A Message From The Rev. Fr. Carmen G. Bolock, Pastor

Hello and welcome to Our Lord's Ascension Parish!

We are very glad you stopped by today. You may be wondering who and what we are. Those are good questions if you are not familiar with our part of the Catholic Church.

Let me start by giving you a brief history of the Polish National Catholic Church and of our Parish. In the year 1896, a group of 250 Polish immigrants in the city of Scranton,PA found themselves in a bad situation as far as the practice of their Catholic faith and religious rights. They were poor mine workers who struggled to earn a small income to support themselves and their families - it was a very difficult time for them. With what little money they had they managed to support their families, and their Church. But, their efforts were not appreciated by the Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in that area.

Their pastor was asking for more money from them, the Diocesan Bishop of Scranton was reluctant to provide them with a priest of Polish decent, and they were denied a voice in the life of their Church. As a result, these poor folks were finding it difficult to remain faithful to a Church which did not seem to care about its people. There were also issues of the faith and the constant threats by the Pastor of condemnation for not giving financial support.

These brave and holy people decided to take matters into their own hands. Using their own money and labor, they constructed a Church building of their own. When it came time for the bishop to come and consecrate the Church, he demanded that the title and deed to the property be turned over to his control (in the Roman Catholic Church all property is under the control of the Diocesan bishop). They found that to be unacceptable since their bishop had not provided them with any money for the building of their Church. At that point, they sought out the assistance of a Polish priest in the area whom they knew and trusted to come and take up their cause.

A delegation of people went to the borough of Nanticoke, PA to seek out the Rev. Fr. Francis J. Hodur and explain their problem to him. Father Francis listened with great compassion and concern for what they were telling him. They asked him to come to Scranton and be the Pastor of St. Stanislaus' Church. After praying over their situation, Father Francis agreed to come and be their Pastor. And so the first Mass was celebrated in St. Stanislaus' Church on Christmas Eve.

Father Francis did not want to leave the situation as it was. He went to see the Bishop of Scranton to find an equitable and reasonable solution to this situation. He was given no hearing by the bishop. On behalf of his new parishioners, he travelled all the way to the Vatican for an audience with the Pope; however, he never even got to see the Pope. He was told by the Holy Father's aids that the matter was closed and that he was to return to the United States and go back to his previous parish.

Upon his return, Father Francis received a letter from the bishop addressed to him and the members of St. Stanislaus to stop what they were doing and turn the Church property over to the bishop of face excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church. Father Francis read the letter to the people at Holy Mass. They all agreed they could not return to a Church which was so unfeeling. Father Francis tore up the letter and burned it in front of everyone. With that, the Polish National Catholic Church emerged as a Church unto itself on the second Sunday of March 1897.

The work began to form a Catholic Church which was true to the ideals set by Jesus in the Gospel. A faith which was truly Catholic free of man-made dogmas where the people had a voice in the operation of the Church Soon the ideals of Father Francis and the people were being put into place. Mas was in a language people could understand and no longer in Latin. On Christmas Eve in 1900, Mass was celebrated in Polish for the first time. Management of the material affairs of the Church were placed in the hands of the people of the parish. This meant that they (the parishioners) would be responsible for the financial area of the Church. The first Synod of the Church was held in 1904 with everyone having a voice and a vote in the affairs of their religious life. Father Francis was elected the first bishop of the Church. Soon this fresh idea of a new religious freedom spread far and wide.

In 1925, the people of Polish Roman Catholic descent here in the Lehigh Valley found themselves facing the same problems as the people in Scranton had faced 40 years earlier. Both in Allentown and Bethlehem, they decided they were not going to stand for oppression either. So, two parishes were organized through their hard work. Resurrection of Our Lord in Allentown in 1926 and Our Lord's Ascension in Bethlehem in 1927. Resurrection faced other problems and did not last much past 1941 so they joined with the folks in Bethlehem to form a stronger parish.

Our Lord's Ascension purchased a small Church building on the corner of 5th and William Sts. on Bethlehem's Southside and a parish community grew. They decided to place themselves under the jurisdiction of the Polish National Catholic Church inviting Prime Bishop Francis Hodur to come to Bethlehem. So, on May 22, 1927, it came to pass.

Our Lord's Ascension Parish remained on the Southside of Bethlehem until 1975 when it came time to build a new building. Land was purchased on Jennings Street along with a house on Linden Street to serve as the rectory. In May of 1976, the Congregation of Our Lord's Ascension moved into our present Church building.

Here at Our Lord's Ascension Parish, we offer a traditional Catholic Liturgy with contemporary beliefs. As I stated above, we are a democratic Church whereby each parishioner is responsible both personally and financially to this Parish. Our bishops, priests, and deacons are permitted to marry. Divorced people may participate in Holy Mass, receive Holy Communion, and remarry in the Church.

Holy Mass and other services are in English but keeping our ethnic traditions and some of our music of our Polish heritage. Our Parish has a beautiful property with a large parking lot, a large field where children can play and a very accomodating Parish Hall. Religious instruction, both in Sunday School and Sacramental preparation, is offered for the member's children of the parish. We are a small family friendly Parish where everyone, no matter of ethnic background, is welcome to come and worship. You will have a role in the life and future of this Parish. Here, at Our Lord's Ascension Parish, we live by the motto of our organizer, Prime Bishop Francis J. Hodur, "By Truth, Work, and Struggle, we Succeed"! We invite you to visit us where you will find the Holy Spirit here to follow Christ.

Your brother in Christ,

The Rev. Fr. Carmen G. Bolock, Pastor