The priest who talked to us that Sunday morning from the auditorium stage of Gideon Welles Junior High School acknowledged that it was understandable that we were filled with fear, doubt and anxiety. It was Sunday June 21, 1970 and it was not the raging war half a world away nor the sagging economy at home that was foremostin our minds as we participated in the celebration. Instead, it was the lack of security that accompanies a significant change in the routine of our lives.

This change had been thrust upon us a few Sundays earlier. From the altar of St. Paul's church, it was announced that the residents of East Glastonbury would shortly break away from the mother parish and become the founding parishioners of a mission church. The exploding population growth and the distance of some of its citizens from Glastonbury Center were foremost in the Archbishop's mind when he decreed that the time was now to better serve the burgeoning Catholic population. Thus, we were suddenly members of St. Paul's Mission Church.

To the optimistic among us Sunday, June 21st marked the start of a period of great challenge, some hardship and certain reward. The priest who delivered the sermon that morning, like ourselves, also harbored the fears and anxieties that accompany the new and the unfamiliar. While reassuring us he also asked for our help. Yet as we listened to him, we knew from the determined tone of his voice that the Archbishop bishop had chosen wisely when he selected the Reverend Joseph R. Bannon to shepherd this new flock.

Events transpired rapidly during the early days of our infant parish. A priority task was to choose a name for the new parish as its first event. Deciding that it would bear a uniqueness within the Archdiocese, a list of possible names, none of which was assigned any other parish was offered. From these the parishioners selected the name St. Dunstan and on August 8, 1970 we became the Church of St. Dunstan.

The Fall of 1970 found the Church of St. Dunstan purchasing its first real property and in November FatherBannon occupied the rectory at 1150 Neipsic Road. The first daily Mass was celebrated here on Nov. 30th.

At the Archbishop's direction, a dowry of $100,000 was given to the new parish by St. Paul's Church. This money embled the purchase of the new rectory and the beginnings of a savings account which would later enable the start of construction of a permanent church building.

On March 21 st, Father Bannon proudly announced that the Church of St. Dunstan had been canonically designated as a parish of the Archdiocese. Our future as a separate parish was now assured and our destiny solely in our own hands. 

The first year of activity at St. Dunstan's ended with the celebration of midnight Mass in the Gideon Welles auditorium. The second year began with a renewed endeavor on the part of the parish to strengthen those existing functions within the parish and to begin new ones. Our council instituted committees whose permanent charges would be to oversee the various aspects of parish life. Education, Finance, Social Action and Social Activities committees came into being. Their efforts within individual areas of concern would begin to be felt more and more. In later years, we could look back upon their accomplishments and see in them the viability that so characterized this new parish and its people.

First events in the life of this new parish continued to take place. March 28th saw the first group of St. Dunstan children receive their First Holy Communion. April 25th found our parishioners enjoying together the Parish's first social event, the "Spring Fling" dance at the Irish American Home. A month later, our first extraordinary income was realized, a check for $350, the proceeds of a "Las Vegas" night.

The year 1971 also marked the election of the first permanet advisory council to carry on the excelent work done by the temporarily appointed council.  

The ecclesiastial duties of Father Bannon continued to demand more and more of him. In September we welcomed to our parish Father Zigford Kriss who would henceforth assist in the celebration of Sunday Masses. As time passed, Father Kriss gained the affection of the parishioners and we anticipated his cheery "good morning" as he waited in the corridor of Gideon Welles.
 

The various parish activities held during this period were a testimony to the type of people with which St. Dunstan's had been blessed. Everywhere the spirit and hard work of our parishioners was evident: the lines of cars delivering youngsters to Saturday morning CCD classes at Gideon Welles; the professional financial documents prepared to properly guide our future endeavors; the bridge players secluded in private homes whose aggregate donations would mean more than $5OO to the parish; the procession of children to the altar at Thanksgiving and Christmas times with food and gifts for those less fortunate; the befriending of lonely tobacco workers separated from home and loved ones; the strains of Tiny Quinn's orchestra at the first formal dinner dance; and much more.

A parish is people, St. Dunstan's proved that.

On-Site Dedication

As the memory of St. Paul's dimmed, we accepted as a way of life, the attendance of Mass in a public school auditorium. The necessity of having our own church began to occupy more of our thoughts. Many months of plans and the problems attendant with a project of this size lay ahead of us. Foremost, now, was to find a site for this new church. And so with excitement and anticipation, we listened to Father Bannon announce from the altar, in February 1972, that the parish had purchased seven acres of land on Manchester Road from the Metropolitan District Commission. Another step in our parish development had been realized.
The rest of 1972 would be a year of preparation: there was money to be raised; there were architects to be hired; there were legal hurdles to be anticipated; there was the spiritual welfare of the people to be tended to first and foremost. Typical of the lattes was St. Dunstan's first Confirmation, administered by Archbishop Whealon, on April 9th.

The worthwhile does not come easy. Such was the case with the new church. There were causes for joy but there were notes of disappointment. Our initial goal fell short by some $50,000. Characterizing the spirit so true of our parish, we would work around it. We would: review building plans to see where savings could be effected; study in detail every minute financial aspect of the parish to see where incomes could be generated and expenses reduced; solicit the guidance of the archdiocese; form a committee to obtain additional pledges from new parishioners as well as pledges from the uncommitted; and then - - - - pray. The picture began to brighten. Pledges increased - $210,000 --- $220,000 --- $230,000 and in April 1974 $241,275. The Archdiocese, impressed with our sound financial planning, gave the go-ahead for the church construction. The architect and builder suggested ways of reducing cost. The town of Glastonbury after months of negotiations removed the last zoning hurdle and approved a building permit. And so on September 30th 1973 as hundreds of parishioners watched, Father Bannon turned over the first spadeful of dirt at a joyous groundbreaking ceremony.