The first marriage of the merger

Left in photo: Father Ernest Soprano, pastor of St. John Neumann Parish, North Cape May, stands with Joseph and Marie Mullen, who were married about after the parish was formed from the merger of St. John of God in North Cape May and St. Raymond of Villas.

Photo by James A. McBride

By Rich Luongo

NORTH CAPE MAY – Joseph and Marie Mullen “exude goodness” and enjoy sharing with others, said Father Ernest Soprano, pastor of St. John Neumann.

“They are also the first marriage of the merger,” he said. St. John of God in North Cape May and St. Raymond of Villas merged just about three years ago to form St. John Neumann. Joseph and Marie will be celebrating their second wedding anniversary in October.

Joseph’s first wife, Loretta, died in 2009 and he joined a grief support group at St. Elizabeth Seton Church in Whiting, where he lived at the time. “The group really benefited me,” said Joseph.

When he moved to this area, he went to register at St. Raymond’s where Marie worked in the office. Marie was a widow and Joseph said the two of them hit it off. They married on Oct. 15, 2011. Each has three grown children.

What surprised Joseph was there was no bereavement group at St. John Neumann. So he spoke to Father Soprano about starting one.

“Having learned from what he went through with the group in Whiting and how pleased he was with it, I told him to go ahead and start the group,” said the pastor.

Less than a year ago and with the support of his wife, Joseph organized the parish Bereavement Ministry. Today he’s the leader of the group and has eight volunteers who give their time to the ministry.

Father Soprano said the bereavement volunteers get very close to the grieving families. They visit them and help prepare the liturgy. The pastor sees this group as important for St. John Neumann.

“Last year we had 70 funerals,” he said. “We are a senior parish whose parishioners get closer to the Lord every day.”

In less than a year the Mullens have gotten heavily involved in the new parish. After the Bereavement Ministry other ministries followed. “The way we looked at it,” Joseph said, “God joined us together and we wanted to use the gifts given to us to build up the church.”
The Bereavement Ministry has grown to include a memorial Mass in November to remember those who died the previous year. There is also a monthly social.

“And as we meet with the grieving families, they tell us that Sunday afternoons are the loneliest times,” Joseph said. “That’s when we have them participate in a six-week grief support group where they’re shown how to face holidays, how to cope with eating alone, and facing an empty house.”

Joseph is a member of the parish council and is also a lector, something he brought with him from St. Elizabeth Seton where he was a lector for many years. He has continued that ministry at St. John Neumann.

Marie is a Eucharistic minister and visits the homebound with her husband. Although he is not a Eucharistic minister, he goes on Communion calls with Marie. “We leave church together after Mass,” he noted.

Every Wednesday, the Mullens participate in the charismatic prayer ministry, “Joy in Jesus” prayer meeting at St. Raymond. First there is the rosary at 7 p.m., followed by the meeting at 7:30.

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