Retiree does a lot of ‘part time stuff’ at parish

Photo by James A. McBride

Father Paul Olszewski, pastor of the Parish of All Saints, stands with Jim Marketto, who recently started a youth group at the parish.

MILLVILLE — For Jim Marketto, stewardship is a joy shared by all those who volunteer and give their time and talents for the Parish of All Saints.

“There is much joy serving the church and particularly serving with other people,” he said. “I invite people to experience the joy in all our ministries and focus on the joy of serving.”

The Parish of All Saints was created with the merger of St. John Bosco and St. Mary Magdalene, both in Millville. Home base for the parish is St. Mary with St. John Bosco remaining an active site. Jim’s parish was St. Mary Magdalene but prior to that he and his wife Bernie were parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish in Vineland.

“My wife and I were married in Sacred Heart in 1968 but moved to St. Mary 10 years ago,” he explained. “Bernie grew up in Sacred Heart Parish and we kept going there after we were married.”

Jim explained the family, including daughters Krista and Karen, eventually changed their parish to St. Mary Magdalene from Sacred Heart. “Bernie taught religious education and RCIA at Sacred Heart as well as Pre-Cana and she continued at St. Mary.”

While at Sacred Heart, Jim also taught religious education with his wife and was involved with the choir and Pre-Cana. He also cantored and worked with the youth of the parish. At St. Mary he continued with the choir and his cantor duties and with religious education.

“Choir is a wonderful place to find happy people,” he said, “yet you can find happy people in all ministries. An example of this is the St. Vincent de Paul Society which is a very active ministry in our parish. I volunteer once a month to help deliver food. The men and women volunteers find it very joyful serving our poor people. St. Mary is in an impoverished area and St. Vincent de Paul Society does a wonderful job helping poor people.”

“We organized weekend activities when a priest referred couples to us and we helped them signup for Pre-Cana,” he said. “Many other couples were involved besides us. As lead couple we were responsible for putting the marriage prep program on four times a year. Over the years we worked with many priests, and the program is continuing with other lead couples.”

Father Paul Olszewski, pastor of the Parish of All Saints, asked Jim after the merger if he would set up a youth group.

“We started about a year ago,” Jim said. “It’s a relatively active group and we get from 12-20 kids to come out to our meetings four times a month, two Sundays and two weekdays. We’re also involved in Christmas parades in Vineland, Millville and Bridgeton.”

Jim is used to working with kids. He holds a master’s degree in the education of the handicapped and was at Triton High School in Runnemede as supervisor of special services and at Buena in East Vineland for some 13 years. He was also a teacher for 17 years before going with the state for three years to help revise special education. In total he spent 34 years in the academic field.

Now retired he works part-time at Cumberland County College as an adjunct professor and academic advisor. “I also hang out in the fitness center, part-time,” he said. “I seem to be doing a lot of part-time stuff lately.”

Father Olszewski calls Jim “a faithful parishioner and as part of the Parish Council he’s involved in the six pastoral priorities presented by the diocese.”

The pastor said that Jim went beyond just starting a youth group. “He’s taken it upon himself to provide the opportunity for youth formation,” said Father Olszewski. “He’s filled with energy and has done a great job to instill in others the importance of a youth ministry. He’s not just ministering but he’s allowing youths to be ministers themselves within the parish.”

For more information on stewardship contact Deacon Russell Davis, Office of Stewardship, at 856-583-6102.