When the Rev. Robert Joerger says he is "often getting it wrong," he means only insofar as putting names to faces, rather, masks — all part of the gig for St. Therese of Lisieux's new pastor, who joined the church in September in the midst of the pandemic.
Still, no number of masks — "and sunglasses," he added — has stopped Father Joerger from getting to know the people of Montauk. "I preached on it: A lot of people introduced me to the book 'A Speck in the Sea.' I didn't know about the story and, you know, all the other fishermen who just dropped everything," he said after being astonished by the Montauk community's role in the 2013 rescue of John Aldridge.
"I stayed up all night reading the book. It was fabulous, fascinating, and it makes sense that Jesus wouldn't be going to cathedrals, but he went to a fishing village to find his disciples because he needed guys who had each other's back. He knew he needed people who knew how to tell a long story," he said, and chuckled at the notion of subbing Liars' Saloon for the church.
Father Joerger said that one challenge in getting to know locals was knowing them well enough to make sure they, in turn, felt welcome at the church. "I'm trying to use the theme of coming home for Christmas," he said. Accordingly, it was his task to get to the bottom of what home meant for Montauk.
The pastor's bottom line is welcoming people no matter where they sit spiritually, allowing people to come as they are — "How else?" he said, explaining his impression of Montauk as a place "made for home, a place to be wanted and loved."
"The people I've come to know in a certain number of months, I don't know, they have your back, if anything. If there's a need in the community or something, everyone is there. You just look out into the congregation at how many people are E.M.T.s and firefighters."
On a recent visit to the firehouse, Father Joerger was surprised at "all the equipment," he said, "more than in New York and New Rochelle," where he had been provincial superior of the Province of St. Paul of the Cross, of the Catholic order the Passionists, for 13 years. It made sense to him when the Fire Department cited being so far out geographically as reason to be prepared for many eventualities. Accordingly, he traced the way people came together, not only forming "a marvelous community of responders," but one responsive to one another's needs, too.
"People are people everywhere," Father Joerger said, referring to the fact that St. Therese of Lisieux is his first posting as a parish priest. "When I got a call from the Diocese of Rockville Centre, I said, 'But I'm not a priest of the diocese!' So it came as a bit of a surprise, and because of Covid my retreats had all canceled, so I said yes."
It turned out to be an easy transition. "I've been a priest for a while now, so I kinda got that down."
If Covid ensured that Father Joerger was baptized by fire as a new pastor, the now-upon-us Christmas season poses further questions about safe worship. The large church is not much of a problem for social distancing, he said, and with ventilation and keeping Mass under an hour, the basics are straightforward.
Father Joerger will lead three Masses on Christmas Eve and two on Christmas Day. As singing poses too much of a risk, he is considering ways to make the family and children's Mass, at 4:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, feel special. A Mass in Spanish will be said at 7, and one at 10 will serve as midnight Mass.
With a capacity for about 530 people and a Covid cap at 250, plus "Purell bottles everywhere," the church meets safety requirements. Those who still cannot make it to worship will soon be able to live-stream services on YouTube. "We rely on the young people for that."
Without singing in church, the pastor puts extra effort into lively homilies, during which he is at enough of a distance to go without a mask. Only the priest drinks from the chalice now, but congregants can still receive communion in hand.
"We don't shake hands and don't have the kiss of peace anymore either. I think people have adjusted. I mean obviously with your husband or wife or kids, you give them a hug, but I think people are comfortable waving to each other, it's actually kind of nice, and people arm-bump."
