I talked a little bit at Mass last weekend about the teen club and some of my plans for ministering to our young people, and so I thought I’d give you a little
update as to what we’re doing. John Bronzi, Michaela Ryan, and I met to
discuss how to revive the teen club after the COVID forced a break in regular activities. We decided that we’re going to hold the teen club meetings on Monday nights twice a month from 7:00 PM until 8:30 PM.
Since one of the groups who used the lower church on Monday evening recently moved their meetings to the parish meeting room, that freed up the lower church, so the teen club can meet there. My vision is to allow that to be a youth center. There is a kitchen there, so we can serve the teens a meal before the meeting begins. While the other groups who already use it will still be most welcome there, I would like the young people of our
parish to feel that there is a place that is especially theirs. I wish to call it the Blessed Carlo Acutis Center. (Carlo Acutis was a young man who died at 15 years old in 2006 and is the first millennial to be beatified.)
In addition to the teen club, I wish to make a space there for the altar servers who are currently squished into one sacristy closet. We will build a cabinet there for their altar server garb that will allow them a lot more space and will also free up some much-needed
closet space in our small sacristy. After the remnants of Hurricane Ida barreled
through a few weeks ago, we had a lot of water in the basement of the rectory and the church. While the rectory dried up okay since it has a concrete floor, the lower church has a rug in it, which began to smell horrible after the water was cleaned out. I called in a
professional cleaning company to shampoo the carpet in both the church and the lower church to eliminate the odor, and while the main church was fine, the smell
still remains in the lower church. I called the Archdiocese, and I was told we need to remove the carpet and redo the floor. They are helping me choose a flooring that will withstand any future flooding that may occur. I will keep you posted!
Fr. Carrozza

I am honored that Cardinal Dolan has appointed me to be the next Pastor of St. Denis Parish! I was ordained a priest here in the Archdiocese of New York on May 12, 1990 by the late John Cardinal O'Connor. In the past I served as parochial vicar of Immaculate Conception Parish in Tuckahoe (1990-1995), St. John the Evangelist in Mahopac (1995-1999), Sacred Heart in Suffern (1999-2005), and Immaculate Conception in Stony Point (2005-2008). In 2008 I was appointed Pastor of St. Ann's Parish in Yonkers, where I remained until I had served the maximum time allowed as pastor by archdiocesan rules. Since my appointment here on July 1, 2021, I have already fallen in love with the people and the parish of St. Denis. I am enjoying the fresh air and quiet of country life, as well as the warmth of the people of Hopewell Junction. I look forward to working with all ministries, but most particularly with the youth of our parish. I will be teaching the Wednesday night 8th Grade Religious Education class and the children in 5th and 7th grade in St. Denis & St. Columba school on a weekly basis. As we recover from the COVID, we will be working hard to reactivate the teen club and my favorite ministry, the altar servers! I have great plans and visions for the young people of our parish, but I also promise you that this will never be at the expense of service to the adult and elderly of our community, especially the RCIA program. I am eager to get to know everyone at St. Denis, and I thank you for already welcoming me with open arms and accepting me as your shepherd and making me feel loved and well at home. Here's to MANY years together! May Jesus Christ be praised, now and forever! Fr. Carrozza