Church of the Little Flower
11/18/2025:
Participate in the Process
Little Flower and the Archdiocese need your feedback!
COMPLETE THE MODEL FEEDBACK FORM.
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!
THE CURRENT MODELS SHOW ONE OPTION
LITTLE FLOWER MERGING WITH OUR LADY OF PEACE IN NEW PROVIDENCE.
Go to the online form here:
Select your role – Parishioner
Select your parish - Look under "L" for Little Flower
Select your planning area - We are “Western Union”
Answer three questions for each of the two options for LF
*Both options indicate the merger of LF and OLP – for option two, indicate “same as above”.
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In this option, what makes sense and would work? Why? If you believe the merger will/will not work, indicate your opinion here.
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In this option, what does not make sense and would not work? Why? If you believe the merger will not work enter your concerns here. (See other parishioner concerns below, if any resonate with you, you may use these concerns or add concerns of your own.)
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What alternative(s) would you propose for this option? Indicate no other alternative, LF may stand alone, or add your own thoughts here.
We can assist you in filling out the form.
Please call Teresa Johnson at the Parish Center, Monday - Thursday, 9-3 pm and Friday, 9 – noon, OR, see Gina Ferraioli between weekend Masses.
LF PARISHIONER FEEDBACK FROM OUR LISTENING SESSIONS.
IF ANY OR ALL OF THESE POINTS RESONATE WITH YOU, PLEASE USE THEM TO ANSWER YOUR FEEDBACK QUESTION AS TO WHY LF MERGING WOULD NOT WORK
LF should be a “stand-alone” parish, particularly given the following:
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Financial Stability: Little Flower is financially stable because of dedicated parishioners generously donating to collections, while, for the past 7 years, self-funding the Going Home Initiative – a major multi-million-dollar capital project to expand and renovate our church and renovate our parish center. We also have a continued, ongoing capital investment in the priest's residence.
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Excellent Newly Invested Facilities: Our new state-of-the-art facilities are in excellent condition, clearly demonstrating our parishioners' commitment to providing a welcoming and well-maintained environment for all. These facilities enable us to create even more engaging and meaningful liturgies, Religious Formation programming, and ministries. They should continue to be fully utilized and leveraged to promote the growth of our family of faith.
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LF Strong Vibrant Parish: LF is a strong, vibrant parish and should not be merged with another parish. When considering merging organizations, strong parishes should not be touched. Organizations become weaker, not stronger, in this instance. Our goal should be to inspire growth rather than to manage a decline.
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LF should remain in Berkeley Heights: LF is an integral part of the BH community with its 100-year history of tight partnership with the Mt. Carmel Society and close ties to the municipality and community. Given these relationships formed for decades, it should remain in BH. Our 5 generations of families who first built this facility and faith-filled community, still worship with us today, and continue their strong commitment to this parish. There is also concern that we will lose people, not bring them back, if we force people to drive out of town to OLP.
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Cultural Difference: The culture of OLP is not compatible with the culture of Little Flower, based on feedback from parishioners who have attended both OLP and LF. From their perspective, LF offers a strong and growing range of vibrant, joy-filled, family-centered events, formation programs, and ministries from pre-K through middle school and High School teens.
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Fr. JC as New Pastor: Fr. JC has only recently arrived and has strengthened our efforts to bring families back to Mass and formation, with family Masses boosting attendance 50–90%. Entrusted with launching the priest residence capital campaign, he earned parishioners’ trust and exceeded the pledge goal. Shifting their support to someone new mid-campaign would not be well received.
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2026/2027 – Major LF years: 2026 is a major year for LF with the 5th anniversary of our new church and the 100th anniversary of the parish’s first Mass. We are already planning year-long events to engage our multi-generational community. We are also in a capital campaign through early 2027 and focused on completing this project with the purchase/renovation of a priest's residence in 2027. A merger at this time would distract from major communal activities and put our capital project at risk.
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Already Fulfilling WAHW: LF is deeply committed to the WAHW mission pillars and has already demonstrated success in fulfilling them through dedicated efforts, including bringing families back to the Church, providing essential outreach and pastoral care, and supporting long-term sustainability. We are eager to continue this work in strong collaboration with WAHW and have momentum in rolling out additional programming. While we fully support WAHW's overall vision, we believe a merger at this time would be a significant distraction that would compromise our ability to effectively carry out our mission.
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Growth in general of the BH community: LF is well equipped to grow with our unprecedented expansion of housing in BH of more than 1000 units over the past few years. LF should stand alone to focus on this opportunity to bring even more people back to our church, our faith, and our Lord.
11/2/2025:
PLANNING TIMELINE: Revisions to the models will be issued in February 2026 and final pastorate groups and priest assignments will be announced on June 12, 2026. RIGHT NOW, our only model option is to be in a pastorate group with OLP.
LITTLE FLOWER FEEDBACK FROM FIRST LISTENING SESSION:
• What enables the "stand alone" option and why is that not an option for LF, particularly given our multi million dollar new Parish Center and Church investment within the past 5 years, and continued investment in the priest residence?
• With a merger or closure, What will happen with the money collected for the current Priest Residence Capital Campaign?
• What will happen to our tight partnership with the Mt. Carmel Society and close ties to the municipality and community of Berkeley Heights?
• The culture of OLP does not seem compatible with the culture of Little Flower.
• Given our focus and success of bringing families back to LF and to Christ though a variety of family-centered programs, we will lose people, not bring them back, if we force them to drive to OLP.
From:
A Shepherd's Desk
A Special Message from Fr JC 10/26/25
My dear Little Flower,
By now, you’ve probably heard about the Archdiocesan initiative called “We Are His Witnesses.” What does this mean for us here at the Church of the Little Flower in Berkeley Heights?
This process is part of the Archdiocese’s effort to affirm and strengthen the Gospel mission in all our local parishes, while also facing the realities that challenge us today within the wider church: fewer priests being ordained, declining Mass attendance across the board, and limited resources in some communities. However, the Archdiocese of Newark faces a growing need to reach an expanding population and meet the demands of the evangelization landscape. The goal is to make sure that the Church remains strong and vibrant for generations to come able to continue proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a changing world.
Over the past months, many of you participated in the Disciple Maker Index survey, thank you for your thoughtful responses. Now, we enter the next stage of this journey together. The Cardinal and his team are discerning how parishes can best work together to continue Christ’s mission. For us at Little Flower, one of the possibilities being discussed is a potential merging with Our Lady of Peace in New Providence, forming one community of faith.
I want to be very clear: no final decisions have been made yet. We are still in the information and feedback stage, and the Archdiocese truly wants to hear from each parish community before any decision is made. Your voice, your experience, and your hopes for the future matter deeply.
To that end, we will be hosting two Listening Sessions here at Little Flower. You only need to attend one, as the same information will be presented at both:
Saturday, October 25 | 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Thursday, October 30 | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
(Both sessions will take place in the Lower Level of the Church.)
Please make it a priority to come. These sessions are your opportunity to share your input directly with the Cardinal’s representatives, to ask questions, and to express what Little Flower means to you. Register below.
As we go through this process, let us keep our hearts open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Change is never easy, but through prayer, unity, and honest dialogue, we can help shape the future of our parish family. This is not just about buildings it’s about people, faith, traditions and history, and mission.
Let’s pray for wisdom and courage as we walk this path together, trusting that the Lord who has begun His good work in us will bring it to completion.
May the Little Flower, St. Thérèse, and Our Lady of Peace - Our Blessed Mother - intercede for us as we continue to be His witnesses—together.
Your parish priest,
Fr JC Merino
We Are His Witnesses: A Journey of Faith and Renewal
Fr. JC Merino
From the Pastor’s Desk – Church of the Little Flower
In his pastoral letter announcing the Archdiocesan initiative We Are His Witnesses, Cardinal Joseph Tobin wrote, “I believe the Holy Spirit is inviting us to something new.” He speaks to us as a shepherd who has seen the deep faith, love, and diversity that make the Archdiocese of Newark a true sign of hope yet he also reminds us of the urgent realities we face as a Church today. Across our four counties (Union, Essex, Hudson, and Bergen), we are witnessing a steady decline in parish membership, Mass attendance, and participation in the sacraments. At the same time, the number of priests available to serve as pastors continues to decrease, even as the population of our region grows and presents new opportunities for evangelization.
This is the moment that calls us, as the People of God, to discern a new way forward to renew our life of faith and to reimagine what it means to be Church. We Are His Witnesses is not just another program or administrative plan. It is a journey of pastoral conversion a time of listening, reflection, and courageous decision-making. It invites every parish, every ministry, and every member of the faithful to ask three essential questions:
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Where are we now?
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Where is God calling us?
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How will we get there together?
The goal of this initiative is simple but profound: to strengthen the mission of the Gospel, ensure that our parishes remain vibrant and sustainable, and care for one another as members of one Body in Christ. Some of this work will involve renewal breathing new life into our ministries and practices. Some of it will involve change reconfiguring parish alignments, and at times, merging communities to create stronger centers of faith and service. These steps are never easy, but they are necessary if we are to continue proclaiming the Good News with vitality and hope.
A Journey of Discernment at Little Flower
For us here at the Church of the Little Flower, this journey has already begun. Last spring, nearly 50,000 parishioners across the Archdiocese completed the Disciple Maker Index survey a tool that gave our leaders valuable insight into the strengths, hopes, and challenges of parish life today. Over the past months, the Archdiocese has continued listening to pastors, deacons, religious, and lay leaders to gather feedback about what our Church needs to look like in order to thrive in the years ahead.
Now, we enter a new and very important phase: parish-level listening and discernment. For Little Flower, one of the initial (but not final) model options being considered is a possible merging of our parish with Our Lady of Peace in New Providence. This proposal is not a decision it is an invitation for conversation, prayer, and communal discernment. The goal is to hear from as many parishioners as possible about how we can continue to live out the mission of Christ in our local area.
To gather this input, Listening Sessions will be held in our parish, facilitated by trained volunteers from other parishes. These sessions will include pre-recorded messages from Cardinal Tobin and Bishop Michael Saporito, as well as an overview of We Are His Witnesses and the planning area that includes Little Flower. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss in small groups and share reflections in a large group format.
Each parish will then submit its collective feedback through an online survey open until November 30, 2025 which will help shape the final recommendations for the Archdiocese’s future pastoral plan.
What This Means for Us
For Little Flower Parish, We Are His Witnesses is a call to faith, courage, and participation. It reminds us that the mission of the Church is not confined to buildings or boundaries it is about people, relationships, traditions and history, and - most importantly - the Gospel we proclaim. This process gives us a sacred opportunity to reflect on who we are as a parish, how we serve one another, and where the Holy Spirit might be leading us next.
As we begin this discernment, we must approach it not with fear, but with trust in God’s providence, in one another, and in the Church’s mission. Whether or not changes come to our parish structure, what will remain constant is our identity as witnesses to Christ’s love.
The Cardinal reminds us: “We are not alone. We are His witnesses called to proclaim the joy of the Gospel in a world that needs it more than ever.” May we at Little Flower answer that call with open hearts and willing spirits.
Let us continue to pray for wisdom and true discernment, that together we may walk forward in faith, guided by the Spirit, and united in hope.
Fr. JC Merino, Pastor
Church of the Little Flower, Berkeley Heights
