Feature Editor

HIGHLANDS – On a maritime landscape crowned by lighthouses, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish is widely known as “The Jewel by the Sea.”

And like the famous Twin Lights that soar above it on the high ground for which this Bayshore borough is named, and the sturdy, traditional Sandy Hook Lighthouse below it on the shores of Sandy Hook Bay, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church stands as a beacon of hope and faith.

For 125 years, it has seen parishioners safely over rough seas and calm and on June 29, a day-long celebration of that milestone will begin with Mass celebrated by Bishop John M. Smith in the stately church which replaced the 1888 worship site in 1932.

Hundreds are expected at the Mass and the luncheon which follows immediately at the Shore Casino and from the looks of things during a recent visit, the entire Navesink Avenue campus – just off Route 36 – will sparkle and shine.

For weeks, the campus has been buzzing with activity. The church flag pole was spruced up. The familiar sign in front of the church was imprinted with a festive announcement: “The Jewel by the Sea” celebrating 125 years June 29 at 10:30 Mass.

A small army of volunteers have been applying spit, polish and elbow grease to every inch of the church.

Kathy Erli, a member of the Altar-Rosary Society for eight years, said the group has been toiling for weeks to get the church in tip top shape for the big day. It’s been hard work, she agreed, but the time has been well spent. “This church is home. Everybody likes it here. It is church,” she said.

The gym, food pantry and thrift shop are all in good order and so is the landscaping that flourishes around the outside of the church thanks to the efforts of Frank Rahm. “We want everything to look perfect,” he said. On this particularly hot day, he has come to the church to make sure all of the plants get watered.

“You can lose them so easily,” he said. The newest horticultural addition is the community garden, where greens and blossoms grow to benefit the food pantry, is all ready for Episcopal inspection.

On the steps of the church, Father Robert M. Tynski, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and neighboring St. Agnes Parish, Atlantic Highlands, surveyed the scene that met his eyes.

“We want it to look nice for the bishop,” Father Tynski said. “We want him to see what we see.”

What this community of 600 plus families sees is a thriving campus where faith comes first and the sense of history is rich and deep.

Upon this crown of devotion is built a network of services and programs that reach out in wide embrace to the residents of this part of the Bayshore and beyond: Young, old, rich or struggling, Catholic and non-Catholic, all find welcome, refuge and respite here, said Lucille Anthony who was born and baptized in the parish 86 years ago and still volunteers in the thrift shop.

“I go all the way back to Father (Thomas) Kearns who built this church,” said Anthony. “It’s a nice church. I like it.”

A busy St. Vincent de Paul Society and thrift shop serve an area where needy and wealthy live, if not perhaps exactly side-by-side, then in pretty close proximity. New to the parish this year is a food pantry where volunteers, in these difficult economic times, hit the ground running and are working hard to keep the shelves stocked and the community garden blooming.

The garden plots were sketched out on an old and unused soccer field at the behest of parishioners who wanted to grow serious amounts of vegetables and flowers, with a lot of the produce aimed for the food pantry, Father Tynski said.

An early bumper crop of lettuces went to the food pantry after it was brought up among the gifts during a recent Mass, said Father Tynski.

“We have so many volunteers and people sharing of their talents,” he said. “It’s wonderful.” Many of those actively involved with Our Lady of Perpetual Help – most often simply referred to as OLPH – represent families that have been in the area for generations. They have long roots in the parish and in the Bayshore, a network of maritime communities that began developing along the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers and Sandy Hook Bay as early as 1613.

“A lot of the people have come to this church their whole lives,” said Father Tynski. “It’s in the fiber of their lives. Jesus spoke so much of fishermen. When you read those parables, you know they understand.” OLPH was incorporated in 1883 making it the 20th oldest parish in the Trenton Diocese.

Catholics were a growing presence in the Bayshore even earlier. Records show that Highlands Catholics generally came from New York as early as 1854 and were mainly of Irish descent.

While life was generally harsh back then, it was even more difficult for Catholics who not only had to content with physical and economic hardship but bias due to their religion and nationality. Still, they persevered and by 1887, the congregation, too large to meet in private homes, began meeting at a school house chapel until their own church was built. The present church stands on the same ground and boasts the same Carrera marble main and side altars as it did when first installed.

A stained glass window depicting Our Lady of Perpetual Help is located high on the wall above the main altar. The grade school facility was rented out this year. It closed in 2006 when Our Lady of Perpetual Help School and St. Agnes School regionalized and became Mother Teresa Regional School based in Atlantic Highlands. But the school remains a presence on the campus.

The upstairs, where the gym and the food pantry are located, is well used said Father Tynski.

“Around 200 kids meet for religious education on Sundays,” he said. “If you have a smaller program, you can do that.

“The thing is to use people’s gifts,” he said. “People at OLPH are very generous with their gifts.”

Lois Rogers is available at lroger@dioceseoftrenton.org.