St. Luke Parish: Tears and smiles

MELODY REGALADO | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Posted: 10.08.09

MELODY REGALADO | FC
Father John Paszko, pastor of St. Luke Parish in Coconut Creek, blesses parishioner Sal Grilli after the church’s final Mass Sept. 27. Grilli and his wife, Clara, have attended St. Luke for 23 years, “since it was a store front,” she said. St. Luke merged with St. Vincent Parish in Margate Oct. 1.

COCONUT CREEK | With mixed emotions, tears and smiles, parishioners of St. Luke celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving Sept. 27.

It was the last Mass at the 23-year-old parish, which on Oct. 1 officially merged with St. Vincent, a parish about two miles away in the city of Margate.

“I feel terrible,” said Priscilla Kelly, a 20-year parishioner of St. Luke. “I go to Mass every morning with a group of girls, and we normally get coffee after. We’ve become a family, but some of the girls won’t be going to St. Vincent’s.”

All the seats in the church were filled and people stood along the back and side walls as the choir sang with tears streaming down their faces.

Father John Paszko, St. Luke’s pastor for the past seven years, addressed the congregation with some final words of encouragement.

“This morning is a time of sorrow, but we will see each other again,” he said. “There’s no difference between this parish and the next, or this community and the next. It’s our own concept on how we see the Lord. Jesus said that we must continue to move on and proclaim the word of God.”

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Mary Scheil had been active at St. Luke for the past nine years, teaching catechism and serving as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion.

“We’ve enjoyed coming here very much,” she said, adding that she will attend Mass at St. Vincent.

“I’m here today because I wanted to be with you in a difficult time in your life,” said Scalabrinian Father Joseph Pranzo, the newly appointed pastor of St. Vincent, whose previous assignment was in the Archdiocese of Boston.

“I’m happy to be here to serve as a unifier,” he said. “With God’s grace and these beautiful people, I think it should work.”

“It’s a sad time, but I’m happy that God gave me this location,” said Father Paszko. “We all helped build this church together, and I will never forget the good people of St. Luke.”

St. Vincent hosted a special Mass Oct. 4 to welcome St. Luke’s former parishioners and celebrate the merging of both parishes.

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