St. James Catholic Church and School Plan to Celebrate Important Milestones

Next year will be an important one for and.

The church, founded in 2013, is celebrating its 150th anniversary, and the school will be celebrating its 100th anniversary.

In anticipation of these two milestones, the parish has planned several events over the next year.

The anniversaries are important to the parish as well as to the community in order to understand the history of the area, said church member Molly Torbic. She attends the church with her husband, Rodney, and two sons, Ryan, 13, and Kyle, 11.

“I think it is important to know our past so we can draw upon it and build for the future,” she said.

The Torbics have been members of the church since they moved to seven years ago.

To kick off the "Anniversary Celebration Year," St. James will celebrate Mass in War Memorial Park at noon Sunday, Sept. 9. Highlights of the event include the Mass, alumni lectors, and music by the St. James Choir. Immediately following will be a picnic celebration in the park.

Historians will look forward to the weekend of Sept. 21-23 with the grand opening of the St. James photo gallery. Photographs from the late 1890s through the present, showing the development of the church and parish, will be on display at the gathering space of the church. 

“We welcome everyone from the area to come and view the exhibit,” Torbic said.

The anniversary celebration will continue with the St. James progressive dinner Oct. 6.

“It will be an evening of food, fun and fellowship for our adult parishioners,” said Torbic.

This event starts at 6 p.m. with appetizers at the, followed by intimate private dinners at select residences.  The entire group will reunite for dessert and entertainment at the Barn. Entertainment at this landmark will be provided by Modern Insurgency, a band including several parish teens.

The school will celebrate with three alumni reunions, the first to be held on Nov. 24 for the classes of 1986 through 2004. The event will take place at the . The other reunion dates are April 6, 2013 for classes through 1985 and Aug. 10, 2013 for the classes of 2005 through 2013.

Interested alumni may contact sjs.cougaralumni@gmail.com for more information.

St. James will end the 2012 year by participating in the Dec. 1st Santa Parade in Sewickley. The parish will construct a float commemorating the anniversaries utilizing recycled materials, Torbic said.

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