St. William the Abbot, Seaford

The parish of St. William the Abbot is located at 2000 Jackson Avenue, Seaford, NY 11783, one block south of Sunrise Highway (NY 27) and the Seaford railroad station. The parish telephone number is 516-785-1266, and its website is linked here.  The parish was established in 1928. Twice, the church has been enlarged.

Above, the church interior early Pentecost morning, 2012, before Mass.

In the former baptistry on the north side of the foyer, there are shrines of three saints, St. Joseph in the center, St. William the Abbot to the left, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton to the right. St. William wears the wrong habit, however, for a Benedictine of the 11th century.  The habit on the statue is Franciscan.  
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On Monday, May 20, 2024, Bishop Andrezj Zglejszewski confirmed 143 youths. 

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On Monday, May 22 2023, Bishop Luis M. Romero Fernandez, M. Id., confirmed 145 youths.

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On Monday, May 23, 2022, Bishop John Oliver Barres confirmed about 134 youths in three ceremonies. The two photos below are from the late afternoon confirmation.

On November 21, 2019, Bishop Andrzej  Zglejszewski confirmed 201 youths, mostly eighth graders.  The cathedral website gives the pronunciation of his name On-jay Sklay-shef-ski.   He pronounces his name at the beginning of this interview.

Most photos may be enlarged by clicking on them.

In December 2013, the parish purchased a new outdoor manger scene and placed a memorial list in the church lobby.  Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

Across Jackson Avenue is the parish elementary school at 2001 Jackson Avenue.  The school telephone number is 516-785-6784, and its website is linked here.  At first, Dominican Sisters from Amityville provided religious education.  Later, when the school was opened Ursuline Sisters from Blue Point staffed the school for several decades.  Of the parish elementary schools on Long Island, St. William's is the third or fourth highest in enrollment. In June, 2016, fifty-eight students graduated from eighth grade. In this era, that is a healthy number.

In the autumn of 2017 Barbara and Anthony Fuima created this outdoor prayer space with a statue of Saint Padre Pio.

Deacon John Lynch asks the help of children in blessing the water for baptisms one Sunday afternoon in 2018.
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Edit of September 24, 2021: I realize that this post omits names of importance, such as Catherine and William Morgan, the couple who got Father Theodore J. King from Bellmore to offer Mass in a store on the south side of Merrick Road in 1913. William Garnett Payne lived in the house on Washington Avenue adjacent to and south of the school playground. In the late 1920's the church owned only west of Jackson Avenue, and Mr. Payne at some point transferred the property east of Jackson Avenue to the parish. It may have been a gift or close to a gift. For more about this extraordinary man, please see this link to Find A Grave.

Wake, O Wake, and sleep no longer

At the vigil Mass last night, our talented organist ran through the interludes of "Wachet Auf" with enthusiasm and vigor, lifting us up to Advent hope that our new pastor Fr. Fitzgerald had just identified in his First Sunday of Advent sermon. I must thank Christopher Idle, our contemporary, for reworking the lyrics of the original into a clearly Advent piece.
Links:
What we sang, with Bible references.
The Bach Cantata, Leipzig, 1731, with German text and translation.
Philipp Nicholai (1556-1608), Lutheran pastor, poet, and hymnist.