Pastor said rectories sat vacant for 12 years; all three churches remain
OCEAN CITY – Some people may have been startled to see rectory buildings demolished at St. Frances Cabrini Church on Second Street in September and the wrecking crew currently at work knocking down the rectory and parish hall at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church at 40th Street.
Father Thomas A. Newton, the pastor in charge of the three Catholic churches in the St. Damien Parish, said the churches themselves are still being used but it was time for those vacant buildings to be sold. He said the real estate market is at a high and selling them puts those properties back on the Ocean City tax rolls.
Some 12 year ago the three parishes in Ocean City, including St. Augustine at 13th Street, merged into one – St. Damien.
Newton said the parish needs all three churches, especially in the summer, when there are 12 Masses, four at each church. However, he points out, “I am now the only priest assigned to St. Damien Parish, the only priest assigned to Ocean City.”
“At 40th Street and Second Street we had a rectory, a home for priests, that were unused for the last 12 years. No priest has lived there,” Newton said. “Even when there was more than one priest assigned, they lived together at 13th Street and Ocean. That’s St. Damien’s rectory, next to St. Augustine Church. That’s where I live.”
The houses at Second Street and the rectory at 40th Street sat vacant for the past 12 years and the parish hall attached to the rectory at Our Lady of Good Counsel was underused and was not air-conditioned.
“So when I arrived here in July 2020, I raised the issue of selling some of this property that was unused to our finance council. Our finance council kind of discussed it at a number of meetings and they they made the recommendation to me that this was the time to sell this unused property,” Newton explained.
“First of all we were selling it because it was unused. Second we were selling it because it’s a good market to sell at this time. In addition, there was the possibility these unused buildings would go back on the tax rolls of Ocean City,” he said. “We’re tax-exempt, but if the buildings aren’t used for religious purposes” the parish could lose that exemption. “Ocean City has been wonderful to us; they’ve never come after us, which is great, but that may not have continued indefinitely.”
With the decision of the finance council, they came to an agreement with a developer and sold the properties. That actually took place months ago, but because of the moratorium on demolitions during the summer, the work didn’t begin until after Labor Day.
The properties at Second Street were demolished first and as of the end of last week, the rectory on 40th Street was rubble and the parish hall was halfway knocked down.
The pastor appreciates how things have gone in Ocean City with the people and with public officials.
“I came from another community and the township was not nearly as understanding,” he said about decisions the parish there had to make. “Ocean City has been great to work with in every aspect. When we have our August 15th Wedding of the Sea celebration, Ocean City is supportive and helps us, takes care of providing what we need. They’ve just been tremendous to us as a parish community.”
With the properties now in the hands of a developer, they will go back on the tax rolls and add to the billions of dollars of ratables in the resort. The money from the sale will help the parish.
“We’re going to use some of the proceeds from the sale and put it right back into making our buildings more beautiful and functional,” he said.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in our three churches, updating, renovations,” Newton said. “St. Augustine’s Church has one small, non-handicapped accessible bathroom. We have plans that have already been drawn up and approved to add two new handicapped-accessible bathrooms.” Other work includes cosmetic, heating and air-conditioning, lighting and music systems.
“It’s an exciting time for St. Damien Parish in Ocean City. These buildings were not needed, that’s for sure,” he said. He added that he made sure to help one AA meeting, that met in the south end, find a new location.
Happy to be assigned to Ocean City
Father Tom, as he’s known by his parish, said it’s exciting being on the island, a place he knew well while growing up.
“I love living in Ocean City. It’s a great assignment for me. I spent 16 years as pastor of a church in Cherry Hill, which were wonderful years,” he said. “I have a history of my family coming to Ocean City when I was a kid, in elementary school, high school, college, seminary. We rented a place in Ocean City and at the end we were here for the entire summer.”
“I love Ocean City so it’s tremendous for me to be able to come back here,” he said while acknowledging the work load. “It’s a big task to manage these three different churches, but I have the support of the community and many retired priests are in this area, who either live in Ocean City or nearby, and they’re very willing to come and help and cover the Masses we have in the summer.”
He added that he loves the staff and the people.
“I’m really blessed to be assigned here,” Newton said. “A lot of priests wanted to come to Ocean City when Father Rush retired and I’m the lucky one.”
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff