The Church of St Jude - Wantagh, New York

Named for the patron saint of lost causes, the Church of St. Jude was born in February 1956. It wasn't an easy labor. As early as 1953, interested individuals had applied of the Diocese of Long Island to establish a mission church in Wantagh but no funds were available; the Diocese could only offer its good wishes but little else. By late 1955, these activists had garnered enough financial support to petition the Diocese to establish a mission church under the group's own responsibility. They held services in living rooms and rented storefronts until they acquired the Lufberry Avenue property in April 1957. Outdated buildings from Mitchel Field and Hofstra College were purchased and transported to Wantagh. The first services were held in May 1958. After the permanent church was built, these buildings remained in use as a parish hall until 1991.

 

By May 1963, St. Jude's had earned the distinction of achieving parish status in the shortest time ever in the history of the Long Island Diocese. The then vicar, the Reverend William Heine, became the first rector. Later that year, Father Heine resigned to begin missionary work, and the Reverend Leonard Brusso was called to become the second rector. The Reverend John A. Greco, who initiated a capital funds drive for a permanent church building, succeeded Father Brusso in 1968. The Cotswold style, fieldstone Church of St. Jude was dedicated on October 29, 1971.

Through the 1970s and 1980s, St. Jude's flourished and grew with many new families and a diversity of religious and community programs. A second capital funds program began in the late 1980s to replace those pre-fabricated buildings that had become the parish hall and chapel with a permanent structure, and to renovate the Sunday School wing. Dedication of those buildings took place in February 1992. Father Greco, who was also the Archdeacon for Nassau County, resigned as the third rector in December 1994 after 26 years to become the Deputy for Episcopal Administration of the L.I. Diocese.

After two interims, in July 1996, the Reverend Gerald Alexander was called as the fourth rector. He served until 1998 when he returned to Florida to care for family members with serious illnesses. In May 1999, the Reverend Paul C. Cochran became the fifth rector of St. Jude's. Parish tensions quickly developed and some families left to join other congregations. After several months of meetings and discussions, the Bishop dissolved the pastoral relationship between Father Cochran and St. Jude's, effective November 2000.

A long period of supply priests and interims ensued. Despite an initially much-reduced-in-size congregation, the core of people who remained at St. Jude's provided strong financial support and services and programs continued and even grew in some cases. Much thanks goes to the nurturing hand of the Reverend Ann Plummer, who served as interim pastor for nearly three years. In July 2004, The Reverend Christopher D. Hofer was called as the sixth rector. Young, with boundless enthusiasm, a wealth of ideas, and a loving, inclusive approach to ministry, Father Christopher is leading St. Jude's back to its heyday of growth in the 1970's and 1980's as it surpasses its 50th anniversary celebration in 2006.