St. John the Evangelist

About St. John the Evangelist, Bainbridge

St. John the Evangelist is a Roman Catholic parish of the Diocese of Syracuse, located in the village of Bainbridge, Chenango County, New York. It forms, together with St. Agnes Mission in Afton, the 'Catholic Community of Bainbridge & Afton.' The parish church is on South Main Street in Bainbridge, and the parish falls within the diocese's Vicariate VII pastoral grouping, which also includes parishes in Vestal, Binghamton, Deposit, Sanitaria Springs, Greene and Kirkwood.

History

The parish was founded in 1914, according to the GCatholic directory entry that anchors its origins in the early twentieth century. Like many small upstate New York parishes, it developed as a worship site for Catholic families in the rural Bainbridge–Afton corridor. The sister worship site of St. Agnes Mission on Spring Street in Afton grew alongside it; today St. Agnes Mission is formally listed as CLOSED in the Diocese of Syracuse parish directory, with sacramental life directed through St. John the Evangelist, Bainbridge.

Clergy & Parish Staff

St. John's is currently led by Deacon Thomas N. Picciano, who serves as Deacon Administrator and Director of Faith Formation for the Bainbridge–Afton Catholic community. The canonical pastor of the cluster is Rev. James P. Serowik, Vicar Forane of Vicariate VII, who is pastor of St. Vincent de Paul–Blessed Sacrament in Vestal and Sts. John & Andrew in Binghamton, and canonical pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Bainbridge (along with St. Joseph, Deposit; St. Joseph, Sanitaria Springs; Immaculate Conception, Greene; and St. Mary, Kirkwood). Anne Briggs serves as Director of Faith Formation, and Kathleen Colburn as Bulletin Editor and the parish's Census Data and Liturgy Scheduler.

• Deacon Thomas N. Picciano — Deacon Administrator & Director of Faith Formation
• Rev. James P. Serowik — Canonical Pastor
• Anne Briggs — Director of Faith Formation
• Kathleen Colburn — Bulletin Editor / Census Data / Liturgy Scheduler

Sacramental Life

Beyond Mass, St. John the Evangelist provides the regular sacraments of the Church — Reconciliation (Confessions) on Saturday afternoons at 4:30 PM at the church on 32/34 S. Main Street, and the celebration of other sacraments by arrangement through the parish office. Faith Formation for children is coordinated by Anne Briggs, the parish's Director of Faith Formation.

• Confession — Saturday 4:30 PM at St. John's, Bainbridge
• Faith Formation / Religious Education — Anne Briggs, Director
• Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick — by parish office arrangement

Faith Formation & Parish Ministries

Faith Formation is the most clearly identified ministry on the parish's directory listings. Anne Briggs, the Director of Faith Formation, leads the parish's religious-education program, and Deacon Thomas N. Picciano was recently recertified as a Director of Faith Formation through the diocese's 'Pathways to Ministry' program. The parish also maintains routine ministries such as weekly bulletin publication, parish census/data stewardship, and liturgy scheduling — handled locally by Kathleen Colburn — which together keep this small rural parish running week-to-week.

• Faith Formation / Religious Education
• Bulletin publication
• Census data stewardship
• Liturgy scheduling
• Pastoral care through the Deacon Administrator

The Catholic Community of Bainbridge & Afton

St. John the Evangelist is paired with St. Agnes Mission Catholic Church on Spring Street in Afton, NY 13730, and the two together are described on the parish's Google Sites page as 'The Catholic Community of Bainbridge & Afton.' Although St. Agnes Mission appears in the Diocese of Syracuse's parish list as CLOSED — with sacramental records and parish life directed through St. John the Evangelist — the mission church continues to be referenced as part of the community's identity, and the shared parish website uses the joint name 'St. John & St. Agnes Churches.'

• St. John the Evangelist — 34 S. Main Street, Bainbridge, NY 13733
• St. Agnes Mission — Spring Street, Afton, NY 13730
• Sharing one Deacon Administrator, one bulletin, and one Faith Formation program

Diocese of Syracuse & Pastoral Grouping

St. John the Evangelist sits within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, in its Vicariate VII grouping of parishes. The parish is canonically pastored from St. Vincent de Paul–Blessed Sacrament in Vestal, where the vicar forane, Rev. James P. Serowik, resides. The cathedral church of the diocese is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse.

• Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse
• Vicariate: VII
• Canonical Pastor: Rev. James P. Serowik (also Vicar Forane, Vicariate VII)
• Listed at the Diocese of Syracuse Parish Finder under 'St. John the Evangelist, Bainbridge'

Visit & Contact

Parishioners and visitors find St. John the Evangelist on South Main Street in the village of Bainbridge, in Chenango County, New York. The rectory/business office can be reached by phone at (607) 967-4481, with email [email protected]. The office is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays per the parish's updated notes. The Diocese of Syracuse parish finder lists the parish at syracusediocese.org/find-a-parish/display/7, and the parish's own bulletin and updates page is hosted at sites.google.com under the 'St. John & St. Agnes Churches' site.

• Address: 34 S. Main Street, Bainbridge, NY 13733-1215
• Phone: (607) 967-4481
• Email: [email protected]
• Diocese listing: syracusediocese.org/find-a-parish/display/7
• Parish bulletin page: sites.google.com/saintjohn-saintagnes.org/stjohnstagneschurches/