Third BCEF Call of 2024: Holy Spirit, Verona

The Bishop’s Church Emergency Fund (BCEF) provides financial support for church buildings in the diocese needing repairs and renovation, usually with a special focus on emergency and unforeseen needs. Through the BCEF, you can support the critical needs identified by the Bishop.

The third BCEF call of 2024 is for audio/visual upgrades for Church of the Holy Spirit in Verona. You can donate online, or mail a check payable to Diocese of Newark with BCEF Call #3 in the memo line to: Diocese of Newark, Attn: BCEF, 31 Mulberry St., Newark, NJ 07102.

The spiritual ancestors of Church of the Holy Spirit in Verona first met in a building at the corner of Grove and Bloomfield Avenues. They soon had a storefront location and, not long after that, their own church which was dedicated in 1932. It still stands today, but next to a larger sanctuary dedicated in 1963, a response to the Baby Boom when many churches experienced rapid growth. The Rev. Jerry Racioppi has served as rector of the parish since 2015, joined in 2021 by the Rev. Katherine Rollo who serves as curate.

The mission of today’s Church of the Holy Spirit, according to its website, is to be a congregation known for its commitment to “supporting one another, deepening our faith, and doing God’s work in the world.” Average Sunday attendance is over 60 which includes a sizable youth presence. The main service is a Choral Eucharist at 10am, preceded by an 8am Quiet Eucharist. The church’s most significant outreach ministry, the Holy Spirit Verona Food Pantry, serves over 100 shoppers each month.

Building a church during the Great Depression was an audacious undertaking for the parish’s first congregation. But no less so was Holy Spirit’s embrace of a communications technology to answer our own day’s greatest challenge to the church’s future: the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Like many congregations, Holy Spirit began using Zoom early in the lockdown. The technology included a simple laptop and other equipment resulting in rather primitive video and audio quality. After several years of wires at the altar steps and along the altar rail, the parish knew it was time to move to something more professional.

When churches “reopened,” the parish found most members returned in person. Importantly however, they also noticed that a steady population had elected to remain online. Zoom also provided the chance for people at much greater distances to be touched by the parish’s worship and ministry; and for those who could never afford to attend funerals and weddings in person it provided the chance to do so online. Making a significant financial commitment to this new understanding, the congregation upgraded their audio-visual system early in 2024 after many years of planning and research. The initiative was largely overseen by clergy spouse, Randy Johnson.

The new installation, highly professional but user-friendly, includes microphones and cameras throughout the sanctuary with controls centralized at the back. Besides superb audio and video quality, the new system allows hymns and text pages to appear on-screen alongside live action of the service. A much-needed new sound system was also included. You can experience the excellence of their streaming worship via the parish’s Facebook page.

Assisted by a Marge Christie Grant, the parish expects to fund a third of the cost of this innovative project entirely on their own. They are seeking BCEF assistance with the remainder. This initiative represents an admirable response to the needs of today’s church and the future church being born in our midst. Please be as generous as you can in helping the Church of the Holy Spirit to continue to share the Good News beyond the walls of their beautiful church.

God’s peace,
+Carlye J. Hughes

The Rt. Rev. Carlye J. Hughes
Bishop of Newark