HISTORY OF

OUR LADY OF THE LAKE PARISH

To unearth the roots of a Church and its parishioners required the collection of data from established records and recollections which fade with time.  The history of a Church is one that is personal and intriguing.  How did Our Lady of the Lake Parish evolve from the year 1920 to the present when she experienced a complete overhaul to take her into the 21^st Century?  Who did the people seek for spiritual information for the groundwork, to bring together people clustered within a community, to establish a parish of worship?

           A major priority would be to form a Church that would encourage a mutual sharing between the people and the spiritual director, to follow the Christian life as written in the Gospels and exemplified by Jesus. Another priority would be to communicate the love of the Blessed Mother in the care and concern for each other, i.e., to share in the joys and sorrows, to laugh and cry through the happy and difficult times which are essentials for spiritual living within a community.

           The people came from varied ethnic backgrounds and different traditions.  They shared their proud heritage and cultures through love and dedication. They took pride in what they considered to be their own church.  It is within this spirit of love and devotion of their church, present from the beginning past, prevalent today and to be perpetuated in the future, that we find the roots and foundations of this church.  These beliefs will always be part of Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Pocono Pines.

           In the beginning… Catholics from Pocono Pines and Pocono Lake had to travel to the Church of St. James in Tobyhanna to attend Mass until 1909, when St. Mary of the Mount was built in Mount Pocono.  The resident population was small; however, by 1913 there were enough summer visitors to warrant a priest to celebrate Mass at the Assembly Pavilion of “Lutherland”, in Pocono Pines. 

           The ending of World War I brought the realization to the residents of Pocono Pines and Pocono Lake that a church edifice was not only desirable, but also feasible.  Rev. P. J. Boland, pastor of St. Mary of the Mount in Mt. Pocono, together with some of the first parishioners undertook its construction.  According to the records found in the cornerstone, the Church was dedicated on August 8, 1920 by Most Rev. Michael J. Hoban, Bishop of Scranton.  Father P.J. Boland assisted with many parishioners in attendance.

           Much of the information of our parish’s early history is based on the recollections of Msgr. Francis Kane, Father Aloysius Boylan and several of the early parishioners and residents.  The influx of summer visitors supported and       `enabled the establishment of a Catholic Church in Pocono Pines.  Mary and Anna Ryan of Philadelphia, who vacationed in their summer home in Mount Pocono, donated sufficient funds to allow the erection a church at that time.

           Having the status of a Mission Church meant that the parishioners had to maintain the church’s upkeep.  The women of the Mission Church were charged with keeping the interior of the building clean, maintaining the altar linens and priest’s vestments.  The men of the Mission Church looked after the incidental repairs and upkeep of the exterior of the church and its surroundings.  Indoor plumbing was not a luxury to have in the Mission Church, so parishioners brought the water needed for Mass and cleaning from home.  The Mission Church was only opened during the summer for the first 26 years.  Religious Education classes were held in the homes of the parishioners.

           In 1926, Father Connell McHugh became the Pastor of St. Mary of the Mount in Mount Pocono and it Mission Churches.  Our Lady of the Lake remained under the care of Msgr. McHugh until 1945, when with Bishop William Hafey’s permission it became a Mission of  the Church of St. Ann in Tobyhanna.  Father Aloysius Boylan became its Pastor.

           During the Great Depression many in our area experienced unemployment, scarcity of food and other economic and social hardships.  The Church was not exempt from the effect of the Depression.  Assisting families in need became the uppermost priority of Our Lady of the Lake Church.  Hence, improvements to the Church were not a priority.

           Our country’s participation in World War II did not bring much better news to people of the Pocono Plateau.  Young men and women joined the Armed Forces of the United States to help preserve our freedom and to abolish the threat of the Third Reich.  Those who were not part of the military were obliged to work.  Families sacrificed much and prayed often for the end of World War II.  Parents and siblings mourned the loss of their family members who died in the war.  The Pastor assumed the role of comforter and consoler for the families who worried and grieved.

           Our Lady of the Lake Church began to realize some economic improvement with the ending of the war.  Improvements to the church were realized – among them, the addition of a source of heat for the cold winter months.  Through the generosity of the parishioners Our Lady of the Lake Church was able to be open year-round.  This provided the Catholics of the area not only a luxury of having their own local church, but it also necessitated the on-going maintenance and upkeep of the full-time church. 

           Reverend George J. Jordan was appointed Pastor of the Church of St. Ann in Tobyhanna and its Missions.  By the end of the 1950’s the population of Our Lady of the Lake increased as did the many and varied activities that are associated with parish life.

           Msgr. Joseph Quinn assumed the Pastorate of the Church of St. Ann and its Missions in 1964.  It was during this time period that indoor plumbing was installed in Our Lady of the Lake Church. The basement was adapted in order to provide a venue for parochial and social activities. 

           Father Vincent Harrity became the Pastor in December 1970.  Father Harrity continued to implement the Decrees of The Second Vatican Council.  His unexpected death in May of 1971, lead to the appointment of Father Arthur Kaschenbach as St. Ann’s new Pastor.  

          Father Eugene Gunning was appointed Pastor of the local Roman Catholic Community in 1977.   During the celebration of the Easter Vigil, March 25, 1978, Our Lady of the Lake Church caught fire and burned, leaving only a shell remaining.  During this tragic time the people of Our Lady of the Lake worshipped at the Pocono Lake Hotel and at the Firehouse.  Father Gunning along with the help of Our Lady of the Lake Parishioners designed and constructed a modern church to meet the religious needs of the Catholics of Pocono Pines and surrounding areas.  Bishop J. Carroll McCormick dedicated and blessed the new Our Lady of the Lake Church on January 13, 1980. 

           Bishop James C. Timlin, upon the recommendation of Father Thomas Maloney

(Pastor of St. Ann’s and its Missions), designated Our Lady of the Lake as a Parish, in September 1985.  Familiar with Our Lady of the Lake, Father Maloney brought a spirit of dedication and commitment to the newly erected parish.  Our Lady of the Lake Parish became a vibrant Community of Faith on the Pocono Plateau.   

           Lynnette Smith became the full-time Coordinator of Religious Education in 1988. She developed and administered a model and much envied program for the education of the people of Our Lady of the Lake of all age groups.  Realizing the tremendous talent God graced Lynnette with, Father Maloney designated her as Our Lady of the Lake’s first Pastoral Associate, a position that she still holds today.

           The Feast of the Birth of Mary (September 8) was selected as the Patronal Feast of the Parish.  It is the one day each year that we commemorate, in a special manner, the great example Mary, the Mother of Jesus, provides us as disciples of Christ.  Her role as the “First Disciple” continues to inspire and prod us on to a deeper and more personal relationship with her Son.

           Our Lady of the Lake Parish experienced a surge in membership and attendance, not only during the summer months, but throughout the year.  More and more people were moving to Pocono Pines and the surrounding areas and this necessitated a reassessment of parish facilities.  It was determined that our parish had to expand structurally to meet the ever-increasing number of parishioners and visitors.  Not only was there a need to increase the worship space for our church; provisions also had to be made to provide adequate classroom facilities for our expanding Religious Education Program.

           Bishop Timlin blessed and dedicated the newly expanded Church of Our Lady of the Lake Parish on July 3, 1994.  The expanded edifice enabled the Parish to meet the parochial needs of the twilight of the Twentieth Century and threshold of the Twenty-First Century with renewed vigor and diligence. 

           Father Thomas Maloney was transferred to The Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Scranton.  Father John Boyle succeeded Father Maloney as Pastor in July of 1998.  He continues to preach and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the help and collaboration of Lynnette Smith and many dedicated parishioners.     

           (Adapted and condensed from Our Lady of the Lake * 1920 -1994  by Rosalie Malunowicz)