To those of you who missed out on The Snake Brothers and In High Gear, you really missed out on something great. No video clip can do either band justice. Luckily, you can still catch The Snake Brothers on Saturday August 29th at Estell Manor (the County Park) on Route 50 not far from Mays Landing. They are definitely worth coming out for. We will have all three of the Snake Brothers CDs for sale at the Feast tomorrow also, $15 each, but in limited quantity, so claim your copy quickly if you're a Snake Brothers Fan. I bought their live album.

Here is a tiny sample of the country/rock band In High Gear. They were a very good time. We recommend trying to catch them locally if you ever have the chance. They seem to have a following of people who came to the festivities today who had a good time dancing along to the music.
 

Here is a tiny sample of The Snake Brothers: (For more scroll down.)


Here is a tiny sample of a hayride. Yes, I turned my camera right-side up after a second! Woops. The hay rides are so much fun and they are only 50 cents a ticket!


Here is a tiny sample of the pony rides. They are $3 each and better than any pony ride I've seen at a fair this summer (and we went to quite a few). The woman you see leading the pony around has made her life's work about horses, so she doesn't just make the pony ride circuit.


This is just a video of my son and his little friend dancing.


Here is another tiny sample of The Snake Brothers.


And here is yet another tiny sample of The Snake Brothers. It is my single biggest regret of today (aside from asking that they play later in the day when there was a bit more of a crowd) that I did not get this entire song on video. It is on none of their CDs that I could find. It was my favorite of all the songs they performed today. They are so awesome and a bunch of truly nice people. THANK YOU to The Snake Brothers.

Here's what we have planned for the Feast of the Assumption, which begins tomorrow! Come join us, and for goodness sakes, remember to wear your special feast clothes (right).

Saturday Aug. 15th

• Mass 5:00
• The Snake Brothers (folk, country, do-wop, acoustic, awesome band), approximately 2:00-4:30pm (two sessions with a break in between)
• In High Gear ("country rock" band), approximately 6:00-10:00pm
• Shrimp & Clam Bar, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus
• Food, food, and more food: Sausage, hot dogs, roast beef sandwiches, pizza (made by a parishioner!), meatballs, and more!
• Beer Garden
• Wine by the glass from Plagido's, an award winning winery
  
• Inflatables and games
• Pony Rides
• Chinese Auction
• Farmers Market (local farmers, including parishioners)
• 50/50 Raffle
• Balloons for sale
  

Sunday Aug. 16th

• Mass 8:30 & 11:30, procession at 12:30
• Talent Show 1-2:30
• Mr. Tujays (band), 2:30-4:30
• Jukebox Rebiew (band), 5-8:00
• DJ Bill Mazza, throughout the day
• Chicken BBQ
• Shrimp & Clam Bar, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus
• Tons of food to choose from: Sausage, hot dogs, roast beef sandwiches, pizza (made by a parishioner!), meatballs, and more!
• Beer Garden
• Wine tasting and wine by the glass from Sharrott & Plagido's. Both are award winning wineries.
• Inflatables and games
• Pony Rides
• Chinese Auction
• Bake Sale
• Farmers Market (local farmers, including parishioners)
• 50/50 Raffle
• Balloons for sale
  

We received this email yesterday. It's basically what people have been predicting would happen all along. But maybe all the confusion, crowding, and lack of parking gives the Diocese the green light to build the protestant megachurches of their dreams. I, for one, am conspiracy minded enough to doubt that even those in the chancery office are so stupid as to underestimate the required parking and potential confusion of the situation they created.

However, they must be undergoing some turmoil and dissension in the ranks given that so many of the key players in the chancery's Parish Closure Program have mysteriously "left" over the past couple months. (I guess we can call it a "program" now that Ms. Marilyn Vollmer, national church shut-down queen, is gone. An appropriate name for the program might also be "Destroying God's Gifts.")  At least four of the key players have left, total. Msgr. Roger McGrath, remains, however. But maybe since he's in the area he'll come to our Assumption Feast and have such a good time, he'll learn to like us! Chicken barbecue's on us, Msgr. McGrath! Hope to see you there!

Here's the email:

I spoke with my mother, who attends that church on Saturday nights and just as I predicted, parking is a huge problem over there. My sister works nights so she needs to go to Mass as early as possible on Saturday nights. Unfortunately, when she arrived, there were no parking spaces left, so she was unable to stay. My mother got the last parking space so she was able to attend. However, the service began ten minutes late. She said she observed people talking during the service and leaving after staying only fifteen minutes! It sounds like there was lots of confusion there.

My mother actually lives in Maple Shade so I am hoping that she and my sister find a church in the Trenton Diocese that fits their schedule. Things are less crazy up there!

Also, in the Courier Post article, the Pastor of the new Church (community, whatever) said that Queen of Heaven church would not be sold for at least a year. If that's the case, then why did they close the church now?  Also, there are still some nuns who live at the Queen of Heaven convent. Does this mean that they will be thrown out and lose their home?

May God help us all.

Well known South Jersey band The Snake Brothers are scheduled to play at the Feast of the Assumption Festival on Saturday August 15th. They will also have CDs and things available for purchase! There are 3 CDs currently available, $15 each. You will not regret picking one up.

The Snake Brothers describe themselves as "South Jersey's own swingin', do-woppin', cowboyin', acoustic band." I think that about sums it up. I have their CD, South Jersey Waltz, and can tell you they are awesome. Do not miss it!

A huge thank you in advance to The Snake Brothers for your generous offer to play at our Feast! We are very much looking forward to it.

Other Feast News:
Remember, we also have 50-50 tickets ($10/ticket or if you'd like to try to sell a book let us know) and Chicken BBQ tickets for sale ($9). The Chicken BBQ, by the way, is reverting to the previous "BBQer" and barring any unforeseen hail storms (!!!) everything should be wonderful. In the past people have absolutely raved about how wonderful the BBQ chicken is. By the way, the chicken will be available on Sunday only. On Saturday we will have other food items that I'm sure will be delicious also. You may buy tickets before and after all masses as well as from Angela in the rectory. 856-694-2576

We will also be selling--but not in advance--tickets/bracelets for unlimited wine tasting. In addition, there will be wine by the glass. The wine is locally crafted from internationally award-winning South Jersey wineries. We will also have our beer garden. Please do not forget to sign up for the talent show. You do not have to be a member of the church to participate in the talent show! Call the rectory (or contact us) to sign up. 856-694-2576

These churches were built by our people so that they could be free, and so that we could be free, too.

At St. Mary's we have a truly united Catholic community. We love our church and have no desire to see it needlessly destroyed by those without God's will--not to mention history--in mind. The Catholic families who established St. Mary's long, long ago were primarily hard working, Southern Italian farming families. They didn't have much money. But they scrimped and saved what they had to give us the beautiful church we have today.

One of our parishioners' ancestors even took a horse and carriage all the way down to Atlantic City to obtain bricks and construction materials for the church. Can you imagine how long a trip that was back in those days? (Photo below: donor's list)

My own family did not help establish St. Mary's Malaga. My family comes from Sacred Heart in Vineland and St. Mary's (Union Rd, see photo below), East Vineland. My family on both sides came from the same small farming village near Genoa in Northern Italy. Neither family knew each other until they came to Vineland, both by way of New York City. I grew up hearing all the stories of hardships they had encountered.

My ancestors were so poor they sold paper flowers on the streets of New York. My great grandmother was a janitor in a school established by Mother Cabrini (ora pro nobis!) and she considered it a great privilege just to mop the floors upon which the great saint had once walked. Mother Cabrini was, of course, sent to the United States specifically to help the poor Italians in their struggles to make better lives for themselves in the New World. 

In addition to the hardships of poverty, they were badly persecuted, primarily by the Irish Catholics. What I always found ironic about this, growing up, was that one group of Catholics, not terribly long in this country themselves, would turn around and treat so horribly another group of Catholics. But the human memory is short, it seems. In any case, my family could not worship in the Irish Catholic church because they were unwelcome there.

One of my great grandmothers came to Vineland as a child as a "Fresh Air Kid." The Fresh Air Fund, which still exists, takes city kids and gives them some summer fun in the country. My great grandmother vowed that when she grew up she would move to Vineland. And that's what she did. Both sides of the family moved to Vineland and had big farms on which they raised, among other things, chickens, which my grandfather hated. (He said they were very stupid animals and did not even like to eat them. On the right is my great grandfather, Angelo.)

Apparently, on my grandfather's side at least, way back during Prohibition they did some running of bootleg liquor back and forth from NYC until it got "too dangerous." My grandfather's family also had a printing business in Vineland, which was once located on West Avenue, and later in the Industrial Park, called DeMarchi Printing. Although my grandfather dropped out of school by about sixth grade (he hated school as well as chickens), he was quite the businessman and farmer/gardener. He took over the family printing business, grew it, and much later on sold it as it got too big for him.

My grandmother was the first to attend college in our family. She went to Glassboro, although I believe it was called the "Normal School" at that time. She taught in a one-room schoolhouse in East Vineland, and I believe later at the school on Main and Oak in Vineland (see photo left). My grandparents worked very hard, were not extravagant, were nothing if not generous, and mended their clothing until it was unmendable. The money they had went to their church, their community, their family, and to charity. I owe them everything.

It was recently commented in the St. Mary's parish bulletin that we should "always cherish--and not take for granted--the many freedoms that we enjoy in this country." How ironic that after all those years of hardship and struggle to worship in peace in their own churches, that our families should once again find themselves persecuted by those who are part of the same Catholic Faith. Our families worked so hard to give us not just our Faith, but our Faith made tangible. By their own blood and sweat, they gave us churches to worship in--that was their gift to us. We do not take our freedom to worship in those churches for granted. Our religious freedom, in a very literal sense, was bought and paid for by our ancestors. May we once again have the true freedom that is the promise of this country.


Above photos: My mother Doris in her First Holy Communion dress, my grandmother Laura on the farm (she's on the far right), and a relative farming shot.

Have you ever read the Mercer Mayer book, The Queen Always Wanted to Dance? I recommend it, even if you don't have kids. The gist of the story is this:

Because he thinks the Queen is unseemly, the King enacts an unjust law forbidding dancing. He follows it up with a similarly unjust law forbidding singing. Nobody wants to be miserable, so finally the entire town winds up in jail. Here are some excerpts:

Hardly anyone in the kingdom was happy about the new law, except a few people who thought dancing was a silly waste of time. They patted the King on the back and said, "Your Majesty, you surely are a wise king." And the King was happy because he was certain the Queen would behave properly now.

But the Queen decided that even if she couldn't dance she could sing.

He passed another law which read, "Singing is forbidden in my kingdom, and that includes the Queen. Signed, The King."

Now the milkmaid couldn't sing when she milked the royal cows. The royal chickens stopped laying eggs altogether....But most important of all, the Queen couldn't sing, because even a queen must obey the law.

The king was happy again. The few people who didn't like dancing didn't like singing either, so they were happy again.

"What do you think of my new law?" the King asked the Queen.

She just smiled and said, "Now you've gone too far."

And almost everyone agreed with her.

As the scullery maid mopped the royal floor, she whispered to herself, "This time the King has gone too far."

While the milkmaid churned the royal butter, she whispered to herself, "This time the King has gone too far."

Even in libraries, where no one is supposed to talk, people whispered, "This time the King has most certainly gone too far."

And the whispering was getting louder. But the very few people who thought that singing and dancing were a silly waste of time, patted the King on the back and said, "We like the new laws, Your Majesty."

The King marched everybody...to jail, where they all sang and danced and had a wonderful party.

By this time the King wasn't sure whether he was happy or not. He didn't like all this whispering. But after all, the law is the law.

All night long he tossed and turned. He felt lonely. Finally he could stand it no longer. "I think I've gone too far," he mumbled.

[By this time the Queen had already arrested herself because she would rather sing and dance in prison than be free and miserable.]

He threw back the sheets, sang a song off key, and danced...down to the jail. He opened the door and crept in. Everyone, even the Queen, stopped singing and dancing and stared at him in disbelief.

"I arrest myself," he announced meekly.

[After that the king changed the law and everyone lived happily ever after, except the people who didn't like to sing or dance and just liked to pat the king on the back.]

Well, here in the Diocese of Camden, we also have an unpopular "new law," and almost no one in the Diocese is happy about it. It seems we also have a "king" who's gone way too far. We hope that, like the king in the story, after losing way too much sleep because his conscience weighs so heavily on him, he one day wakes up and says to himself, "I think I've gone too far."

From the Bulletin:

It's getting to be that time of year again. We especially want this year to be a great success. Let us make it a truly special Feast for Our Lady. Let us put all our heart and soul in it. After all this is Our Tradition, something good to look forward to. Let us work together for Our Lady and Our Church! We all know the deal. We need everyone involved.

• Chicken BBQ tickets will be on sale after each mass.

• 50/50 raffle tickets will also be on sale after each mass. Both BBQ and raffle tickets may be purchased at the rectory.

• We will need baked goods, soda, and water -- name brands only. Look for volunteer sign-up sheets in church.

• Donations for Chinese Auction: Anything you can offer will be appreciated, including money for others to purchase auction items. See Joann Betz or call the rectory to participate. (You can also contact info@savestmarys.net for any of these.)
  

• Feast Talent Show will be August 16th. For sign-ups, please call the rectory or Mrs. Wilson: 609-774-1559. All musicians are required to bring their own instruments and sound equipment.

• We are also hoping for help to organize things like horseshoe tournaments, sack races, and corn or pie eating contests.

Not yet set in stone: By the way, it looks like we may have some awesome professional bands playing this year, from classic rock to bluegrass, including a surprise guest. We also hope to have two local wineries participating and a beer garden in additional to our normal activities. We will be selling tickets for the wine tasting and wine by the glass. Please make plans to come out, to help out, and make this feast the best one ever.

St. Mary's Malaga annually celebrates the Feast of the Assumption as its special feast day. The 11:30 mass (the one we happened to attend) was wonderful and the church itself was packed to the gills. It was standing room only.

This year we were blessed with what was probably some of the strangest weather in the history of the feast. In August, of all months, we had not only quite the storm--including dark, foreboding skies and lots of rain--but also hail throughout South Jersey!

Even more amazing, though, is the fact that so many stuck around throughout the day despite the rainstorm. People retreated to the basement or took cover under awnings and tents until it let up somewhat. Some even stayed in line to get their chicken! Boy that chicken must be pretty good.

Moreover, the storm did not begin until after the procession to Our Lady in the Rosary Garden had concluded. We even had a respite from the rain for some traditional Italian dances. It was a lot of fun.

We at St. Mary's count ourselves blessed always. God gives us so much--a beautiful church, a strong and holy pastor, fervent and abiding faith, the undiluted Truth is desired and preached here (not something to be taken for granted today), Eucharistic adoration is available 3 days a week, there are so many activities and groups, and miraculously there exists a real community of faith where people know and can depend upon one another. Our Lady really looks after little St. Mary's. So with all that, what's a little rain?

First we had mass. Then,
        we prayed & processed...





Then we got a little something to eat, listened to the band (which, later on, played straight through all the rain!) and the kids went on the big, inflatable slides and things.









Thank you for sending in the pictures! I'm sure many of you have more pictures, so feel free to send them in. We can also put up video, if you have that.

Like many Catholic churches, St. Mary's has an annual feast for the Assumption of Our Lady. But the feast at St. Mary's is the church's very special feast and it actually predates the church itself. Below is the information about this year's feast:

My husband, who helped create this website, isn't Catholic. Just tonight, something like a week later, I finally got around to reading his little blog entry on St. Mary's. I thought it was touching. He really gets it. Yeah, I guess that's why we're married.

Martin's plug for St. Mary's