The Beginnings as a mission.
The true beginnings of the parish go back to the early 1930s. Much of the credit for the parish’s humble genesis can be given to Frank Gordon a medical doctor, who settled in Blairstown around 1900. He noticed that many of his patients did not attend church services on Sunday. He himself was not Catholic, yet he noticed his Catholic patients might travel to out-of-town churches for baptisms, weddings and funerals, but these churches in Newton, Oxford, Belvidere, and Bangor, Pa., were too far to allow the immigrant farmers to attend Mass regularly. 
They just couldn`t make it home in time to get their chores done. 
Then Dr. Gordon learned that if he could gather more than 200 signatures of Catholics from the area, the Diocese of Trenton would establish a mission. It was quite a chore for the man who was so very concerned about his neighbor`s spiritual as well as physical well being, but eventually he gathered enough signatures to warrant the mission.
Rev. Edward Corrigan, pastor of St. Rose of Lima, Oxford organized the mission in Blairstown in 1934. 
 
The First Mass
Hill`s Amusement Hall was the setting for worship when the Mission began.  This building on Route 94 later was also the home of the Blairstown Press. At that time, though, the hall was a place where families and young people could gather for a night out of square dancing or recreation. 
On June 2, 1934 after the dancing was over, John Hill, the owner of the hall, and a few others stayed late to clean and arrange the meeting place for a special celebration. The next morning at 9 AM, Father Corrigan celebrated the first Mass in Blairstown. About 100 people participated. 
     Mass continued to be offered in Hill`s Amusement Hall each Sunday for several years. Often Father Corrigan or Father Graham, also from St. Rose of Lima would be the celebrant. Sometimes missionary priests came from Trenton to help.  But there were no church-related activities other than Sunday Mass. Catholics continued to travel to Oxford and other parishes for weddings and funerals. Behind the scenes, two laymen, Vincent Gleason and Jerome Kennedy, were at work trying to arrange for the mission to become a parish with a full-time priest.

The Parish is established 
     Finally, more than 11 years after the first Mass was offered in Blairstown, a parish was established. 
On July 17, 1945, Bishop William Griffin, of the Trenton Diocese and Rev. Francis Nolan and others decided on the name, Church of St. Jude. 
 
The 1st Pastor
The bishop appointed Fr. Francis Father Nolan the first pastor. 
Mr. Gleason and Mr. Kennedy were the first lay trustees.
     
Parish Boundaries established
The parish boundaries established at that meeting (updated slightly later on) embraced an area of over 100 square miles. 
On the north, the parish extends to Sussex County; on the east, to Johnsonburg-Hope Road, then south to Liberty Township; and north through Hope and Knowlton townships to the Paulins Kill. The western boundary is the Delaware River. 
     Grateful as the people of the parish were to Mr. Hill for his amusement hall each Sunday for Mass, they were eager to have a church building of their own. Yet pre-judices of the day prevailed, and no one who had desirable property wanted it known that they had sold to a group of Catholics.

The first Church Building 
     One of the Catholics in Blairstown, Jack Quigley, ran a hotel and restaurant on Main Street called Quigley`s Inn. He approached a private music teacher, Miss Elder, who inherited a house at the corner of Bridge Street. It had been the home of Dr. Carhart, a physician and state senator. Miss Elder sold the property to Mr. Quigley, who transferred the ownership to St. Jude Church.
     The structure needed extensive renovations on the first floor to make one room large enough to seat 140 persons. The upstairs was remodeled as the priest`s residence and a place for parish meetings and activities. The women of the parish held a house shower to supply the residence with linens, dishes and other necessary items. Father Nolan commuted from Oxford until his quarters were ready.
     There was a beautiful spirit of fellowship that grew as the church did. Many people helped get the church building ready and set the parish off to a strong start. For the first Mass, despite all their work, there wasn`t enough time to fasten down the seats. No one complained. During the first Easter celebration, a group of women stayed up until 3 AM in the morning on Holy Saturday sewing pinch pleat drapes from donated velvet fabric. The room was dressed properly for this joyous holy day.
      Social events included the first penny sale, which became a great tradition in the 1960s and`70s, was organized and held in Blairstown High School in 1946 or 1947. The top prizes? A five-pound bag of sugar and a one-pound can of coffee!

2nd Pastor    
     On April 30, 1948, Rev. James J. Duffy was appointed the second pastor of St. Jude Parish. Under his direction, three organizations were begun: the Rosary Society, which the women of the parish were invited to join; the Holy Name Society for the men and the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the young unmarried women.
     Each of these organizations ran various affairs to support the parish and its growing community. Church members remember the fun they had at the card parties, carnivals and breakfasts that helped raise funds and foster fellowship. The biggest profit taken in those days was $68. Parishioners even traveled to Martins Creek, Pennsylvania, every other week to run a Bingo game and bring the profits back to the parish

The first Parish Hall
     The next major accomplishment was building a parish hall. When it originally bought the property, the parish agreed that an elderly groundskeeper, Dr. Carhart would have lifetime rights to a small house at the rear of the lot. When the elderly gentleman died, the parish decided to replace his cottage with a parish hall to house the larger activities. Parishioners donated materials, time and labor. By the winter, the partially completed structure had a roof, but with the winter came one particularly heavy snowstorm. The temporarily braced walls and roof could not bear the weight, and they collapsed with a thunderous roar. Only the front door frame remained intact. That spring the parishioners pulled apart the debris, salvaging as much as possible, and began rebuilding.

3rd Pastor
     In May 1952, Rev. Thomas J. O`Dea became pastor. He applied his artistic talents to the interior decoration of the church and to landscaping the outside. Lawns and shrubs replaced the vineyards that had been in the care of Dr. Carhart`s helper. Fr. O`Dea installed a statue of Our Lady of Grace on the front lawn and planted shrubs around it.

Flood of 1955   
     The parish hall which served as the site for many dinner dances coordinated by Charles Joseph Meister, president of the Men`s Society, would have another round of bad. luck. In 1955, Hurricane Diane which spread such devastation along the Delaware River, also caused rampant flooding in Blairstown. The waters of the Paulins Kill were three feet deep in the parish hall. Tables, chairs, and other equipment were badly damaged, but the building stood firmly. Repairs were made and the hall continued to be used for monthly Communion breakfast meetings of the Holy Name Society, a tradition that continued through the 1970s.

4th Pastor 
     The parish had the spiritual leadership of a quick succession of pastors for the next few years. In April 1957, Rev. John J. Reilly became the new pastor. This tall, heavyset gray-haired gentleman who walked with a cane continued to encourage the programs that the vigorous parishioners had undertaken. It may have been a parish small in numbers but the parishioners were active. 

5th Pastor
     Father William H. McKenna was appointed pastor in September 1958.

6th Pastor 
     Rev. Michael Garry, a native of County Claire, Ireland, succeeded Fr. McKeena in July 1962.

2nd Vatican Council
During Fr. Garry's tenure the second Vatican Council was held. The decrees and constitutions of that 1963-65 Council soon began to make themselves felt in the area.
     Lively discussions at regional and parish meetings covered a number of topics: turning altars around so the priest faces the people during the Mass; resurrecting funeral liturgies; saying Mass in English instead of Latin; changing the style of the Sacrament of Penance; celebrating a Saturday vigil Mass for Sunday and allowing lay members to be readers during Mass. Other parishes began instituting these new ways, but St. Jude`s remained unchanged.
     The most Rev. George W. Ahr,  Bishop of Trenton from 1950 to 1979, convened a Diocesan Pastoral Council, one of the first in the United States, founded on the Vatican Council documents. Fr. Garry nominated Ellis Schweitzer as the delegate from St. Jude`s. The bishop told the delegates that he wanted local councils formed in each parish. 

7th Pastor
     Rev. Michael A. McNulty arrived in Blairstown as pastor on December 18, 1968. Shortly thereafter the altar was turned around so the priest faced the people during the Mass and Fr. McNulty selected laymen to help with the readings. That winter Fr. McNulty, Mr. Schweitzer and other parishioners organized a parish council. After much study, a council was elected and installed on May 15, 1969.

Parish outgrowing the Church building
     In the early 1970s many new families moved into the parish, bringing with them an energetic spirit of parish involvement. In 1977 a parish study found about 35 percent of the people in the area were Catholics. Parish enrollment in 1970 had been 125 families. By 1977 there were 247 registered families. That year Fr. McNulty formed a committee to consider expanding the parish facilities. The congregation had grown to such an extent that Father said three masses on Sunday and one on Saturday evening each week to accommodate the crowds. The congregation was standing in the aisles, vestibule, and on the steps and sidewalk at the two later Masses. Something had to be done.

Search for land to build New Church    
 The credit for the parish`s current location goes to Fr. McNulty. The late Robert Keating, a faithful usher and manager of the Blairstown Press, introduced Father to Thomas H. Benton, a stock and securities trader, who owned about 600 acres and lived on Benton Road in town. In friendly discussions, Father McNulty made it known that the parish needed land to expand, and he chose a parcel of 13 acres, perhaps the most choice of all of Mr. Benton`s property. The price of land was high, and Father explained that the parish could not afford the going rate; it could not even pay $5,000 or $10,000 an acre.
    "No doubt St. Jude overheard the conversation between Mr. Benton and myself," said Father at the time. "St. Jude knew this was indeed a difficult or even hopeless case and interceded on behalf of the parish."
  Mr. Benton generously offered to sell the land for $3,500 an acre. The parish bought 10 acres first near Benton Road in 1970 for $3,500 per acre, in 1975, purchased an additional 3.75 acres adjacent to the original purchase.

Raising the capital to build new church.
  The existing property in town, including church, two-car garage, parish hall and land, had a market value of $125,000 in 1975. Nearly 100 parishioners, under the lead ership of fund-raising chairmen Charles O`Connell and Thomas Quinn, worked on a campaign that realized $150,0000 in pledges. Using both the pledges and the value of the property as collateral, plus $25,000 in savings, the parish received sufficient mortgage money to build and furnish a new church and parish hall for an estimated $390,000.

New Church and Parish Hall  
 Fr. McNulty offered the first Mass in the new church on Mother`s Day, May 13, 1979. The rectory adjacent to the church was completed in January 1980. Bishop John C. Reiss blessed the church and parish hall on September 14, 1980.     The church seats 360 persons, including chairs in a glass-walled Blessed Sacrament Chapel which is used for daily Mass and on Sunday, as a children`s room.

Stain Glass Windows
One of the most striking features of the structure is the stained glass window, the work of Rudolph Buenz of Newton who learned his art in Germany in the 1920s. The side windows depict St. Jude and three Americans, Blessed (Saint) Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, and St. John Neumann. The main window represents Christ, King of the Universe, with biblical prophecies and their fulfillment in Christ. Small panels below this depict several popes and saints. Flanking the main windows are four small panels representing the four evangelists: Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
  
The Main Altar/Baptismal Font 
The main altar and baptismal font are of Botticino marble from Italy, standing on bases of dressed stone to match the facade and reredos.

Outdoor Statue of St. Jude
Outside the main entrance stands a Carrara marble statue of St. Jude.

New Diocese created
In November of 1981 St. Jude parish became part of the newly created Diocese of Metuchen which broke off from the Diocese of Trenton.  Up to this point St. Jude had been a parish of the Trenton Diocese since its founding.    

Continued Growth 
     The parish continued to grow throughout the 1980's. Bolstered by a real estate boom that significantly increased the population of the local communities, by 1995 the parish of St. Jude`s parish numbered about 600 families. The growth continued in the 1990's so that by 2000 about 900 families were registered in the parish.  
       St. Jude`s has always had an active program for the catholic education of the parish`s children.

Religious Education
In 1968 when Fr. McNulty arrived, the C.C.D. classes were conducted in the parish hall of the old church in the village. The Daughters of Divine Charity, who traveled each week from the Villa Madonna Convent in Allamuchy, taught the classes. Five sisters came each week and were helped by lay volunteers from the parish. That charitable arrangement was in place until 1980 when, because of the paucity of vocations to the convent, the Sisters could no longer supply teachers. The only one who kept teaching was Sister Benigna, who continued to travel from Allamuchy until health and age prevented her.
In 1980, once the parish was settled in its new location, Fr. McNulty asked Dr. Arthur P. Sullivan to become director of the C.C.D. program. Dr. Sullivan, then a professor and head of the psychology department at Fordham University, led St. Jude`s catholic education activities with a team of lay volunteers for 15 years. Helen Lehner was assistant director. Some of the teachers from this era include Helen Lehner, Karen Montanya, Michael Sullivan and Frank Seeley.

6 New Classrooms 
     In 1986 six new classrooms were added to accommodate the increasing C.C.D. enrollment which by by 1995 topped 400. In 1995 a new director had to be appointed when Dr. Sullivan`s professional duties made it difficult for him to continue to give so much time to the program. Liz Shulte-OBrien, an experienced teacher with an administrative background, took on the job. Again, Mrs. Lehner graciously offered to assist.

St. Jude Ladies Guild established  
     During this time, another St. Jude`s institution put down strong roots. St. Jude`s Guild established in 1982 began to support the church. Members raised funds, organize social events, foster spiritual development in special meetings and other activities to suppor the parish.
 
Fatima Shrine
     The Church of St. Jude  never stays still for long which is one sign of an active and vibrant constituency. In the late 1980`s, for example, a series of fortuitous events brought the parish the donation of the lovely statues of the Blessed Mother and children, which now grace the hilltop outside in the Lady of Fatima Shrine. Sr. Helen Paul, the sister of Sam Starr, a member of St. Jude`s parish, and a nun at the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, which was closing, offered the statues to St. Jude Parish. The late Walter Liebel of St. Jude Parish made a generous donation to start the shrine. 
     The rest of the funds came from a woman just opportunely passing through Blairstown. In devotion to St. Jude, she stopped in to visit Father McNulty and ask what she could do to help the church. Before she left that day, she wrote a check for $3,000 to finish the shrine.

The Giving Tree  
      In 1995 the day care - The Giving Tree was built to provide a safe and attractive environment for children of working parents in the community.  The center which was under the direction of Catholic Charities offered daycare but was eventually brought under the care of St. Jude Church and the program became known as the St. Jude Giving Tree Preschool.  During the 25th year of service to the coummunity it closed in the Spring of 2018. 

50th Anniversary Celebration
     St. Jude had a big year during 1995 as it marked the 50th anniversary of its founding.
Celebrations including  parish picnic.    
  
Passing of long time pastor
     On April 19, 1997, Fr. Michael. McNulty, born in Ireland, pastor since 1968, died after a long battle with cancer. His Funeral Mass was celebrated by Bishop Edward Hughes, second bishop of Metuchen. Father Michael Driscoll, pastor of St. Patrick Church, Belvidere, NJ, delivered the homily. Fr. McNulty is buried in the priest`s plot of Holy Cross Cemetery in South Brunswick, New Jersey. 

8th Pastor 
     On May 30, 1997 Father William J. Smith, was appointed pastor of Saint Jude by Bishop Edward T. Hughes. On June 10, 1997, he celebrated Mass for the first time in the Church of St. Jude. On July 27, 1997, Monsignor Anthony Lusini, Episcopal Vicar, officially installed Father Smith as pastor.
  
St. Jude Knights of Columbus Council #12430 established   
 It was under Fr. Bill Smith that the St. Jude Council #12430 of the Knights of Columbus was established centered at St. Jude Church.   The St. Jude Knights of Columbus council has been very active in supporting the needs of the parish as well as responding to many good causes that support people in need beyond the parish.

Deacon Michael Sullivan
In 2001 Parishioner Michael Sullivan was ordained a deacon to serve the parish. 
He faithfully served St. Jude over the years until his death, September 9, 2015. 
 
9th Pastor   
      Fr. John Barbella was appointed pastor of St. Jude Church in January of 2002.  
His time with St. Jude was brief being pastor for close to 5 months.   

10th Pastor
    Fr. Ronald L. Jandernoa, orginally from Michigan, succeeded Fr. Barbella.  Fr. Jandernoa was named administrator of St Jude Church on June 11 of 2002, and then as pastor on June 10 of 2003.
His installation as pastor took place on July 26 of 2003.
    
Respect for Life
   St. Jude Parish has promoted Respect for Life especially through the efforts of parishioner Helen Lehner. In 2003 she organized, with the support of the Knights of Columbus, and Fr. Ron Jandernoa the first of many bus trips in the cold of winter to the March for Life in Washington D.C. The trip has taken place every year through 2019.

Outdoor Cross
The Daughters of Divine Charity, who earlier had taught religious Education classes here at St. Jude Parish, had to move  from their home of the Villa Madonna (former Rutherford Estate) in Allamuchy which they eventually sold, They kindly donated the beautiful corpus of Jesus to St. Jude Parish which now hangs on a Cross in the Parsih grounds.   

60th Anniversary
     On September 11, 2005 St. Jude celebrated the 6Oth Anniversary of the parish with an outdoor picnic on a perfect day.  Fr. Ron Jandernoa presided at an outdoor mass in front of the Church.  This was followed by a memorial for the 4th anniversary of those who died in the terrorist attacks leading to the destruction of the the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.  Then the picnic followed with great weather food, fun, and games.   

Mission Trips
     Parishioners of St. Jude have been involved in many activities over the years.  One example was parishioners organizing mission trips after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to aid St. Joseph Parish in Pearlington, Mississippi.   For several years St. Jude sponsored mission trips to help with the recovery.   

Hurricane Sandy 
     In 2012 Hurricane Sandy struck New Jersey.    Many parishioners of St. Jude where without power for several weeks and it was difficult to obtain gasoline.  The vigil mass for All Saints Day was celebrated in the dark with many candles on the altar to provide light. The parish grounds suffered only minor losses as 3 trees came down in the storm, Many other parts of the state suffered far worse.    
    
Faith Formation 
     Trying to meet family needs the Faith Formation Program has expanded to include Summer Religious Education SuRE option, along with Tuesday and Sunday offerings of Religious Education. St. Jude has been blessed with service of Marie Draghi as Catechetical Leader and Elizabeth Thorton as Assistant Catechetical Leader and Youth Ministry Coordinator.    

Eagle Scout Projects
Over the years St. Jude Church has been the recipient of many Eagle Scout Projects Including the outdoor Fatima Shrine, a Fire Pit area for the Easter Vigil Fire, an outdoor Way of the Cross, a beatiful patio with St. Francis Statue and bench, and a memorial for the Unborn.

Expanded Church Vestibule. 
In the spring of 2014 major renovations to the Church vestibule, and Reconciliation Room included the expansion of the vestibule,  a new 2nd entrance to the sacristy -from the vestibule, new restrooms and also, a new reconciliation room located in the far back corner of the Church.     

70th Anniversary
     The 70th anniversary of the parish was celebrated in the year 2015 at the Annual Parish Picnic in September.    A week later St. Jude sponsored a bus to partake in the Festival of Families with Pope Francis in Philadelphia.  Parishioners were among hundreds of thousands of people present at the historic event. 

75th Anniversary Year and Covid 19
The 75th Anniversary Year of the parish in 2020 was marked in a negative way by the outbreak of the COVID 19 Pandemic.  One of the outcomes of this Pandemic was Social Distancing forcing people to stay home from attending mass at Church.   For the first time in the parish history public masses were not allowed including the the most sacred time of year Holy Week and Easter.  Streaming video of the masses began so that people could have access in their homes.  The Church was opened to public celebrations of Mass in June with limitations.   St. Jude parish was able to celebrate one of her own who is pursuing the priesthood when he was ordained to the Deaconate on July 25, 2020 at St. Francis Cathedral in Metuchen.   Timothy Eck II preached his first homily at St. Jude Church on Sunday, July 26, 2020.  He was ordained to the priesthood at the Blue Army Shrine in Washington NJ, on June 20, 2021 and celebrated his first mass here at St. Jude church on June 21, 2021.  
 
   Future Years 
     Much has changed in the history of this parish, yet the underlying strengths remain the same.
St. Jude Church will face future years confident in the grace of God; confident our prayers will be heard and that St. Jude Parish will be a steadying influence on the lives of the people it touches.

St. Jude intercede for us. 

Thanks to Ms Joanne McFadden who dedicated many hours bringing much of this History to life.