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ALLENTOWN: St. John Baptist Church welcomes new minister

25th minister looks forward to ministry

by David Kilby, Special Writer
ALLENTOWN — Mass July 9 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church had just ended, and the new pastor, the Rev. Brian Woodrow, was heading to the sacristy as parishioners of all ages came to him, ecstatic to meet him and offer their time and services.
   As parishioners parted ways, the Rev. Woodrow geared his focus toward training the new sacristan, showing him how to prepare the priest’s vestments for the next day’s Mass, telling him that, as Catholics, the Mass is the central point of their day.
   But that day, just over a week after he was installed as pastor June 30 by Bishop David O’Connell, something else would compete for his attention — his father, Michael Edgar Woodrow, died at his home in Hazlet.
   The Rev. Woodrow celebrated a solemn high requiem Mass in Latin for his father July 12 in St. John Church and helped lead a funeral procession from the church to St. John Cemetery after the Mass.
   It was a ceremony that hearkened back to the era before the Second Vatican Council as cars lined up behind the procession while bagpipes were played. Clearly, the Rev. Woodrow was bringing something different to the small town of Allentown.
   The Rev. Woodrow is among the few priests in the area who can celebrate Mass in Latin.
   In his homily, he said Catholic rituals are a stumbling block to some, but to him, his father and his family, “The Catholic church is everything.”
   Raised in Union Beach, the Rev. Woodrow, 34, went to Mater Dei High School, Middletown, and studied for his undergraduate degree at the college seminary in Seton Hall, South Orange, then went on to Immaculate Conception Seminary there.
   For his undergraduate degree, he studied religious studies. He said it’s good to gain a strong sense of all different faiths.
   ”It really helps you to understand what you believe by knowing what others don’t,” he added. “That helps bring out one’s faith even more so.”
   While in the seminary, he did summer assignments at St. Agnes Parish, Atlantic Highlands and Sacred Heart Parish, Trenton, the oldest Catholic parish in the state.
   While growing up in Union Beach, he took to surfing, a hobby he still keeps up when he has the chance. He said the waves and the tide remind him of the presence of God.
   ”Sometimes it flows in, sometimes it flows out, but it’s always there,” he said.
   He said all his life he has surrounded himself with priests and found making them his friends provide him with great strength.
   The Rev. Woodrow then added he also appreciates the honesty of his friends of other faiths.
   ”We have to surround ourselves with people who are honest,” he said, adding that, when times are tough, that’s when he needs honesty the most.
   Honesty certainly was apparent when he shared the story of finding his vocation as a priest.
   ”Without question, it was God who called me (to the priesthood),” he said. “It was his invitation. Being a priest is not a job. It’s a complete life change, a complete giving of yourself to God. Everyone can give themselves to God, but the priesthood is a personal invitation to God.”
   He also attributed his vocation to “a good strong family always looking out for the best for me.”
   He said his plan for St. John Parish is “to take away nothing, but to add everything, to find out what people love about the parish and to showcase that.”
   He added, “This parish has been blessed with priests with great experience.”
   He said he is the 25th pastor at St. John.
   ”I’m able to stand on the shoulders of giants,” he said. “I’m able to bring that forward with youthful enthusiasm.”
   He said he plans to reach out to the homebound, Catholics who have left the faith and to the people in the “beautiful town of Allentown.”
   He said, “I want to make sure families have a place they know they can come to and be sure they can grow, not only in holiness and happiness, but come together as a family and celebrate their faith.”