Second Annual Generosity of Spirit Award, Given in Honor of Fr. John Sassani & Fr. John Connelly

At the Minister’s Evening of Reflection and Appreciation on May 30th, 2024, our staff was delighted to present the second annual Generosity of Spirit Award Given in Honor of Fr. John Sassani and Fr. John Connelly. Each year, the staff presents the award to one person from each parish—one person who has served our community of faith with great generosity of spirit.

Last year, we marked the 10th anniversary of Sacred Heart and Our Lady’s Collaborative, and in doing so, found ourselves giving thanks to the two beloved pastors who brought our two parishes to one collaborative: Fr. John Connelly and Fr. John Sassani. While so many things could be said about each of these good men and great priests, we’d like to simply say that they were generous. It is that generosity of spirit that we honor with this award.

The 2024 recipients are Paul Arpino from Our Lady’s and Paul Hurney from Sacred Heart!

Paul Arpino has served as Our Lady’s Adult Choir Director for 50 years. Through seven pastors and hundreds of choir members, he has poured his God-given gifts into the liturgy and the community. Beyond sharing music, he has shared life with the community, rejoicing and mourning alongside so many.

Paul Hurney has served as Sacred Heart’s lead liturgical volunteer for more than a decade. Among many things he does with great care, he schedules and recruits ministers, organizes behind-the-scenes components of Christmas and Holy Week celebrations, and offers wisdom and advice for liturgical decisions.