St. Stanislaus may lose parish designation; scheduled to be mission

Pine Island — This August, Doris Tomczak and her husband, Rich, will celebrate 25 years of marriage. Their celebration, though, may be tarnished if their beloved St. Stanislaus’s Roman Catholic Church in Pine Island is changed from a parish to a mission church. The Tomczaks also baptized each of their four children at the little white church that sits among the black dirt in this close-knit farming community. “This is just unbelievable,” said Tomczak. “We have to do whatever we can to save our parish.” The numbers have fallen in this small parish, which actually started out as a mission church in 1912. Back then, it was associated with St. Joseph’s Parish in Florida. The number of immigrants to the Black Dirt region was growing and they found the need for a church. By 1923, it became a full-fledged parish. Now, with parishioners joining surrounding area churches, the New York Archdiocese has deemed it necessary to limit the scope of this parish and return it to a mission of St. Joseph’s. What does that mean to the parishioners who are left? “We’ll have just one Sunday mass each week,” said Tomczak. “That’s it.” And that’s not acceptable to Theresa Bogdanski. “We will get people to come back,” said Bogdanski, a parishioner of St. Stanislaus’ for 55 years. “Only one mass? That’s not good enough.” Bogdanski would certainly miss the daily activity at the church. During the holy season of Lent, she attends mass every morning. On Wednesday evenings, she participates in the church’s Polish singing. And you’ll find her there every Friday night for the Stations of the Cross. All that will end if their parish becomes a mission. “Pine Island is growing,” said Tomczak. “There are two new developments being built in Pine Island. This area needs its own church.” She, Bogdanski, and others plan on petitioning the archdiocese, asking them to hold off on changing the church’s designation. “We have so much to offer here,” Tomczak said, noting the CYO building just waiting for a youth group to form again. “We tried a few years ago to get the group going again but it didn’t happen. With all these young families coming in, I’m sure we can do it again.” Bogdanski said she sees a young family with five children each week at mass. They come to the Polish mass that is held once a month and they don’t even know Polish. “Once a month we sing Polish songs at mass,” she said. “This lovely family is always there. They don’t know Polish but they enjoy it. The mother told me she thinks it is so beautiful.” Which is how Bogdanski describes her church. She wants it to stay the way it is, able to service the people of the Black Dirt area, just as it has for 94 years. “It is not too late. It’s never too late,” said Tomczak. “We can save our parish. Nothing is impossible with God and prayer.” Online: Longtime Warwick Advertiser writer J.J. Kimiecik looks back on the origins of St. Stanislaus Church at www.warwickadvertiser.com.