Biography of The Very Rev. Fr. John T. Glacken, MBA
 

Father John T Glacken was born in Newark, NJ on December 1, 1938 to John T Glacken and Irene Pelletier. John was of Irish heritage and Irene was French Canadian. Both were Roman Catholic throughout their lives. Father Johnis the oldest of two children. He has a younger sister Jean who lives in Jamesburg, NJ.

From his birth through the age of 5, Father was raised by his parents and maternal Grandmother, Anna, in Newark. His family purchased a home in Laurence Harbor and moved there prior to his start of first grade. Father graduated from St. Mary’s Grammar School in South Amboy, NJ, He subsequently entered Holy Trinity Preparatory Seminary of the Missionary Servants of the Holy Trinity in Holy Trinity, Alabama where he attended two years. He then graduated from Sayreville High School in Sayreville, NJ following his leaving the Minor Seminary.

Father attended and graduated from Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ with a BS in Accounting & Business. Latter, he obtained an M.B.A. from Fordham University in New York City with a major in Finance. In October 1959 Father John met the girl he would marry, Mary Louise Mennillo who had moved to NJ with her family from the Bronx, New York . They were married in October 1965 following Father John's serving two years in the US Army. They made their home in Old Bridge Township, NJ ultimately in the Cheesequake/Matawan section of Old Bridge. They attended St. Laurence Roman Catholic Church where both were very active in the local church performing duties as catechist, leader of RCIA, Sacramental catechist. Father was mentor to the Altar Servers, Lector and Eucharistic Minister as well as accountant for Father Julius, Pastor.

Mary and John had a daughter, Jude Marie and following her completing eighth grade the family moved to Southern California when John took a job in Los Alamitos. The family remained active in the local Catholic Church and both John and Mary completed the pre-Diaconate program with the Diocese of San Bernardino, Straling Leadership Institute. However, John had to drop out of the Diaconate program when Mary got sick and died from breast cancer.

John continued his theological training in the Diocese graduating from the Master Catechist program, the National Youth program, and completing basic and advanced theology through the Diocese and at Marymount College.

Father John worked in the business field for more than thirty years, holding various titles. His last two positions were as Controller and Director of Operations for two racing associations in Freehold, NJ and Los Alamitos, CA. He became Chief Financial Officer and Controller for L.A.-L.E.S. Associates in Los Angeles, CA until the business was sold. At this time Mary became ill and John accepted a position as Business Manager for the Diocese of San Bernardino and Pastoral Associate at St. Martha’s in Murrieta and St Elizabeth Ann Seaton Parish in Ontario.

After more than sixty-five years Father began to have misgivings with his connection with the Roman church. He felt it was wrong to exclude women from the clergy, the non-acceptance of people due to their sexual identities and the church’s not accepting married priests. This latter part became more relevant when after approaching the diocese for permission to enter training for the priesthood; he was refused. He was told he should have tried at an earlier age. Obviously, he could not since he was married. The reasons given had nothing to do with his character or training so, after much prayer and with the support of his longtime friend and priest, Fr. Julius L. Licata, now Archbishop, he joined the Old Catholic movement in 2007. He sufficiently completed his training and studies in order to be ordained a Deacon on December 8, 2007, in Washington, D.C. On May 24, 2008, after the final phase of his training, he was ordained a Priest at The Cathedral Parish of St. Jude (formerly known as St. Jude Old Catholic Church) in Bethlehem, PA.

Fr. John passed away on July 12, 2014 following a long illness.

Biography of The Rev. Fr. John Joseph O'Connell

Father John J. O'Connell was born in NYC, the third oldest of 7 children. His father was the Honorable Judge of the NYS Supreme Court and his mother was Eleanor Coby. His children are Eileen, William T., Kathleen and Susan.

Fr. O'Connell was graduated from Xavier H.S. and received his AB in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Ma. He has completed some graduate work at St. Joseph's Seminary, Yonkers.

Fr. O'Connell was an executive on Wall Street for 42 years. After Wall Street he became an actor and was the lead in 15 off Broadway plays. He was following in the steps of his uncle Arthur O'Connell who was nominated for 2 Academy Awards.

In 2008 he was ordained as a Priest. Fr. O'Connell worked to serve the poor and helpless in NYC until his passing in 2013.

(The Reverend Deacon) Brother Peter-Joseph Avitabile, csc,

Brother Peter-Joseph was ordained a Deacon in 2017 within the Old Catholic Church and is a founding member of The Compassionate Society of Christ 2013, an Ecumenical Order of laity and clergy that serve in many social justice outreach activities. They are often known to most as the “The Compassionists.”
 
Deacon Peter-Joseph was born and raised a cradle Celtic Catholic. He was baptized and confirmed within the Roman Catholic Church but was reminded regularly by his Grandmother of his Celtic Catholic roots where women took great care and leadership in the traditions and practices of the faith and affectionately spoke about the Pope as the mere ‘Bishop of Rome’!  He attended St. Frances de Chantal Elementary School and St. Raymond High School for Boys. He holds a BA from Hunter College.  During those formative years Deacon Peter-Joseph entered religious life and spent the next 5 years as an Aspiring Brother in the Order of Christian de la Salle Brothers.  He left the De La Salle Brothers to pursue a graduate scholarship opportunity in Social Research/Sociology and Urban Planning but never abandoned his vocation to serve God’s people especially the least, lost and forgotten.
 
Deacon Peter-Joseph has been a Social Work Professional for over 40 years and attended Hunter College School of Social Work and is a licensed MSW specializing in Administration/Community Organization and Clinical Group-work. He attended Columbia University and is a certified Supervisor for MSW students in Field Instruction since 1996 He also holds a MA in Sociology/Urban Affairs. He has practiced the discipline of Social Work primarily in NYC with experience in serving many diverse under-served populations, focusing primarily on the complex bio-psycho-social-spiritual needs of Homeless Persons, Substance Abusers , The Elderly, PLWAs, The Formerly Incarcerated and LGBTQI populations who also suffer with Seriously Persistent Mental Illness as well as the Disease of Addiction.
 
Deacon Peter-Joseph developed as NYC’s First AIDS Housing Director for DSS HRA an inventory of 3200 permanent and transitional housing units for homeless HIV/AIDS persons. He also was the former Directing Manager of NYC/DSS Human Resources Administration’s HIV/AIDS Services Departments and Divisions that included Staff Training Policy/Procedures/Community Affairs/Vocational Rehabilitation/Client Eligibility and was a key member responsible for the program operations budget of $161,000,000, 46,000 client cases and 12000 staff. He also established The Graduate Social Work Education Program for NYC DSS/HRA agency staff, of 14000 staff from 2007-2017. Deacon Peter-Joseph also co-founded in 1985 the first faith-based CBO program known as the Momentum AIDS Outreach Project in NYC offering to this day meals grocery baskets social work counseling and spiritual guidance to PLWAs and their families through-out metro New York City. He also served as an Adjunct Professor of Social Work at Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services from 1994-2011. In 2016 Brother Peter-Joseph designed and established a faith-based Housing and Services ‘Open Doors” Program for LGBTQI adolescent run away youth and secured a grant from Columbia Presbyterian Hospital sponsored through the CDC to look at serious gaps of health and mental health care services in NYC for transgender persons and to develop a TRANS-ACT Advocacy Community Mobilization Effort to support the well-ness of Trans-persons and the Eradication of TRANS-Phobia  Deacon Peter-Joseph recently moved to Dover, Delaware and has been serving as a Senior Field Placement Coordinator at Delaware State University ‘s Department of Social Work He also is the Senior Housing Development’s Consultant and Graduate Social Work Education Coordinator at Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing a 44 bed men’s shelter that serves homeless formerly incarcerated parolees. 
 
During 2018 he co-founded an Old Catholic Mission Church in Dover, DE and has been ministering to a small congregation of 22 persons who come from various faith traditions but have found a welcoming home at the” Mission” He also serves as a principal team member of Dover’s Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance “Social Action Committee."