Honoring those who serve unselfishly

Three parishioners from a trio of churches in the Five Towns were awarded the St. Agnes Medal of Service by the Most Reverend William Murphy, bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, for their generosity of spirit and unselfish giving nature and the time they give to the parish.

Their respective parish religious leaders, Rev. Lawrence Duncklee of Good Counsel, Rev. Thomas Moriarty of St. Joseph and Monsignor Paul Rahilly of St. Joachim, nominated Helen Mingolla, of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Inwood, Maureen Cleary, of St. Joseph parish in Hewlett and Teresa Zorovich, of St. Joachim in Cedarhurst for the award.

All three share a substantial amount of humility for the work they do. They did not speak about their volunteer efforts and the award.

However, Rev. Duncklee, speaking in regard to Mingolla, could have just as easily been describing Cleary and Zorovich as well.

“She’s just always doing something for others … she is a good woman of faith,” Rev. Duncklee said about Mingolla, an Inwood resident, who has actively served her church for more than 60 years.

This year Our Lady of Good Counsel is celebrating its centennial and an anniversary dinner-dance and Mass reception was held at Molloy College last Saturday.

Mingolla is a longtime treasurer for the church, who is very involved with the charitable organization St. Vincent de Paul, assists the elderly and sick, including bringing communion to those too ill to attend church, serves as a Eucharist minister and sings in the choir. “She is a classy lady and always holds herself proper,” Rev. Duncklee said.

Good Counsel Outreach Director Gayle Saldutti, who has known Mingolla her entire life, also praised Mingolla.

“She has always been a special person and like a mother to many,” Saldutti said. “She’s also a great cook. These are a few of the reasons she is so deserving of the St. Agnes Medal. My personal best wishes to Helen and her family.”

Rev. Moriarty said that Cleary deserved the award because for her, “it's always about helping other people” and “she is always willing to help out with our outreach programs.”

Bishop Murphy announced the creation of the medal at a Jan. 21, 2007, Mass opening the 50th anniversary year of the diocese. Pastors from each of the 133 parishes in the Diocese were asked to nominate a layperson that unselfishly donates their time to their parish.

The medal features the image of St. Agnes, patroness of the Rockville Centre Diocese, on one side and a depiction of St. Agnes Cathedral on the other. The 2-inch diameter medal is made to be worn around the neck.

“Honorees are lay people whose love of the church has been shown through their devotion to the Holy Father, to our diocese and to their parish, “ Bishop Murphy said in a release. “They are the unsung heroes in our midst who build up our parish communities by extraordinary service in parish ministry, parish administration or some significant volunteer role."