On The Road: Church Of The Presentation, Upper Saddle River, NJ

Last weekend, I found myself in scenic Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, a leafy suburb of New York City, preaching at six Masses over two days for Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA). Our parish: Church of the Presentation.

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I traveled with a member of our development team, Chris Kossowski, to talk about our work and, in particular, the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

The parish is exceptional: dynamic, vibrant, socially aware. The pastor, the Rev. Bob Stagg, does a phenomenal job of managing what is clearly a busy place. The laity is invested and engaged—Kay Furlani, of their peace and justice ministry, was an enthusiastic hostess— and there’s no lack of people offering to lend a hand for anything and everything. I was impressed.

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The church is modern in design—expansive but also intimate. I was pleased to be there for the last blast of the Christmas season, preaching among the poinsettias.

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The ambo has a curious location—behind the altar, just beside and slightly in front of the tabernacle—but it turned out to be a good spot. I could see everyone and they could see me.

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The pastor is proud of the fact that the parish has something for everyone—they really do run the gamut, with everything from novenas and Adoration, to a thriving morning men’s prayer group, to a booming folk rock Mass Sunday nights.

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The parish doesn’t have a deacon, but it will soon: Andrew Zucaro is due to be ordained in June. The sacristan took this photo of the two of us (photobombed, of course, by Mary.)

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There are two other priests—a parochial vicar and a retired priest in residence—who keep things humming.

Most of the Masses were 3/4 full or more, and the church accommodates an overflow crowd in an adjoining auditorium with folding chairs; a capital campaign, set to start this fall, will raise funds to expand and enhance the worship space.

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Liturgies were varied. The first Sunday Mass, at 7:30 a.m., was “quiet,” with no music; I’d estimate 50-75 people attended. The last Mass, at 6:30 p.m., was a full-blown musical production (predominantly “praise music”) with a big, youthful choir and musical accompaniment that included violins and drums. The singers and leaders of song were all uniformly excellent. Below, part of the Entrance Hymn for the 6:30 Mass.