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11/23/2022 08:30 AMHouses of worship have always been both places for individuals and families to seek a sense of belonging and community and a place for those same people to give back to the community. That has been the main drive for Jennifer Bassett, a co-warden and dedicated member of St. John’s Episcopal Church.
“They’re the type of people who will support you in times of trouble. They have been there for my joys and some of my biggest pains" Jennifer says. "We’re here to celebrate people’s lives and be there when we need lifting up.”
The congregation hosted the Friendsgiving Concert on Nov. 17 to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association, with a harp performance by Grace Cloutier. Jennifer says the event was important for recognizing the importance and meaning that churches can have for people.
“The congregation wants itself to be known. People have forgotten churches. It’s not as important to people’s lives anymore. We feel it’s important, not only for us but our community as well.”
She reflects on the historic presence of St. John’s in the community, as established on April 24, 1759, 27 years before the incorporation of North Haven as a municipality.
“We’re a historic monument. The present church was built in 1834. With so many people leaving the church, it’s very hard to upkeep it and keep it beautiful so it doesn’t have to get torn down or close down,” she says. "The greatest fear for us is to have this place boarded up and become an eyesore for the Town Green. It’s quintessential New England to see the church steeple on the Town Green.”
Bassett came to St. John’s 30 years ago when she and her husband were looking for a congregation at which to hold their marriage.
“I really wanted a church wedding. So friends of ours who were members of St. John’s said ‘why don’t you get married at St. John’s?’ So I checked out the church. It’s beautiful, it’s homey, it’s my family. They are my extended family,” Jennifer says.
Family and history are important to Jennifer. She is currently in the process of writing two books about the ancestry and history of her family, one which focuses on her great-grandfather, and the other traces her French-Canadian heritage back to the city of Quebec.
“My family were original settlers of Quebec. Some of my ancestors came over with [Samuel de] Champlain, and some of them came over on the boat with Bishop Laval who was the first bishop of Quebec. They were on the same boat with him and confirmed by him. He even did an exorcism on an ancestral aunt, which is documented at the Vatican!”
Jennifer says genealogy is unceasingly intriguing and always leaves her asking more questions.
“I try to find the meaning between the dash. You could easily find the dates of someone’s birth and death. But what happened in between there?" she says. "And it’s amazing the information that’s available that you can find. [You ask]: why am I who I am? I’m here in this town because of them. And it’s why I love the history of this church, too. I think it’s important to honor our ancestors, to honor the people who came before us, and do our best to keep something that was so important to them alive.”
As a co-warden at the church, Jennifer and her fellow wardens are responsible for the supervision of the church and the ongoing function of the parish. They are currently searching for a permanent priest for their congregation, having been seen by a revolving door of head clergymen at St. John’s for the past 14 months.
“My primary role is to make sure we have services every week, and those services involve trying to find what’s called a ‘supply priests.’ Those are priests that don’t necessarily have their own parish, and they’ll just go from parish to parish depending upon who needs a priest that particular week. Or it could be a priest that’s doing a half-time or quarter-time gig someplace else for another parish. So they can come here on their off-weeks.”
Through her role and collaboration with her co-warden, Jennifer strives to keep the members of her church motivated and reassured through the absence of a leading figure such as a priest, events such as the recent benefit harp concert, or even maintaining cleanliness and utility measures of the church. She sometimes will have to assume the role of St. John’s electrician and even hunts down mice in the kitchen.
“It’s anything I need to do to keep things going for the church. Keep it running and keeping in touch with the Episcopal Church of Connecticut, the diocese [of St. John’s].”
Jennifer says that St. John's has always been there for her whenever she needed them as her “extended family,” or even “second family.” She recalls how the church recently helped her through several personal, financial, and health-related hardships, reminding her of why she wanted to become a part of St. John’s in the first place.
“About a year and half ago I went through a rough patch. At the same time that all this was happening, we lost our priest, and then I stepped up as co-warden," she says. "That gave me a sense of purpose, something to do, and has kept me going. Otherwise, I would’ve just maybe crawled under a rock someplace. But everyone is there for you. They’re praying for you, they’re visiting you. [They ask], ‘Is there anything that you need?’ That’s why St. John’s is important. It’s the community."
She continues with that sense of community and spiritual uplifting that congregations of all faiths can provide for everyone.
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s Episcopal, Catholic, Jewish. For me, I look for a place where I belong. I felt called here. I feel like I’m supposed to be here. I don’t why I’m supposed to be here, except to maybe be in the moment with people who have similar beliefs as I do, and where we can rally around one another.”