History of the Healing Spring Mission in New Jersey
PARISH HISTORY THE SOURCE OF HEALING in NEW JERSEY
The idea of setting up an Orthodox Christian mission in northern and central New Jersey began to take shape in the spring of 2011 after the Easter holidays. After several meetings that took place in parks and public libraries, a request for its establishment was submitted to His Eminence Archbishop Nicolae. With the blessing of His Holiness, the first meeting of Romanians in New Jersey was convened on May 28, 2011. The meeting was chaired by Father Daniel Adrian Ene, Secretary of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the Americas and His Eminence Nicolae. A number of more than 20 families were represented at this first service of thanksgiving and general assembly. The meeting took place at St. Andrew's Greek Church in Randolph, NJ. On this occasion, the ad hoc committee of the Izvorul Tamaduirii mission was elected with a mandate to organize the beginning of the new mission and the beginning of the formal incorporation steps with the state of New Jersey, which will take place after receiving the Archdiocese of Chicago parishes. Among the members of the ad-hoc committee we mention Mrs. Lidia Arabagian, Georgeta Stanescu and Mariana Vladescu, as well as Mr. Traian Parr and Mr. Ion-Daniel Ursache. The Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the Americas officially discussed the petition to establish the Izvorul Tamaduirii parish in the meeting of the Diocesan Council on July 15, 2011. Following the good recommendations of Father Daniel Ene, the Diocesan Council approved the establishment of the parish and the official charter was received by the mission. on July 28, 2011.
Then began the action of registering the Mission as a non-profit company in the state of New Jersey, which materialized on August 23, 2011. On August 25, 2011, the newly formed Romanian community organized a Picnic to celebrate this registration. official. The picnic was held at a club on the edge of a recreational lake in Randolph, NJ.
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At the same time, the ad hoc Committee set up began to identify a place where we could carry out our religious activities. Ad-hoc committee chairman Daniel Ursache found St. Peter and Paul Church in Rockaway, NJ. The parish priest of this church was very benevolent and allowed us to have Holy Mass on Sunday, starting at 12 o'clock. On September 25, 2011 the general assembly took place which elected a Parish Council according to the provisions of the Statute of functioning of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the Americas. The members of the first Parish Council were Dezso Bodis, Carmen Florea, Lilioara Helgiu, Adrian Nitu Solomon, Iuliana Pirtea, Georgeta Stanescu, Ion Daniel Ursache, Liliana Wilson.
The first religious service was held on October 2, 2011 at St. George's Macedonian Orthodox Church in Randolph NJ, with the priest being Father Vincentiu Temirov of St. Dumitru Monastery in Middletown NY. Since then I have had religious service twice a month. From the very beginning, the participation of the faithful was quite high, currently having an average of 40-50 believers in each Holy Mass. On the feast of the Nativity, the children from the parish, under the guidance of the singer Florentina Roman and the Committee of Ladies, prepared a carol program. After the program, the priest Dumitru distributed gifts to all the children.
At the beginning of 2012, the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the Americas appointed Father Dumitru Rusu as administrator priest. The patron saint of our mission in 2012 had as guest PS Ioan Casian de Vicina. The Holy Episcopal Liturgy took place on Sunday, April 22, 2012. His Holiness will bless our church and the year to come when he will also be in the midst of our community on the occasion of the feast. The Holy Mass under the auspices of PS Ioan Casian took place on Sunday, May 12, 2013. After only a few months in mid-2012 the parish administration at the decision of His Eminence Nicolae is taken over by Father Daniel Ene who will lead the general assembly on February 2, 2013. This general assembly has a special importance in the life of our church because the agenda also discussed the desire of the members of our mission for Father Ionut Georgian Voicu from Romania to be the parish priest of the Izvorul Tamaduirii Mission in New Jersey. All those present agreed and the request for appointment was sent to His Eminence Nicolae. In the meeting of the Diocesan Council of April 5, 2013, the appointment of Father Ionut Voicu as parish priest of our church was approved. The official immigration proceedings, which lasted more than 8 months, were started immediately. Father Ionut Georgian Voicu together with the priestess Elena Cristina will arrive in New Jersey on February 14, 2014. As soon as the father arrived in the middle of the community, the pastoral missionary activity acquired a special richness. The parish organized from the beginning the School of Religion with the children from our parish, the celebration of the feast of the Healing Spring, a Romanian country holiday during the summer, a trip to the Transfiguration Monastery in Ellwood City, PA, a monastic settlement founded by Princess Il Romania, the participation of children and young people in the camp organized by the Archdiocese in Emlenton, PA, free discussions with guests on religious, medical, painting, sculpture, literature. Another important moment in the history of the parish was the day of April 6, 2014 when we received the first pastoral visit of our Primate, His Eminence Archbishop Nicolae. It was a special celebration, a fulfilled prayer to have in our midst our hierarch to install our pastor, Father Ionut Georgian Voicu. Also on this occasion, a meeting of His Eminence Nicolae took place with the members of the parish council in which the future plans of our mission were outlined. Two years have passed since then and in 2016 it was managed that the greatest desire of Romanians in New Jersey to find the right answer from God. On May 27, 2016, the purchase documents of our own place of worship were signed. Our mission now has the house, a beautiful church located in Long Valley, New Jersey. Fundraising for the purchase of the property came wonderfully so quickly showing the love and strong desire of Romanians in central and western New Jersey to have their own church. There are no words of thanks to all those who contributed financially but also through work to fulfill this dream. This joy was also shared by the members of the Diocesan Council who in the meeting of June 30, 2016 approved the change of our status in the mission, becoming a parish. Under the care of Father Ionut, our parish has grown and now that only a few days ago we were able to receive our Hierarch IPS Nicolae again in our church. The days of August 27 and 28, 2016 were full of emotion, tears and joy with spiritual fulfillment. We had in our midst besides His Eminence Nicolae and our parish priest and two of our former ministers who put their love to the success of this church, Father Daniel Adrian Ene of the Holy Trinity Church in Rochester NY and the secretary of our Archdiocese as well. and Father Vincentiu Temirov of St. Dumitru Monastery in Middletown NY. Father Daniel also brought to worship the icon with the relics of St. M. Martyr Ephrem the New. Father Marius Dumitrescu of St. Nicholas Church in Woodside NY, Father Timothy Avram of the Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia PA and Father Ovidiu Sabau of St. Andrei from Reading PA. The Holy Episcopal Liturgy of the next day was followed by a fraternal agape prepared by the ladies of our parish in the social hall.
May the new church be the source that heals the need for faith of the Romanians in New Jersey! So help us God!