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People On The Move - Reverend Monsignor Eugene M. Rebeck
10/31/2010 - By Tobi Drucker Tesoriero
SERVING HOLMDEL’S ST. CATHARINE’S PARISH FOR OVER A QUARTER CENTURY
Reverend Monsignor Eugene M. Rebeck has been at the helm of Saint Catharine’s parish in Holmdel for over 25 years. He has seen the parish grow along with the community from a rural place to a more populated one. The Monsignor shared that when he first came to St. Catharine’s in 1985 it was in a much smaller church. It was soon realized they needed bigger space for worship. A bigger church was built in 1987.
The number of people in the congregation has continued to grow. Today, according to the Monsignor, “We have an enormous amount of children in our religious education program – over 1,200! In 1995 an education building was added to our facility.”
There are 2,800 families in the congregation, which certainly reflects how Holmdel has constantly grown. When the Monsignor first came here, there were mostly farmers and it was not so densely populated as it is now. A good number of the people coming into Holmdel that are Catholic are moving here from Staten Island and Brooklyn. There is a heavy concentration in this area.
The parish serves Holmdel and part of Middletown Township. When asked what sort of program and activities are offered by the church the Monsignor stated, “We are always big on social justice. We are conscious of others in need. We take ten percent of our income and use it for those areas to help those in need” They help Project Paul in Keansburg, Lunchbreak in Red Bank and help support activities in a parish in Asbury Park. The church also offers programs for youth, religious education for children, as well as a caring ministry. The caring ministry is focused on helping people in need. It provides care for the home bound sometimes doing simple things like going to the store. They have found even those simple acts can make a tremendous difference in someone’s life – for both the doer and the recipient.
The parish offers an after school program, which runs through both the winter and summer because they have to accommodate all the children. The summer program involves a lot of the teenagers working with the younger children. Also, members can become involved as altar servers.
The parish preschool is full to capacity. In addition to the usual educational curriculum the children are also exposed to a spiritual dimension. One Sunday at mass they come and lead the congregation in the Our Father prayers. They do it in the sign language that they learn in school.
Prior to joining St. Catharine’s, Monsignor Rebeck was affiliated with other New Jersey Parishes. His first assignment was as an assistant was in Keansburg from 1965 to 1968. In 1968 to 1977 he was at Our Lady of Sorrows in Mercerville. 1977 saw him become Pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Health in Mapleshade. He remained there until 1985 when he came to St. Catharine’s.
Monsignor Rebeck is a local boy having been born in Perth Amboy. He attended their parish school, Holy Trinity and then St. Mary’s High School. He then went off to seminary in Baltimore. He studied at St. Mary’s Seminary for both his general college and theology training. He was in ordained 1965. The Monsignor knew at a pretty early age that the Church was to be his life work. He shared, “I knew pretty much after high school that I wanted this path for my life. So I figured I’d try it! Apparently it is still working out!”
When asked what his hopes are going forward both personally and for the parish, he said that his personal hopes and the parishes are the same. He hopes that his service and his preaching in the parish helps people come to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ which will affect their day to day living. He continued, “That Gospel values can be lived and if they are lived we can see we can make this world a better place. That we all have a responsibility on this earth and it is not just going to church. It is that what we hear and preach be put into practice each day of our lives.”
He also feels it is important that people realize that by their participation they can become better Christians and better people.
He says, “When you put it all together, you ask ‘What is it all about’? You gain a greater awareness of God in our lives by touching the lives of other people to make them better. People can say ‘By my deeper faith and relationship with God I can make this world a better place’.”
STATS
FAVORITE RESTAURANT
Can’t answer that, several parishioners own restaurants!
FAVORITE MUSIC
Classical music
FAVORITE MOVIE
“The Sound of Music”
(Even though it is priest trite)
PET PEEVE
When people don’t sing at mass
THREE PEOPLE YOU’D LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH
The Pope, Abraham Lincoln (we have the same birthday), and my four nieces
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