides, line dancing, and a campfire with s’mores. Tickets for the picnic can be purchased in advance and cost $10 for adults, $5 for children 5 to 10 years old, and free for children under 5. Attendees are invited to bring pies to share for dessert, Manzella said. Tickets for a drawing will be available with prizes of a Southwest Airline certificate, a barbecue grill, and a Texas Roadhouse restaurant gift card, Manzella said.

In his brief time serving St. Matthew’s, Deacon “Al,” as he is known, brought the Back to Church project to Voorheesville. He learned of the national event at an ecumenical meeting last year in Bethlehem, he said.

“Maybe I should take the credit, or the blame, for it,” Manzella said of the upcoming day at St. Matthew’s. He asked the church council if members would like to participate, and the council approved the event.

 By the time the picnic rolls around, Manzella said, the diocese may have appointed a new pastor to St. Matthew’s. Asked if he thought the timeframe was fast, he said that the interim period is supposed to be timely. Once a full-time priest is assigned to Voorheesville, Manzella will be appointed elsewhere, he said.

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