Holy Name of Jesus, Woodbury

The church of the Holy Name of Jesus is located at 690 Woodbury Road, Woodbury NY 11797, telephone 516-921-2334.  Its website is linked here.  The front of the church (shown above, with the main door in morning shadows) faces west into the parking lot of an office building.  Ahead, to the north one can see some of the senior housing built on what was a parish field or lawn.  There are several directional signs on Woodbury Road guiding the traveler into Carnegie Court alongside the housing, which leads to the church.  The website mentioned above has driving directions.

Above, the view looks along the south side of the church.  The rectory is to the left.

The rectory faces the church.

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Catholic Koreans gather here for two Masses on Sundays, at 9:30 a.m. and noon.
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The September 28, 2012, edition of Long Island Business News related how, in the year 2000, Holy Name parish sold six of its ten acres for 114 senior apartments.

St. Pius X, Plainview

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The parish of St. Pius X is located on Washington Avenue, Plainview, near the intersection with Presidential Drive South.  The mailing address is 1 St. Pius X Court, Plainview NY 11801, telephone 516-938-3956. The parish website is linked here.

Curbside parking is available on Washington Avenue in front of the church, but to the left of the church (where you see a canopy) is an extensive parking lot for the church and the nursery schools that rent what was the parish school.

The church predates the school.  In 1955, Archbishop Thomas Molloy established this parish in honor of Pope St. Pius X, who was canonized the previous year.  

Our Lady of Mercy, Hicksville

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Our Lady of Mercy parish is located at 500 South Oyster Bay Road, Hicksville NY 11801, telephone 516-931-4351.  The parish website is linked here.  The location is in northeast Hicksville,  about a mile south of Exit 36 of the Northern State Parkway. The parish buildings are on the west side of South Oyster Bay Road, and across the street is Plainview.

The upper church, which is bright, seems to be locked on weekdays, except for funerals.

The parish website reports that the first pastor learned of his assignment on September 23, the feast of Our Lady of Mercy, and thereby chose the name.

Looking north, the above photo shows the elementary school and church.  This is not a business district, and the parish is surrounded by single-family homes.
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The mailing address of the school is 520 South Oyster Bay Road, Hicksville NY 11801, telephone 516-433-7040.  The school's website is linked here.

Sacred Heart, North Merrick

Sacred Heart parish is located at 720 Merrick Avenue, Merrick, NY 11566, telephone 516-379-1356. The parish website is linked here. The church and school are on the east side of Merrick Avenue immediately south of Exit 24 of the Southern State Parkway. They are about two miles north of the Merrick railroad station at Sunrise Highway.

The church was probably finished about 2009, and it replaced (if memory is correct) a smaller wooden building.  The parish itself dates from 1952, when Archbishop Molloy split it from Curé of Ars, two miles south.  In 1961, the Sisters of St. Joseph began to staff the parish school.  From a building fund drive mentioned in the bulletin, it seems that the parish continues to pay off a construction debt.

Inside, the church is a square, with the side pews at an angle.  This view of the north wall shows six stations of the cross in stained glass windows with devotional statues and vigil lights between the windows.

 Above is the Ninth Station on the south wall.

Statuary abounds outside and inside the church.  Here, St. Florian, patron of firefighters, is honored to the left of the main entrance.  To the right are St. Michael, patron of police officers, and St. John Vianney.

Above, St. Francis of Assisi.


The address for Sacred Heart School is 730 Merrick Avenue, Merrick NY 11566, telephone 516-378-5797. The school website is linked here.  Sad to relate, the Bishop of Rockville Centre has decreed the closure of Sacred Heart school in June, 2012.  Please see his announcement, linked here.
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Regarding the prayer for peace in the photo below: A similar pole may be found at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Kensington, Brooklyn.

Curé of Ars

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The parish of Curé of Ars is located at 2323 Merrick Avenue, one block south of Sunrise Highway and the Long Island Rail Road Merrick station. It is adjacent to the Merrick library.

The parish telephone number is 516-623-1400, and its website is linked here.

Both walls have stained glass windows in pairs, but I was unable to determine the theme or order of windows. In several cases, a brief identification is given of the saint commemorated. In the photo above, St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) is paired with the mother of Mary.

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The parish school has been closed since 1992, and the building is now shared by a parish center and a Montessori school, with the hall available for rent. Cure of Ars parish supports St. Elisabeth Ann Seton Regional School in Bellmore.

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The bishop of Brooklyn established this parish in 1926, and it was named after St. John Vianney, canonized in 1925, who was pastor or curé of Ars, France, from about 1815 to 1859.

Our Lady of Hope, Carle Place

The mailing address for the parish of Our Lady of Hope is 534 Broadway, Carle Place, NY 11514, telephone 516-334-6248. The parish website is linked here.

The above view shows the church on the southeast corner of Cherry Lane (at the right) and Broadway (at the left).

It seems that the more convenient entrance is from the parking lot, where the red awning is. Interior stairs lead to the front pews of the church. This view is southwest from the Broadway entrance to the parking lot. Clicking on any photo will enlarge it.

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The parish shares the sponsorship of St. Brigid - Our Lady of Hope regional Catholic elementary school.

Book: Nassau County synagogues

The other day I came across a very interesting book at a Massapequa library: "That I May Dwell among Them," A Synagogue History of Nassau County, published in 1991. This volume of 172 pages describes more than a hundred synagogues or temples. The editors are Tobie Newman and Sylvia Landow, but the individual articles were submitted by each congregation. Because of my interest in Nassau County parishes, this makes for thought-provoking reading. For sure, the Nassau County synagogues are constituted differently from our parishes, with no bishop ("overseer") supervising things religious or mundane.

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Our parishes and the Jewish congregations reflect demographic changes. There is some resemblance to the decisions this year regarding parishes in Elmont, Cedarhurst, and Inwood. Believers arrive in a neighborhood, a congregation is formed, and sometimes many move away. In the two decades since the book's publication, some congregations have sought mergers. Other smaller orthodox congregations have arisen adjacent to larger reformist synagogues. In at least one place, a "For Sale" sign has long been posted at a temple.

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The book's title is full of meaning: "That I May Dwell among Them."