East Hanover Florham Park August 2022

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East Hanover’s Bob Lang Celebrates 31 Years as a Deacon

BY STEVE SEARS STAFF WRITER

EAST HANOVER - East Hanover’s Bob Lang was ordained a Deacon of the Archdiocese of Paterson on May 24, 1991, and those 31 years have been a blip. “It seems a lot shorter,” Lang says. And when asked how many Masses he’s served at and the number of homilies he’s delivered over the years, he claims it’s impossible to tell. Lang served first at Saint Rose of Lima in East Hanover until 2007, and since then, the parishioners of Saint Peter the Apostle Parish in Parsippany have benefitted from his spiritual wisdom. Lang was always involved in various church functions. “I became one of the lectors, and then I became one of the first extraordinary ministers – and this was all at Saint Rose of Lima Parish in East Hanover. There was an older Deacon there, an older fellow who was from the second class of Deacons. He used to come to me all the time and say, ‘Why don’t you join the Diaconate?’ And I

used to say to him, ‘When the Lord wants me to, he’ll let me know.” At that time, Lang’s son was still at home and the two spent much time together. His pastor, however, also encouraged him to join. “I just felt that as time went on, a call could happen. It got stronger and stronger, and at some point, it was obvious that that I was being called. That’s the way it all came together. My son was a senior in high school at that point approaching his graduation year, so it was appropriate in that sense, too.” Lang, as with all Deacons, normally preaches a homily once per month. He describes the process or preparation. “When I know I have a preaching coming up, I will look at the scriptures for the weekend,” he says. “I have the lectionary that has all of the readings and so forth in it. I read everything in the beginning of the week, and then I don’t do anything for the next day or two, other than think about it and pray about it. And then, probably

about Wednesday or Thursday, I take some papers out and I start looking at what it is I want the message to be. Once I understand a bit about how I want to put this together, to have some kind of a message, then I start to do two things. One, I start to look into things on the computer that might give me some inspiration. Sometimes I’ll have a subject in mind, like Baptism or the Holy Eucharist. I’ll look those up and I’ll see what people are saying about all those different things, and many times what it does is it triggers something in my mind that fits. Then I sit down finally and start to make some notes, and normally I do not type my homilies because I’m a one finger-typer. I do my whole homilies from handwritten pages, and every homily is different in the sense that I don’t follow any guidelines. I always write my own, with thoughts from other people sometimes. My goal with my homily is to leave something in people’s minds to take home; some final

HANOVER PARK - The counselors in the Hanover Park Counseling Department are the unsung heroes of our school. They wear many hats and their responsibilities vary from col-

lege planning, scheduling, test proctoring, mentoring, counseling, advising, etc. Ultimately, what makes the Hanover Park Counseling Department special and unique is the per-

sonal connections that they make with the students which go a long way in promoting success and motivation in the students. This personal connection is essential in mapping a

thought. So, I look for that, and that usually takes the longest to put together, to come up with something that people can put in their pocket and take home. That’s the goal.” Lang’s Catholic life of service is a full plate. He has been involved in many key aspects of Diaconate ministry. He has worked part-time for LIFENET, a pro-life ministry, and has been involved in Project Rachel, a post-abortion program. Lang also often speaks to groups regarding other key areas, including chaste living and pornography, end-of-life issues, and stem cell research. In addition, Lang has other duties at Saint Peter Parish, like setting up schedules for the Deacons for Mass. “I also take care of the Extraordinary Ministry, the ministers that go up to distribute the host, and I run a bible study every other week,” Lang says. “Also, I’m usually the guy who takes the initial information for Baptism. I fill out the form with the parents - the other Deacons do some,

Deacon Bob Lang (courtesy of Bob Lang)

too, and we have a lot - but I get them started in a Baptism preparation direction. Each of the Deacons, about once every two or three months, runs a Baptism preparation evening with the people who are due to have Baptism, and their godparents.” Lang celebrated 58 years of

marriage with his wife Judy on July 11, and he turned 85 on July 8. “I got my wife for my birthday. That’s what I always tell her,” he says. The couple has three children, Robin, Jennifer, and Bob. The Langs have 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

School Counselors - The Unsung Heroes

Operation Jersey Cares Prepares Care Packages

In the photo, from left to right: Bottom row: Ms. Cara Marucci, School Counselor, Ms. Julie Lackaye, Administrative Assistant, Ms. Barbara Ford, School Counselor. Top Row: Mr. Scott Maciag, Supervisor of Counseling Services, Ms. Maria Grasso, School Counselor, Ms. Stephanie Mitchell, School Counselor/SAC/Department Coordinator, Ms. Michele Massa, Administrative Assistant, Mr. Brian Propfe, School Counselor.

AREA -Several care packages being prepared to send to Capt. Austin Niblett, US Army, recently deployed to Iraq along with 100 others in his battery. Pictured are his dad Lieutenant

Colonel Steven Niblett (retired) USA, West Point, Austin’s mom Candace and Chris Murray, Vice President Operations, Operation Jersey Cares. Operation Jersey Cares sent

7 large boxes filled with Girl Scout Cookies, peanuts and popcorn from the Boy Scouts, energy power bars, beef jerky, shaving supplies, foot powder, eye drops, dental kits, etc.

Your Chance to Win a $25 Gift Card to Pastosa with the “Find Hank The Hornet Mascot” Contest

AREA - Check out our new mascot...Hank the Hornet. Look for him in the ads in this issue and enter (no purchase necessary) to win a $25.00 gift card to Pastosa (4 winners). It

is easy to enter. Look through the paper and read the ads and look for “Hank” in the ads. He will be located throughout the paper in 6 random ads. Then go to www.easthanoverflorham-

parklife.com scroll down and fill out the form to be entered. Winners will be notified and printed in the next issue.

Winners From July’s “Find Hank The Hornet Mascot” Contest

AREA - The winners from June’s “Find Hank the Hornet Mascot” are Kevin Marshie, Judy Bocchino, Terry Cunningham and Sandra Orejare-

na. The ads that “Hank the Hornet” were in are On Call, Damon’s, Darrin’s Tree Service, Olympic Pools, Centenery

Stage and Camela Hair. Thanks to everyone who enter and congratulations to our winners!

student’s career in high school and beyond in order for a counselor to get to know a student’s interests, a student’s strengths, a student’s background, etc. This information, then, helps a school counselor mentor and guide a student in what courses to take, in what co-curricular activities to join, in what athletic teams to join, in what possible career endeavors to pursue, and in even simply how to advocate for oneself when asking a teacher for a college recommendation, for help, or when interacting with other peers and adults. We are proud of the Hanover Park Counseling Department as their role is not an easy one. The school counselors work with students on many facets of their lives: from social, to academic, to personal and family concerns. They do scheduling, college planning, writing letters of recommendation for colleges, coordinating awards and scholarships, and assisting with career building, jobs, and internships. Like in many other high schools, Hanover Park’s post high school planning and scheduling process remains a critical piece of ensuring success for all our students. Furthermore, a role of a school counselor spans beyond the items mentioned prior and also delves into building the selfworth of a student which ultimately helps the students thrive and become successful. For ex-

ample, school counselors have many conversations and model actions that encourage growth mindset, grit, and resilience. They promote the importance of mindfulness, a healthy outlook, and social emotional learning in their students. The Counseling Department is staffed by a district supervisor, five school counselors, one wellness coordinator, and two administrative assistants. The counseling staff have varied backgrounds, which include clinical counseling and teaching experience. This multitude of perspectives come together to benefit the students and staff of Hanover Park, as their various strengths and attributes provide many forms of assistance to staff, students, parents, and the community. TheWellnessCoordinatorisanewdistrictpositionthisschoolyearandhasproven to be a valuable resource and support for the

students, staff, and community. The Wellness Coordinator, Dr. Lisa Allgaier, has conducted many optional student groups covering topics ranging from managing anxiety, social skills, promoting wellness, and practicing yoga and has presented to parents and staff on similar topics. Patience, empathy, care, and diligence are qualities that every single staff member of the Hanover Park Counseling Department possess. Whether the task is testing, scheduling, college planning, mentoring, coordinating, the Counseling Department is ready to listen, to act, and to help anyone and everyone navigate through their high school career. So, please join us and say “thank you” to the Hanover Park Counseling Department and let them know that they are making a difference.

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