WESTWOOD, N.J.—A shuttering of a parish ministry at St. Andrew’s—apparently by parish administrators—that provided over 200 tons of clothes per year for four decades to local, national and international organizations, serving the underserved, homeless, poor and transient will be the focus of a protest Monday, July 1 from 7 to 8 p.m. in the church parking lot, Pascack Press has learned.
“Our locals were provided for first,” said Greg Ryan, director of the St. Andrew’s Human Concerns Ministry for 12 years. “This was done like [a] sneak-attack… One Sunday the bin was there and the next Sunday it was gone.”
“This [closure] is such a disgrace,” said Ryan.
Ministry volunteers are expected to march in protest over the abrupt decision to shut down the ministry’s clothes-collection operations—and Ryan says the closure will hurt many who had come to rely on the volunteers’ longstanding outreach and generosity in distributing the donated clothes.
Ryan said he was shocked to discover about two weeks ago that a sign had been placed on the ministry’s hugely popular clothes donation bin, noting that no more clothes would be accepted and thanks for prior donations.
He said the decision was made without consulting anyone involved in the parish’s four-decade-old Human Concerns Ministry.
Ryan said apparently interim pastor Father Sean Manson, under likely direction from Pastor Jim Weiner, ordered the clothes collection operation shut down.
Although no longer in the parish, Weiner is still listed as pastor on the church’s website.
Ryan said donations from the oversized clothes bin—which held 1,600 to 1,800 pounds of clothes—were often emptied twice a day by volunteers helping distribute the clothes to individuals in need.
He said within days of its closure by the parish, it was replaced with a bin owned by Catholic Charities.
Ryan said he asked for the return of the ministry’s bin—which was donated to the volunteers years ago—and was told by Manson that the bin was gone and would not be returned.
Manson told Pascack Press: “The Catholic Charities at St. Andrew’s has not been closed down. It is still a functioning ministry. Any reports to the contrary are notwithstanding. The Human Concerns Ministry is still an active ministry at St. Andrew’s.”
Maria Margiotta, spokesperson, Archdiocese of Newark told Pascack Press that St. Andrew’s Church in Westwood will continue its ministry of serving the needy with a clothing donation program.
“…[T]he only change is that the program will be administered by Catholic Charities, a not-for-profit social service agency of the Archdiocese of Newark,” said Margiotta, adding that Catholic Charities serves approximately 70,000 individuals and families each year through this ministry and provides about 100 bins at 72 churches throughout the Archdiocese.
“Catholic Charities will streamline the clothing donation program previously served by St. Andrew’s Church volunteers, which became overwhelming and lacked the proper resources to support the enormous task of sorting, packing and distributing thousands of pounds of clothing,” said Margiotta.
Over 100 volunteers were involved in the St. Andrew’s ministry providing clothes, said Ryan, and the small office once used by the ministry is now locked and off-limits.
“They [Archdiocese of Newark] realized there’s money to be made [on clothes],” charged Ryan.
“This was a very sad chapter in the life of St. Andrew’s. [The ministry] never charged, we never asked no questions of people who needed clothes. We asked what your need was, and people always walked out with more than they came in, and now that’s gone,” said Ryan.
Ryan said many donations received were high-end clothes, such as dress suits, well-kept designer brands and business suits, that he alleged were likely attractive for post-collection sales or distribution.
Often, he said, volunteers provided suits to needy individuals who would come into the ministry office or would hear of the ministry’s work and reputation.
“This was so much more than a clothes collection…everybody knew where to drop their clothes around here. That’s why we got 225 tons of clothes. We are an institution in Pascack Valley. Everybody knows to come to us to drop off their clothes to us because we don’t sell off clothes and always give them to deserving groups and people,” said Ryan.
Ryan said he hopes to meet with Cardinal Joseph Tobin or a representative to discuss the situation following the protest.
“Clothing, small toys, children’s books, and kitchen and baby items will continue to be collected in a marked Catholic Charities donation bin in the church parking lot and will continue to support and provide for families and individuals in need throughout the Archdiocese,” said Margiotta.
This article was updated to include comments from Father Sean Manson and Maria Margiotta, spokesperson, Archdiocese of Newark. The headline was updated to reflect the clothes-collection bin was replaced, not removed.