Tucked along Browertown Road in Woodland Park, New Jersey, Holy Cross Church has been a Polish National Catholic parish for nearly a century. The congregation traces its origins to Easter Monday in 1926, when Polish-American families in nearby Paterson first gathered as a parish. A century later, Holy Cross continues to mark its life with the rhythms of Holy Mass, Sunday school, youth fellowship, and service to neighbors in Passaic County and beyond.
Mass Schedule and Languages
Holy Mass is celebrated on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., with both Sunday services held in English. Weekday Masses are celebrated Monday through Friday at 7:30 a.m., and on the last Thursday of each month a 7:00 p.m. Mass of Healing is offered for the sick and homebound. Weekday Masses are celebrated in English, and Polish or French Masses can be requested by arrangement. The parish also offers a Healing Mass with the blessing of wine during the Christmas octave and a Thanksgiving Eve Mass each November. During Lent and Passiontide, the Stations of the Cross are prayed on Fridays at 7:00 p.m., and a Solemnity of Brotherly Love is marked each September on the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
School of Christian Living classes, the parish's Sunday school, are held between the two Sunday Masses from 10:05 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. throughout the school year. During July and August the Sunday Mass schedule shifts to a summer rhythm of 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
A Century on Browertown Road
Holy Cross was founded on April 26, 1926, in Paterson, New Jersey, and the first Mass in the newly constructed Paterson church was offered on New Year's Day, 1928. As Polish-American families moved to the suburbs in the 1950s and the postwar baby boom swelled the pews, the parish began planning a new home. Under the leadership of the Rev. John A. Slysz, land was acquired in what was then West Paterson, and a new church was built. Its first Holy Mass was celebrated on Mother's Day in 1966.
The parish has been served by a small succession of pastors over the decades. Fr. Slysz led the congregation from 1957 until 1977, when he was reassigned to SS. Peter and Paul in Passaic. He was followed by Fr. Joseph Milewski, who served until February 1979, and then by the Rev. Sigmund Peplowski, who pastored the parish from May 15, 1979, until August 2003. The Rev. Joseph R. Cyman was assigned as pastor on October 10, 2003, and continues to serve. The Rev. David Gaydos serves as reserve clergy for the diocese, and Deacon William Gaydos assists at the altar, directs the altar servers and the youth group, and supports sacramental preparation.
The parish celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2026, with a special Holy Mass and banquet at the Brownstone in Paterson that also marked Fr. Joseph's 35th anniversary of ordination. A commemorative aluminum sign was mounted above the front door of the church to mark the centennial.
The School of Christian Living
The parish's religious-education program is called the School of Christian Living, and it is offered free of charge to children from preschool through eighth grade. Classes are divided into four levels: preschool and kindergarten, first and second grade, third through fifth grade, and sixth through eighth grade. Children sit with their teachers in the last pews at the 11:00 a.m. Mass and, before the readings, walk together down to the parish hall for class, then return in time for the distribution of Holy Eucharist. A television in the hall lets the children keep up with the Mass while they study.
The program is led by longtime teachers Paul Murphy and Natalie Lazor, and it has become a year-round rhythm of prayer, service, and fellowship. Throughout the school year, students prepare Thanksgiving food baskets for families in need, deliver Christmas poinsettias and handmade cards to residents at Hinchliffe Manor in Paterson, make get-well cards for pediatric patients at Morristown Medical Center, plant flowers for seniors, prepare gifts for Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day, and serve as lectors and altar servers. The school year is rounded out with field trips for apple picking and ice skating, a Christmas party with Santa, an Easter egg hunt, and the parish picnic. Children with perfect and good attendance are recognized at the end of the year with certificates and gift cards. The Third Sunday of each month is designated as Youth Mass, when the young people take on special roles as altar servers, greeters, ushers, lectors, and members of the youth choir.
The parish has offered childcare for children ages two to five during the 9:00 a.m. Mass, and parents with children younger than four are welcome to bring them to the parish hall during class time.
Ministries and Parish Organizations
Holy Cross is sustained by a network of lay organizations, each with its own focus but all sharing the same mission of worship, formation, and service.
The Society for the Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, known as the ANS, cares for the church, sanctuary, and altars, and its members are responsible for the home-made frozen Easter butter lambs that the parish sells each spring. The society also hosts the parish coffee and cake fellowship between Masses on Sundays.
The St. Nicholas Ministry remembers the aged and infirm, reaches out to the homebound and hospitalized, and celebrates anniversaries and other milestones with flowers and cards. The Daughters of Holy Cross, in operation for more than seventy years, folded their work into the Adoration Society so that the legacy of bake sales, 50/50 drawings, and fundraising for the parish could carry on under one banner.
A Prayer Shawl Ministry knits and crochets shawls for those who are ill or in need of prayer. Each shawl is blessed with a prayer that it be a safe haven, a place of security and wellbeing, cradled in hope, kept in joy, graced with peace, and wrapped in love. Patterns are available through the parish office.
The Stewardship Committee encourages parishioners to share their time, talent, and treasure for the well-being of the parish. The Parish Committee, chaired by George O'Brien, governs the parish alongside the pastor, in keeping with the PNCC tradition of shared leadership. The altar servers are trained by Deacon William Gaydos, with the help of parents, and serve at Mass throughout the year.
The parish also hosts local chapters of two fraternal organizations, the Polish National Union of America and the Spojnia Credit Union. Fr. Joseph serves as secretary of PNU Branch #54. Information about both organizations is available in the parish hall.
Sacraments
Holy Cross celebrates the seven sacraments of the PNCC. Baptisms, including the combined Baptism-Confirmation for adults, are scheduled through the parish office and welcomed during Mass so that the wider community can witness the welcome of each new Christian. First Holy Communion is prepared for children in second grade and older, and Confirmation is prepared for youth in seventh grade and older. Marriage preparation begins at least six months before the requested date, and spiritual direction, general counseling, and confession are available by speaking with the pastor. The Sacrament of the Sick is brought to the homebound and hospitalized by Fr. Joseph on his regular visits, and the last Thursday of each month brings the special Mass of Healing for those who are sick or unable to leave home.
During the season of Lent, ashes are sprinkled on the crown of the head at both Masses, in keeping with the ancient custom that has been preserved in the PNCC. The traditional Christmas schedule includes the Vigil Mass for Families and Children on Christmas Eve at 4:00 p.m., the Shepherd's Mass at 10:00 p.m., and the Solemn Mass of Christmas Day at 10:00 a.m. On Christmas Eve the young people of the parish take on the roles of Mary, Joseph, the angels, shepherds, kings, and the little lamb in the annual Nativity Pageant.
Outreach in Woodland Park and Beyond
Service to neighbors has long been a hallmark of Holy Cross. The parish supports Eva's Kitchen and the Father English Community Center, both in Paterson, with regular food drives and volunteer hours. Each Advent, the Advent Tree program gathers presents for children under DYFS care and for seniors living at Eva's Shelter, and the parish has participated in CROP walks to raise funds for hunger relief. Thanksgiving baskets, complete with nonperishable food and $50 ShopRite gift cards, are delivered to Passaic Valley Regional High School in Little Falls for distribution to needy families, and the Sunday school children have wrapped and delivered Thanksgiving baskets to families in Woodland Park and the surrounding communities.
The parish also supports its Sister Parish, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ząbkowice Śląskie, Poland, with funds and packages, and it has responded in times of local crisis. During the flooding caused by Hurricane Irene, the parish ran a food drive that benefited Father English Food Pantry, donated to a parishioned family, and contributed $1,000 to the volunteer West Patrol Fire Department.
Lasting Gifts and Stewardship
Holy Cross is financed by the contributions of members and friends. Donations may be made online through PayPal and Venmo, and the parish maintains a Planned Gifts Endowment Fund for enduring gifts. The parish provides guidance on gifts of securities, life insurance, real estate, and bequests, including sample language for wills. Each Friday, Holy Mass is offered for the intentions of the parish's benefactors.
The Parish Hall
The parish hall, which seats 110 guests, is air conditioned and handicap accessible, has parking for 55 cars, and has been refurbished with new chairs with cushions, new round tables that seat six to eight, a refinished wooden floor, and new lighting. It is available for rental on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and on Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and it hosts baptisms, first communions, confirmations, graduations, anniversaries, birthday celebrations, meetings, and other special occasions. Renters may use their own caterer and decorate the hall themselves. The hall is also the setting for the annual Christmas Dinner with Santa, the St. Patrick's Luncheon, the parish's Free Town Picnic each June, and many other gatherings throughout the year.
Faith on a Calendar
The rhythm of the parish year at Holy Cross moves through the seasons of the PNCC liturgical calendar, marked by Solemnities of Brotherly Love and the Transfiguration, Marian feasts such as the Dormition/Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Solemnities of the Saints who are dear to the parish's Polish and universal heritage, including Sts. Cyril and Methodius, St. Adalbert of Prague, St. Stanislaus Kostka, St. John Kanty, and Our Lady of Czestochowa. Parishioners and friends gather for the annual Agape celebration in March, the St. Patrick's Luncheon in March, the Blessing of Pets in October in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the annual Tricky Tray fundraiser in October, the Advent Tree gift collection in late November and December, and the Christmas Dinner with Santa in December. The parish's annual Beefsteak Dinner, Flea Market, and Harvest Dinner have been long-standing traditions, and the parish periodically produces a pictorial directory with Universal Church Directories to honor its members.
Getting to Holy Cross
From Route 80 east, take Exit 53 onto Route 46 East, exit at Browertown Road, turn left, and proceed to the first traffic light. The church is two hundred feet past the light on the left. From Route 46 West, take the Browertown Road exit, turn left, and continue to the first traffic light. From the Garden State Parkway, take Route 46 West and follow the directions above. The address is 220 Browertown Road, Woodland Park, New Jersey 07424.
Pastoral Staff and Contacts
The pastor, the Rev. Joseph R. Cyman, can be reached at 201-247-4832 or 973-256-4888 for emergencies and general inquiries. Rev. David Gaydos, reserve clergy for the diocese, can be reached at 973-580-1256. Deacon William Gaydos, who coordinates the altar servers and the youth group, can be reached at 973-902-9321. Parishioner registration forms, Sunday school registration, and forms for baptism, first holy communion, confirmation, and marriage are all available from the parish office, along with the form for requesting a Mass intention. Prayer requests may be sent by email or placed in the Prayer Request container at the side altar near the baptismal font.