Cherry Valley church marks its 100th

First established in 1867 as a mission of St. Mary's parish in Cooperstown, St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Cherry Valley celebrated its 100th anniversary as a parish in its own right last weekend.

The church was not completed in 1906, but its cornerstone was set in 1903. The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Cherry Valley.

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard presided at a special liturgy marking the centennial, and Rev. John Roos, sacramental minister for the Otsego County parish, was the homilist.

Afterward, parishioners concluded a week-long celebration with dinner and a reception in Kateri Hall, the parish's gathering center.

Kateri Hall, built in 1876 and donated to the parish in 1954, was originally used as a music academy. It has served the parish in several ways, including as a youth center, meeting place and parish hall. In the 1990s, parishioners began restoration of the hall, which is also listed on the National Register.

"This is not just a celebration of our past, but of [who we are] today," commented Elizabeth Maloney, pastoral administrator for the parish.

In the past year, the parish, which consists of approximately 200 families, has committed itself to the future.

"We are primarily a rural parish," she continued, "but we have been increasing our ministry to the community and built up our attendance in the faith formation. We have a good number of young families enrolled in the parish.

"We are not only celebrating the past 100 years. This is also about our future, who we are as a parish right now and where we are going as a faith community."

(9/11/03) [[In-content Ad]]