PITTSTON – Monsignor John Bendik’s office at St. John the Evangelist Church is filled with books he uses to write sermons and inspire congregants.
Tucked in between religious textbooks, summaries of church law and Bibles is a single copy of “The Grinch that Stole Christmas.”
To Bendik, it is quite appropriate the children’s book takes its place on the shelf, as a testament to the importance of reconciliation and God’s forgiveness.
“I use the book to help children understand the sacrament of reconciliation,” said Bendik. “Although the Grinch is guilty of hate, envy and greed, when he repents, he is embraced and included.”
Bendik, who is celebrating 50 years of ministry this week, has consistently been willing to think outside the box to best serve congregants in his spiritual charge. He has done so with a great deal of laughter and good spirit.
“One year a couple with a baby due in December came to me over the summer and asked if their baby could be the baby Jesus in our Christmas pageant,” he said. “The baby was born on Dec. 20. It was a girl. That year ‘Jesus’ was a baby girl four days old named Charlie Ann.”
But what Bendik remembers about that incident, what he calls a “God moment,” was that when the family came to church on that Christmas Eve, he was able to hold the baby.
“I must have held the baby for over half an hour,” he said. “Here I am this big guy, not used to holding tiny babies, and the parents trust me with the precious little life.”
Ordained in 1967 by Bishop J. Carroll McCormick, Bendik said his entrance into the ministry was predicated on the love shown to him by his family early in his life.
“We were loved,” he said. “It was a disciplined love, but we knew we were loved.”
Faith in God and his love acknowledges life’s challenges and difficulties, he said.
“I was ministering to college students during the ’60s, during the Vietnam War,” he said. “It wasn’t easy, but I never lost sight of God’s love.”
The Second Vatican Council, Bendik said, also brought many changes to the church. The Second Vatican Council began under Pope John XXIII on October 11, 1962, and concluded under Pope Paul VI on December 8, 1965. Half a century later, Vatican II remains the most recent of Catholicism’s official worldwide councils.
“But, I was always at peace,” said Bendik. “Always.”
As pastor of St. John the Evangelist, a title he has held for 21 years, Bendik has overseen the church’s continuing commitment to the community.
Under his watch, the church has grown not only in membership, with more than 2,000 families calling the church their home, but also in breadth of services provided.
Bendik eagerly talks about the Care and Concern Clinic, which has served about 4,000 patients and provided more than 13,000 visits since it started in 2007.
“The staff at the clinic know patients by name,” he said. “The patients and their families get to know the staff and look forward to coming.”
The parish also offers a pediatric clinic, a clothes closet, a food pantry and a toy/book corner.
“Our members saw a need,” said Bendik. “And the church, in turn, provides services.”
Those who serve with Bendik are quick to credit him with a generous spirit and a warm personality.
Sister Kieran Williams, director of religious formation, said even preparation for Sunday’s jubilee service celebrating Bendik’s 50 years of ministry was an opportunity for the church family to work together.
And although there were many tears, as Bendik will leave his post in June and will be missed, there was also a great deal of joy during the recent weeks.
“On Monday, I was singing, ‘This is the week, this is the week that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it,’ ” said Williams.
Indeed, Bendik had much to look forward to as he prepares for the celebration of 50 years in the priesthood and his subsequent retirement.
“I’m going to see friends that I haven’t seen in 40 years,” he said. “Once I get connected with people, I stay connected.”
Although Bendik anticipates moving to Villa St. Joseph in Dunmore, the diocesan residence for retired priests, he looks forward to a continued life of service.
“If a priest is going to be away for the weekend, on vacation, preaching at another church, I’ll step in and help,” he said. “I won’t have to deal with the administrative side.”
Bendik intends to remain true to himself and to the way he believes God made him.
Standing on Msgr. Bendik Way, named in his honor by the city, Bendik is asked if he has a motto for life.
He replies, “Be what you is, because if you be what you ain’t, then you ain’t what you is.’”
